‘Squid Games’ star and Louis Vuitton ambassador since October 2021, Hoyeon is styled by Charles Varenne for Louis Vuitton in ‘Hoyeon Rising’, the cover story for ELLE UK [IG] November 2025.

Photographer Sharif Hamza [IG] shot the actor in the South of France the day after the May 22, 2025 Louis Vuitton Cruise 2026 show at the Palais des Papes [Palace of the Popes] in Avignon, France. Zing Tsjeng is on interview duty. / Makeup by Pat McGrath using new Louis Vuitton makeup collection; hair by Hailey Brisker

A Star Is Born

The future of Hoyeon’s post ‘Squid Games’ career was partially birthed at a Louis Vuitton show. The Korean sci-fi film ‘Hope’ with Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender sparked when Vikander, a Louis Vuitton ambassador since 2015, greeted Hoyeon and explained that the couple had been bingeing ‘Squid Games’. Most important, the couple found Hoyeon’s work to be “just extraordinary”.

‘Hope’ is written and directed by Na Hong-jin and is slated for a summer 2026 release.

Eager to promote Hoyeon’s work, Fassbender explained to ELLE UK: “On screen, she [transmits] an immense amount of rawness, which is the kind of acting that I like and admire – people who dare to be kind of naked and show their human side; to be able to be extremely open towards the lens and camera. She’s a brave actress.”

‘Disclaimer’ and ‘The Hole’

Hoyeon played a “ruthlessly-ambitious assistant” to Cate Blanchet, acting as a celebrated documentary maker, in Mexican auteur Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV+ series ‘Disclaimer’. The series of seven episodes was released in October-November 2024.

Amazon MGM’s Orion Pictures Label landed worldwide distribution rights to Hoyeon’s upcoming film ‘The Hole’ also starring Theo James, Yeom Hye-ran and Christian Slater.