In 2024, T.O.P portrayed Choi Su-bong, better known as "Thanos", in the second season of the Netflix dystopian survival thriller series Squid Game.

[5] He and fellow future BigBang member Kwon Ji-yong were "neighborhood friend[s] from middle school" and often danced and rapped together.

[9] After contact, Choi subsequently recorded several demos with Kwon and sent them to Yang Hyun-suk, CEO of YG Entertainment, who later asked him to audition.

[8] Choi was initially rejected by the record label, which deemed him too "chubby" to fit the "idealistic version" of an idol.

[8] He later "went home and exercised hard because [he] wanted to join YG Entertainment,"[8] losing 20 kg in 40 days.

(탑) by senior YG artist Seven,[10] he became one of two rappers alongside G-Dragon (Kwon's stage name) in BigBang.

In April 2007, he was featured with fellow BigBang members Taeyang and G-Dragon on singer Lexy's single "Super Fly" for her album Rush.

[16] He became the first member of BigBang to venture into acting, starring in the KBS2 drama I Am Sam,[17] portraying the school's top fighter, Chae Musin.

While promoting his group's materials in 2008, T.O.P appeared on other artists' records, including Gummy for the song "I'm Sorry" for her album Comfort, veteran singer Uhm Jung-hwa for her single "D.I.S.C.O."

T.O.P's performance in the 2010 war drama 71: Into the Fire was well-received, earning him several Best New Actor awards at local award-giving bodies.

[36] From 2011 to 2012, T.O.P was extensively involved with BigBang's promotional activities for their EPs Tonight (2011) and Alive (2012) which included a ten-month world tour that travelled to four continents.

After group activities wrapped up, he focused his attention back to acting, starring in the film Commitment (2013), playing the son of a North Korean spy who is falsely accused.

While filming a combat scene for the movie, he injured the back of his hand on a glass fragment and was later admitted to the hospital for surgery.

"[44] He later featured on English artist Pixie Lott's Japanese album alongside G-Dragon for the song "Dancing on My Own".

Later that year, he starred in CJ E&M's web drama The Secret Message alongside Japanese actress Juri Ueno.

After spending the majority of 2015 touring and promoting BigBang's materials for their album Made (2016), T.O.P was cast in the German-Chinese film Out of Control alongside Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung.

[48] T.O.P began his two-year mandatory military service on February 9, 2017, as a conscripted police officer, where he was set to be discharged on November 8, 2018, after completing the requirements.

A few days after the announcement, T.O.P was found unconscious in police barracks due to a suspected anti-anxiety medicine overdose of prescribed benzodiazepine,[52][unreliable source?]

[68] The character was created before casting, T.O.P receiving the role after series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk found his "serious" approach.

[69] Hwang explained that he wanted to cast someone who stopped working due to drugs, T.O.P retiring from the K-pop industry and leaving BigBang over a marijuana conviction.

[76] Responding to speculation that he was removed from promotional events over the controversy, Hwang said that they planned to not have him featured from the beginning, wanting T.O.P to be able to talk about his involvement at his own pace.

[77] After release, his acting was criticized by those in South Korea, particularly that his vocal and facial performance was out of place, with the quality of his rap having mixed reception.

[40] Both his solo releases – "Turn It Up" and "Doom Dada" – are hip hop influenced,[87] with the latter drawing critical acclaim for its "lyrical rhythms [that] are both inviting and alienating" from Dazed magazine, that declared T.O.P was leading the evolution of K-Pop.

The duo also admitted to becoming "much more diverse [in their] attempts" to create their own style, preferring to mix several genres together in order to "bring out more of our character that we don't get to show when we're Big Bang.

[5] While internationally, BigBang is often referred to as a "K-pop" group, T.O.P has expressed distaste with the label[92] noting how "[y]ou don't divide pop music by who's doing it.

"[93] In August 2014, T.O.P joined the Ice Bucket Challenge, an international campaign to develop medical treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

He made a donation to the Seungil Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides aid to Lou Gehrig patients.

On November 4, 2018, in celebration of his birthday, T.O.P's fans from four Asian countries donated ₩11 million (US$9,900) in his name to the Yongsan Welfare Foundation to help the less fortunate.

[98][full citation needed][99] On March 3, 2020, T.O.P., under his legal name, donated ₩100 million to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Association of Daegu, in the province of North Gyeongsang.