Reagan To Calls Fans’ Reactions to Her “Squid Game” Role “a dream come true”

If you’re a horror fan (or you just love watching the latest hit shows), then you’ve probably seen Squid Game, the hit drama series that had people captivated and horrified. The drama is about a group of contestants playing children’s games for cash prizes, but losing means a bit more than just not getting the money. One of the games features a large robot doll that calls out directions for “Red Light, Green Light.”

In the English dub of the show, the actor behind the fan-favorite doll’s voice is none other than 10-year-old model, dancer, and actor Reagan To. We caught up with Reagan to ask her about what it’s like for her voice to be a sound that people can’t get enough of because of her eerie role.

Acting since she was about 5 years old, Reagan seems to have fun exploring new roles and challenging herself, but she shared with us that what really drives her to keep acting are the people that watch the movies and shows she’s in. “I’ve always enjoyed acting since I was very little. I started attending acting classes at the age of 4, but my passion for it didn’t grow until 5 years old after I got really sick. I was in the ICU because of a lung infection. When I finally recovered, I told my mom that I wanted to become an actress one day so I can make movies to entertain everyone, especially sick kids who need lots of encouragement and inspiration.”

It was around that time that Reagan also found dance, starting ballroom dance which she now competes in regularly. In fact, she’s a solo ballroom champion! “During a break, while I was shooting on Jane the Virgin, Gina Rodriguez showed me a video of her dancing and that really inspired me,” Reagan shared. “I am still dancing every day and have competitions every month. I hope one day I can be on Dancing with the Stars!”

Balancing dance and acting isn’t easy, but that doesn’t stop Reagan. In fact, she’s after more roles. She told us that she got into voice acting because of the ways that just using her voice opens her up to so many possibilities. “With proper voice training, I can perform characters of different age groups and genders,” she said. “Of course, I wouldn’t be able to do that with in-person acting.”

You might know Reagan’s voice from the Game Doll, but that’s not her only role in Squid Game. Her first role in the English dub of the show was actually Ga-yeong, Gi-hun’s daughter. “For each scene, the director explained to me her feelings and emotions. When I first saw the character, our production team mentioned that the Korean actor in the show and I look a lot alike and our voices also sounded very similar. That made me get into character very easily.”

Despite having two roles, Reagan hasn’t seen the show. Being only 10, it’s a bit much for her to watch now. (The show is rated TV-MA.) Even during the recording process, she only watched the scenes she needed to voice. “During the recording sessions, the director told me that the people were playing the game ‘Red Light, Green Light,’ and I had to sound like a child/robot doll mixed as one. It was confusing at first, but once I got the right tone, they said it was great! Then the director had me cover my eyes until the next scene. I was very curious at what was actually going on.”

Not knowing more about the show actually led to several big surprises for Reagan and her parents as it gained international fame. “I first learned about it when, one night, my parents were watching TV, and they recognized my voice in the show. They were so excited and they woke me up in the middle of the night!” Reagan told us. “I had no idea it would become such a huge deal. I was so shocked to hear my voice across so many social media platforms. What surprised me the most was that Saturday Night Live used my voice in their skit featuring Rami Malek. It was a dream come true for me.”

We can’t wait to see more of Reagan’s dreams come to life on screen and on stage. She shared that she is working on voice roles for four new Netflix series that she can’t wait for people to see as well as getting excited to see the results of her latest modeling work with brands like Forever 21 and Little Tikes. “I am hoping that in 2022 I will be involved with more amazing projects and memorable roles.”