Squid Games: Kiwi Chris Williams was kidnapped in Tanzania. Now he’s been ‘imprisoned’ on Netflix for a chance to win millions

Chris Williams was contestant number 375 in the battle for nearly $8 million. Photo / Supplied

In 2019, Chris Williams was told to “tell us your PIN or you’re dead” by four kidnappers in Tanzania. Now, the Gisborne graphic designer is the only Kiwi to have been willingly imprisoned in a London studio for a chance to win nearly $8 million as Squid Games contestant 375. He tells Mitchell Hageman what it was like.

He “doesn’t usually watch reality TV”, but season one of Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge caught the eye of keen adventurer Chris Williams.

“I was watching the first season and thinking, ‘gosh you Americans are so dramatic. Us Kiwis would do this in our sleep’,” the 37-year-old says.

If anyone is up for the task of being locked in a room with 456 others undertaking brutal physical challenges and mental mind games based on the hit Korean thriller series, it’s Williams.

Chris Williams was contestant number 375 (the only New Zealander) in the battle for nearly 8 million Kiwi dollars. Photo / Netflix

The Gisborne graphic designer survived an intense kidnapping ordeal six years ago, where four men forced him and his partner to withdraw cash in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam.

Williams and Tiffany Zyp caught what they thought was a safe taxi, when men locked the doors and threatened murder as they made forced withdrawals at various ATM machines.

The men robbed the pair of $4200, plus the $500 cash they had on them, and their phones, before their passports and wallets were returned. They were told to “act normal” when they were released, or they would be followed.

“That really sort of made me not let life stress me out or let the little things faze me,” he says. “When I saw this application [for Squid Games], I was like, “Oh, let’s go. Do your worst,” Williams says today.

More than 80,000 people from around the world applied for a shot at the US$4.56 million (nearly $8m) prize, with intensive virtual interviews. Williams was the only New Zealander to make the cut and was flown over to London in January for the filming.

Chris Williams and Tiffany Zyp from Gisborne were kidnapped in Tanzania August 2019.

“I’m based in Gizzy on a little rural section of a crusty gravel road, and work from home with my cat, my four sheep, and my chickens, so yeah, it was quite insane to be included,” he says.

Nothing can compare to his kidnapping ordeal, but during filming he was “actually quite shocked at how intense the game is when you’re actually in it”.

“There’s no break in the set, which blew my mind. When you are in it, you really feel you’re in it. Those dorms, it’s not like you can turn around and see all the camera crew. You are in it, and this is real.”

Williams can’t reveal the result of the show just yet - it starts on Netflix today - but he can say just how ridiculous some of the challenges were, as the first 13 minutes of the series have been released on YouTube.

“One consisted of the full 456 players being split into two and simply needing to figure out a way to count as accurately to 456 seconds as possible,” he says.

“So, imagine your fate at the hands of a couple of people counting as the rest of you watch in agony as your entire Squid Games experience could be over! One team was two seconds off and continued, the other was 12 seconds off, and a depressing mass elimination of 228 people ensued.”

Chris Williams at home with his sheep in Gisborne.

It was difficult to chat to everyone during filming, but Williams says he did manage to meet about six Aussies, a fair few Brits, and lots of Americans.

“It was a complete full age-spread. You had to be 18, but there were some retirees in there. There were also some famous influencers, who I didn’t realise were influencers, and lots of couples, lots of dads and daughters and even twins,” he says.

“Some people were giving up their jobs for it. Some people were telling their boss they’re not going to come back because they think they’re going to win it. So it was pretty crazy.”

Filming was also kept heavily under wraps, and Williams had to keep his “work trip” secret from his family because of strict non-disclosure agreements.

“When I finally told my mum, dad, and partner, I said, ‘guys, I’m going to be the villain. I’m going to be the Kiwi villain. I don’t care’. And they said, ‘No, you got in because you were being yourself. Just be yourself’... So, that was the game plan.”

And while keeping true to himself likely put him on good stead, there was also the classic Kiwi ‘she’ll be right’ determination that rang true throughout Williams’ experience.

“You could see the people struggling from the sleep deprivation and struggling with the lack of food, but I was like, ‘Bring it on. Do your worst. Let’s go’.”

Chris Williams (centre) with some of his fellow Squid Games competitors after filming.

Applications are already open for season three, and naturally, Williams’ advice for potential Kiwis wanting to give it a go was the same he took upon himself.

“Just keep it Kiwi, trust your initial gut feeling, and go with it!”

You can catch Chris on Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 on Netflix from November 4.

Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.