Actor Yuki Inoue is currently appearing in the NHK morning drama "Wings on a Tiger" (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00am and others), starring Sari Ito, as Tomoichi, the eldest son of Koichi (Masaki Okada). Tomoichi joined the legal profession like his father and worked under Katsuraba, played by Matsuyama Kenichi, who co-starred with him as father and son in the taiga drama. We asked him about the behind-the-scenes story of his co-starring with Matsuyama, and the kind of actor he aspires to be. (Part 2 of 2)
◇What kind of boss is Katsuraba to Tomoichi?
Inoue appeared in last year's taiga drama "What Will Ieyasu Do?" as Honda Masazumi, the son of Honda Masanobu, played by Matsuyama. Masazumi is a sharp-witted young elite who serves Ieyasu (Jun Matsumoto), and unlike Masanobu, he is portrayed as a conscientious and straightforward person.
Regarding working with Matsuyama again for the first time in a year, he said, "We didn't have many scenes together compared to when we did 'What Will Ieyasu Do?', but Matsuyama was very cool as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court."
Regarding Matsuyama, who plays Tomokazu's boss, Katsuraba, he said, "He has a clear way of switching between on and off, and I get the impression that he has a broad perspective. He's the 'boss' I'd like to consult with if I don't understand something."
On set, he said, "We hardly had any scenes together, so we didn't have much time to talk," but he said he was able to make use of his special skill as a "cooking guy," saying, "When we appeared together on (NHK's morning information program) 'Asaichi,' we talked about what we should talk about, about cooking, and so on."
Tomokazu became a father when his child was born. He said he only had one scene with the child actor, but he communicated with him, saying, "I tried to value communication outside of filming with Yaguchi Aoi, who played his son, and we talked about a lot of things."
◇Clearly states that his favorite actor is "Oguri Shun"
He describes himself as "competitive." In 2017, he applied to the "Horipro Talent Scout Caravan" on a recommendation from others and won the judges' special award. The following year, he made his acting debut in the musical "Peter Pan."
The reason he wanted to become an actor was "I had never expressed anything other than the emotions I was feeling, so I couldn't do it well at all. One reason was that I was frustrated that I couldn't do it. Another reason was that I enjoyed expressing something."
Then, in 2019, he starred in "Ultraman Taiga," which he said was a turning point for him, saying, "That's probably when I got serious about it."
Clearly states that his favorite actor is "Oguri Shun."
"My mother liked him, and when I was still at home, (Oguri's works) were often on TV, so I started watching them. At the time, I thought he was a cool actor, but when I started this job, my perspective changed. For example, I thought about what it would be like if I acted in the role, and I started to see him more and liked him more."
The first work he saw was "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e ~Ikemen♂Paradise~" (2007). After that, he watched various works he appeared in, such as "Tokyo DOGS" (2009) and "CRISIS Public Security Mobile Investigation Team Special Investigation Unit" (2017), and said, "They all looked sparkling to me."
"Even now, if Oguri is in it, I want to watch it. I simply want to become an actor like that. If he's in it, I want to watch it. It's a very happy thing, and I think it means he has a (special) charm."
Next year, the movie "We Can Use Magic Only Once in Life," in which he appeared, will be released.
"The story centers around the fact that magic can be used once in a two-year period between the ages of 18 and 20, and how that magic can be used. It's a story about four main boys, including the protagonist, and is very heartwarming, making you laugh and cry. Since it's about magic, there are fantasy elements, but it's also filled with a human story that surpasses that, so I hope you'll check it out," he said in a message.
