This season, Taigan no Kaji ~Kore ga, Watashi no Ikiru Michi~ on three dramas A Calm Sea and Beautiful Days with You: " Murderous Encounter~ " (TBS), "Koi wa Yami" (NTV), and "Nami uraraka ni, Meoto Biyori" (Fuji TV). In each of them, she plays the mother of the main character, which is an unusual role. In her private life, she is also a mother of two children, and she says that she has learned from her roles and "sometimes admonished herself." We spoke to Konno.
◇ The role of the mother is "prepared to accept everything"
She plays the mother of the main character in three dramas. The offers came at different times, and she accepted them because "it was a great opportunity, and all three were good roles," but when each drama started, it was broadcast three days in a row in the middle of the week, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Although she had played the role of a mother many times before, she could not remember playing the role of the main character in "three dramas at the same time," and while her appearances naturally varied, she felt a certain "anxiety."
"Since viewers watch the drama with all sorts of different thoughts in mind, I was worried deep down that I might be interfering with other productions by working on multiple projects at the same time."
The roles of the mothers in this season are all different, depending on the color, background, and time period of the work. However, the fact that she "empathizes" with the other actor after playing a mother-daughter role even once has not changed.
"So, I have a sense of distance within myself, and I'm prepared to accept everything about my child. Even when I was filming 'Nice to Meet You,' I always tried to approach the role of a mother with the feeling that I was able to share the time that we had spent together as a parent and child."
In her personal life, she got married in 2008. She gave birth to her first child, a girl, in 2012 and her second child, a girl, in 2015, so she is now a mother of two.
"I think there are things that only a parent can say to their child and feel, and sometimes those things can go too far. I've learned a lot from my roles, and I also have to admonish myself."
◇“What a mother does in everyday life” “Every child has their own life”
I guess you could say I learn from the script, or from the role, but sometimes the mother role I play becomes a bad example. I also asked Konno about her "everyday motherhood." She said she always keeps in mind that "children are separate people, and they have their own lives."
"Rather than forcing what I want them to do, I want to create an environment where they can find something that they enjoy and want to do. As a parent, I often tell my children that they have to carve out their own path, rather than forcing them to do something."
Konno has always loved children and admired the idea of a family, often watching TV shows about large families. She says that as a mother, she tries to "stay cheerful" in her everyday life.
"In a home, the mother's presence is not the family's "barometer," but I feel like the mother's state of mind at any given time reflects the emotional state of the family, so I think it's good for children to be cheerful. That's how I was brought up."
As an actor, she has played a mother in film longer than she does in her private life, and it has been 20 years since she first played a mother in the 2005 drama "To Asuka, And To the Child I Still Have Not Seen."
"This may be just me, but when I play the role of a parent and child, I can't help but feel like a parent. It's absolutely true that the parent has stronger feelings than the child, and of course, that's what makes it rewarding to play the mother. It's also fun to watch the child grow up, and there's a lot I can learn from them - how they act, what expressions they make, what that pause means."
Currently, there are many "children" in the entertainment industry, and the number is likely to continue to increase. When asked what she would like to try in the future, Konno mentioned voice acting in Japanese for a production such as Disney's animation "Tangled," as well as the role of the mother of the heroine in an Asadora(NHK's morning drama series).
"To be honest, I've always wanted to play the mother role in a Asadora. I think it's about time for me to take on the role, considering my age, so I'd like to play the role someday."
