Teramoto Rio, who gained attention last year for her performance in the Netflix series "Sanctuary," will appear in the NHK morning drama "Omusubi," starring Hashimoto Kanna, which will air in the second half of 2024. In her long-awaited first morning drama, she will play Okouchi Asuka, who is in conflict with Yoneda Ayumu (Naka Riisa), known as the "legendary gal." Following her role as the somewhat mysterious hostess Nanami in "Sanctuary," Teramoto said, "This is my second time playing a 'woman from Fukuoka.'" We spoke to Teramoto, who said, "Former Tenjin Otome-kai gal Asuka is a "strong woman." "Omusubi" is a "Heisei youth graffiti" in which the heroine, born in 1989, connects people's hearts and futures as a nutritionist, with the "gal spirit" of valuing her own individuality at all times. Teramoto said that appearing in a morning drama was her "long-awaited dream." "My mom and dad both said they wanted me to appear in morning dramas and historical dramas, so I feel like I've finally made a step forward."
The character she plays, Asuka, is a former Tenjin Otome-kai gal, and Teramoto describes her impression of her as "a strong woman."
"I've played strong women before, so I hope I can fit the role well again this time. Asuka has a straightforward personality and can properly distinguish between good and bad. I don't feel that there's much difference between me and her, so I didn't try to get too close to the character, and I'm glad I got a role where I can say what I want to say."
In terms of their relationship, Naka-san is the same generation as her, but she is more than 10 years older than her in real life, so Teramoto was conscious of "being dignified" when playing Asuka.
"Asuka is said to be the number one hostess in Nakasu, so I wanted to make sure I didn't waver from that. Fukuoka women have a certain image of being strong, but she's also the number one in Nakasu, so I was conscious of being fearless and confident."
◇There is no job I personally don't want to do.
This time, there is a conflict scene between Ayumi, played by Naka, and Asuka, played by Teramoto.
"I haven't had many opportunities to act head-on with someone with a career like Naka, so I'm glad I was able to do it in the sense that we could liven up the scene together. Naka always nails the scenes where we talk a lot, so the tempo of the shoot was good, and although I was helped by her, she really inspired me."
Through the filming of "Omusubi," his first morning drama, Teramoto said, "I realized that I still have room to grow as an actor, and it made me want to try harder and play more different roles."
"Right now, I'm getting a string of quirky roles, which of course I love and find rewarding, so while I'm still playing those roles, I'd like to challenge myself with roles that are different from what I've played before, roles that I can't imagine myself playing at all, and keep trying to polish the areas where I'm still lacking."
Surprisingly, Teramoto also voices Pyonkichi, the famous "flat frog" from "Dokonjo Gaeru" (Chokonjo Gaeru) in the TV commercial for "Ariel MiRAi" (P&G), which stars Yo Oizumi.
"I'm playing the role of father and son with Oizumi in a drama-style web movie, and when I first asked if I could voice Pyonkichi, I thought, 'Are you sure it's me?' (laughs). But he said, 'I'll do my own version of Pyonkichi,' so I gave it a try, and when I saw a comment on X (formerly Twitter) saying, 'My child stopped crying,' I was happy, and voice work was a new field for me, so it was fun."
Teramoto, who once again said, "For me, there is no job that I don't want to do," smiled and said, "I want to try anything, not just acting, because there are no restrictions."
