The time was just touching midnight at CBS Studios in Television City, Los Angeles, where a bevy of journalists, invited contenders, influencers, and celebrities had just gathered in celebration of Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge. We previously shared my conversations with the series’ most popular and remaining contestants, including mother/son duo LeAnn and Trey Plutnicki, Roland Hannigan, Spencer Hawkins, Bianca Sarafian, and many others. I also got to talk to my friend, T.J. Stukes.
Stukes, more popularly known as Player 182 on the hit reality series, came to fame not just as one of the top 20 contenders, but more precisely as “The Leader” of the series. His people skills, motivational affirmations and leadership qualities endeared him into the hearts of audiences around the globe and resulted in everything from placing on fan favorite lists on TikTok to custom, fan-made Funko Pops created in his likeness.
Plus, he’s had a very storied career: a New York native starting as a basketball star with the Harlem Wizards to coaching women’s basketball in El Paso, Texas, Stukes has proven time and again that discipline and consistency can pay off big. His turn in episode 3, “War,” where two teams at a time go head to head in a life-sized game of Battleships, was where he became one of the series’ breakout stars, relying on teamwork, communication and strategy to best their opponents — and it was his particular brand of style of leadership, based on “Gratitude and Humility,” that not only soothed his teammates into unanimously voting him into Captain status, but made him a great central character for the show’s producers to focus on.
And standing out among 456 people is no easy feat. Besides surviving the game itself, you need the charm, charisma, and backstory to carry the “plot line” (to be used in respects to a reality game show), all of which T.J. Stukes has in spades. I’d known Stukes personally for a handful of years as a genuine man with a big personality and had the privilege of watching this moment come around from behind the scenes, but couldn’t have imagine how big — and fast — success would come around or what that would look like. I had the opportunity of catching him after the CBS Studios Press Junket, while the cast members gradually hopped into their assigned Cadillac SUVs for the after party at The Abbey in West Hollywood, where he provided me a deeper dive into his life and times as of late.
THE NERDS OF COLOR: Yes, sir. We gotta take it right back to the start and walk through the whole thing. How was the process of applying to Squid Game? How did that audition go?
T.J. STUKES: It was luck. I was scrolling Twitter and I seen it once and then I scrolled past, then I seen it a second time. It said ‘the last hour,’ you know, I’m a competitor so I had to apply to see if I would get it. I was nervous as hell applying. I was like, ‘I’m a basketball player and, um, I’m tall and, uh…’ I didn’t know how to describe this. And they called me literally a half hour later asking for more info. And then a month and a half later they said, I’m officially cast.
Wow. And so you had the support of your wife and the family and everything going in?
Absolutely. My wife said I’m gonna get kidnapped <laugh>. That’s the first thing she said. And then my son and my daughter was like, ‘no, you’re not. No you’re not.’ And then all of a sudden the emails became real and then the plane ticket became even more real and then I couldn’t talk to them. And then it, it became official.
So what was your strategy going in? Did you kind of look to make friendships right away, or did you just kinda wanna feel everyone out?
No, I didn’t. I didn’t come with a strategy, actually. I came with just like the mindset of attack the moment because that’s all we had: the moment. And I concentrated on what is in front of me instead of what’s on the side and behind it.
And once you got into the game and got more familiar with everybody, did you know right away who you could trust? Or was it something that you just had to learn?
Um, it’s something I had to learn, definitely, because people were cutthroat, but at the same time… our comradery became so paramount in so many things that we did, you know? From getting to know each other to having our backs to food to… yeah!
And so, with all of that, what kind of surprised you about the game? What did you learn about the game that changed your expectations? Did you think it was gonna be easy?
I knew it was gonna be hard. It was just attacking everything that was in front of me, like I’ve been saying and allowing myself to be my true self.
What was the driving thing behind your time in the game? Because everyone had a different reason for being there. Some people came for their family. Some people came for just the money, some people came because they wanted to prove themselves.
Definitely my wife and children. It was a lot because I felt them there with me. They were my driving force for the games.
Was there any moment you felt like you wanted to give up and just walk away?
Honestly, honestly, yes. It was so many times, but my teammates: Phalisia, Trey, Roland, they even helped me. They helped me not to quit ’cause I wanted to quit so bad so many times.
So I don’t know if you’ve seen the entire show back now, but there’s a moment where we get that candid camera interview with Mai [Whelan], and she does a bit of a switch on you.
Yeah.
So, seeing that back, did you know at the time? Did you feel that she had ulterior motives?
100% no. And the thing is, is I’m not gonna change my character by hearsay. I’m not gonna change my character because other people want me to. I’m gonna be faithful to who I am. And the world saw who I am.
What was your proudest moment on Squid Game? ‘Battleships’ [in episode 3: War] was one of my favorite episodes, but it might be something different for you.
Honestly, it wasn’t shown on the show: we had a talent show and everybody came together as one. And that was my proudest moment when I seen people come together and actually enjoying our company.
Two questions in closing: One, if you had the chance to do it again, would you? And second, what would you like people to take away from your performance on the show?
I literally said, ‘hell no’ [earlier in the day], I would never do it again. But yeah, I would. Initially, I would do it again and… just take away that empathy is empathy and sympathy is one of the strongest things you can have as a human being. And to inspire others. That is my message. Inspire others ’cause you don’t know what they’re capable of until they know what they’re capable of.
