Actor Juri Kosaka Kosaka is appearing as a student in the Sunday Theatre drama " Mikami Sensei " (TBS, Sunday 9pm). She is 19 years old and is also active as an exclusive model for the teen media "Seventeen" (Shueisha). Kosaka attended a special kimono interview event held by her management company Avex Management Agency and talked about her aspirations for this year as she turns 20.
This was her first time appearing in the Sunday Theatre slot. She was selected for a regular role as a student at the audition. "I was really happy to be involved in such a big production, but the tension and anxiety outweighed my joy," she recalled. "However, it was very reassuring to have my senior from the same agency, Akari Takaishi, there as well."
The series is a school drama starring Tori Matsuzaka, and features other up-and-coming young actors, including Takaishi, who will play the heroine in the NHK morning drama "Bakebake" later this year, as well as Daiken Okudaira, Aju Makita Airu Kubozuka, Sakura Kiryu Sakura, and Yuka Kageyama.
"Every day is stimulating," she said with a smile, as she was working with many people her age. "Every time the camera called cut, we all rushed to the monitor together to check the footage and discuss it. There was so much I could learn from them because they were all active at the forefront of their field. I don't think opportunities like this come around very often, so I'm spending my time with the sole purpose of learning from them."
The character she plays, Shinonome Tazune, is a serious and headstrong character. "There are probably a lot of similarities between me (laughs). Like not being able to say what I'm thinking honestly, or being stubborn...there were a few times when I thought, "That could be me!" while acting," she said, empathizing with the character's feelings.
He has been an exclusive model for "Seventeen" since 2021, and began working as an actor in the same year. In 2023, he made a guest appearance in only one episode of "Ichiban Suki na Hana" (Fuji TV), but he attracted attention for the gap between his transparent looks and the shadowy role he played, and last year he played the role of a student who was the target of bullying in "Billion x School" (Fuji TV), which became a hot topic.
She says that she is currently "crazy about acting." She will be turning 20 in July this year, and she said with a smile, "I just want to act as much as I can. Every day I feel that I really love acting. My feelings about acting are getting stronger and stronger. I want to experience different roles and discover a new side of myself. I have never acted in a movie before, so I would like to see myself on the big screen!"
