Actor Okada Masaki has wrapped up filming for his lead role in the drama "The Travel Nurse" (TV Asahi, Thursdays 9pm) with co-star Nakai Kiichi. Filming ended with the famous verbal quarrel scene between Nasuda Ayumu (Okada) and Kuki Shizuka (Nakai), which is one of the drama's signature scenes. The first scene of the film also featured a verbal quarrel between the two, but they ended up ad-libbed in perfect harmony at the end, completing the three-month shoot together.
Okada was so moved that she cried when filming for the previous movie wrapped two years ago, but this time she had a soft smile on her face and said, "The staff really paid attention to every detail and made it a wonderful set. Even when I was tired, I would look at everyone's faces and think, 'I'll do my best today too. I'll walk with you all,' and that's how I was able to work here for three months."
However, as if her emotions were welling up inside her, she suddenly said with a bitter smile, "Oh, no. This is going to make me cry again." When Nakai-san urged her to "Cry, cry," she immediately replied, "When you say that, I can't cry (laughs)." Until the very end, she made the staff laugh with her light-hearted exchanges, like those of Ayumu and Shizuka, and created a warm atmosphere on set.
Okada did not shed any tears and said with a big smile, "What made me happiest was that I was able to film the scene at the end where Kiichi and I talk to each other, and that I was able to walk together with everyone, shoulder to shoulder. I was able to finish filming feeling really good!"
Nakai also spoke with a calm expression, saying, "It was a really good time. When we saw the tears of Terashima (Shinobu), Adachi (Yumi), and Noro (Kayo), who had finished filming early, Okada and I both felt deeply that we were glad to have done this drama."
The drama will air its eighth episode on December 12th, with the final episode on the 19th. Both days will be special episodes with extended broadcast times until 10pm.
Meanwhile, on the 12th, the music video for the drama's theme song, "Nakana Glory Moon," sung by Kazuyoshi Saito, was released. Okada also appears in the music video.
