The "Squid Game" Scene The Actors Agree Was Hardest To Film

When the Squid Game actors were asked which scene was the hardest to film, Kim Joo Ryoung, Heo Sung Tae, and Lee You Mi all had one shoot in mind—and here’s why it was so difficult.

In a new interview for The Swoon on YouTube, the Squid Game actors opened up about the hardest scene to film. While you may think emotional showdowns and death scenes would’ve been the roughest on the stars, three actors had another scene in mind…

… Kim Joo Ryoung (who played Han Mi Nyeo, player 212), Heo Sung Tae (Jang Deok Su, player 101), and Lee You Mi (Ji Yeong, player 240) were all quick to answer that the Squid Game’s tug-of-war was the toughest by far. But why?

According to Lee You Mi, it seems that those struggling expressions on the characters’ faces weren’t just acting. In fact, the 27-year-old actress revealed, “We were really using all our strength to play!”

Lee You Mi went on to divulge that playing tug-of-war on-set was made even harder by the fact that their fellow actors on the opposing team weren’t at the other end. Instead, they were playing against a machine designed to pull the rope. “No matter how hard we pulled,” she explained, “we couldn’t win.”

Heo Sung Tae agreed, revealing to The Swoon, “I really gave it my all.” The actor recently confessed that he had to gain 15 to 17 kilograms (33 to 37 pounds) in just a few months before shooting Squid Game because Jang Deok Su’s well-built physique was important to his character.

However, that weight gain brought about health issues like muscle loss and joint pain, which likely made shooting the scene even harder. So hard, in fact, that Heo Sung Tae says he “threw up so many times” while shooting the tug-of-war scene.