King & Prince's Kaito Takahashi and Tomoya Nakamura become polar opposites in Friday drama "DOPE"

Kaito Takahashi of the popular group King & Prince and actor Tomoya Nakamura co-star in the TBS Friday drama " DOPE " (Fridays at 10pm), which starts on July 4th. The drama is an action film that tackles mysterious incidents caused by a new drug called "DOPE." The two, who are polar opposites in personality, a rookie narcotics control officer with a strong sense of justice (Takahashi) and his unconventional senior who serves as his instructor (Nakamura), team up to solve the mysterious incident. We spoke to Takahashi and Nakamura about their enthusiasm for the series and what it was like behind the scenes.

Kaito Takahashi's first lead role in a TBS drama: "At first I wondered if it was okay for me to be the lead"

The story is based on the same-titled novel by Chiaki Kizaki, who won the grand prize at the 20th Dengeki Novel Prize and made her debut as a novelist. The story is set in a near-future Japan where the mysterious drug "DOPE" is rampant.

Takahashi plays Saiki Yuto, a rookie narcotics agent who has been transferred to the undisclosed Special Investigation Division of the Narcotics Control Department, commonly known as the "Special Investigation Division." He has a straightforward personality and takes everything seriously. He admired the police officer who helped him during a random terrorist attack that occurred when he was a child, and aspired to a career in helping people. His mother's addiction to DOPE led him to become a narcotics agent in order to eradicate DOPE.

Takahashi, who is starring in a TBS drama for the first time, said, "At first, I felt a heavy burden and wondered whether it was okay for me to be the lead, but when I heard that Tomoya, who I'd always wanted to work with, would also be in it, I felt incredibly relieved and said, 'Please!"

When asked about his impressions after reading the script, he said, "I was excited and anxious, wondering what would happen. There are action scenes in every episode, and as I read it I wondered how they were going to film them."

On the other hand, Nakamura plays Teppei Jinnai, a trainer who is known for his unconventional and unconventional behavior. He has high combat abilities and a ruthless side to those who take DOPE. He has a background in which he came to hate DOPE strongly after a certain incident.

Nakamura explained, "Producer Hasegawa of this work has been very helpful to me for a long time, and I have worked with him several times in the past, but this time he made me the offer with great enthusiasm, so I thought if he was that motivated I might as well go for it, and I did (laughs)."

"My role is to be the polar opposite buddy and see how my words and actions stimulate Saiki, and what choices Saiki makes in response, which I think is the central pillar of the drama, so I felt that I was given a very rewarding role," he said.

◇ Shooting action scenes was difficult

This film is packed with full-scale action scenes, and each action scene took about three days to film. Takahashi said, "You really need to prepare yourself mentally. There's body action, gun action, and supernatural powers, so I'm filming while moving my body and using my imagination. I think the action gets more spectacular as we get to the second half, so I think it's going to get even more difficult."

Nakamura also feels that the role poses certain challenges. "The basic principle of action acting is to see your opponent prepare to punch you, and then react by dodging, blocking, or getting punched. Because (Jinnai) has good eyesight, it's actually more difficult to start dodging before he even prepares. Up until now, I've been told not to get ahead of myself in acting, action, or anything else, but this time I have to get ahead of myself, which makes it really difficult," he said, revealing his struggles.

Finally, Nakamura appealed to the viewers, "I hope to create a work that you can look forward to every week leading up to the broadcast. Please be sure to watch it." Takahashi also appealed, "It's a summer drama, so both body temperature and the air temperature are hot, but I think it's a really cool work that will warm your heart, so please be sure to watch it!"

※The "taka" in Kaito Takahashi's name is pronounced "hashigodaka"