Even today's hottest stars and artists have had moments of "firsts" - their first appearance, first event, first live performance, etc. "My Firsts" is a series where they look back on those thrilling moments that only someone who has never experienced anything before can do so. This time, Aju Makita , who plays one of the students, Aoi Tominaga, in the drama " Mikami Sensei " on TBS's "Sunday Theatre" (Sunday 9pm), talked about her time appearing in the TV series "Going My Home" (Kantele/Fuji TV, 2012) when she was 10 years old.
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My first time acting in a TV series was in "Going My Home."
The people I co-starred with at that time looked like they were having a lot of fun on set, and since it was almost my first set, I was amazed to see adults who looked like they were having so much fun on set, and they all looked so radiant, and I began to aspire to be like them.
He always looked like he was having fun. Maybe he was trying to keep things cheerful for me (as a child), but his presence on set was really cool, and it made me think that I want to be an adult who looks like him and has fun.
The person who made me want to stay in this world forever was the director at the time, Hirokazu Koreeda.
He didn't say any specific words to me that would mark a turning point, but I continued to appear in several films with him after that, and we would regularly go out to eat or see movies, and we would have really casual conversations there.
He asks me things like, "How are you doing lately?" and tells me things like, "I'm shooting this now," or, "I have this project coming up next..." and so on. I don't really get any advice, but when we meet and talk like that, or occasionally get in touch, it makes me want to work with him again on more projects. I think that's one of the driving forces that keeps me going.
This is my first time acting in a school drama, " Mikami Sensei". I've had to act in front of a lot of people in various productions, but I didn't realize how nervous it was to act in front of 29 actors of the same generation. Even just one line made me so nervous that I thought, "This is the first time I've ever done this."
Of course, none of the students put any pressure on us, and we all encourage each other and perform with the thought, "Do your best!", but even so, I still get really nervous knowing that everyone is watching.
I'll be 23 this year, but I want to continue doing each and every job carefully and diligently, including the one I'm doing now.
I have fun when I'm acting. I can become a completely different person from the real world, and I think this (acting) is the only job where I can experience a different life every day, so it's fun and I want to continue doing it for a long time.
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Makita Aju Born August 7, 2002. Originally from Kanagawa Prefecture. She has been cast in Hirokazu Koreeda's works such as the 2012 drama series "Going My Home" (Kantele/Fuji TV), the films "Deeper than the Sea" (2016), "The Third Murder" (2017), and "Shoplifters" (2018). She also appears in the NHK Asadora drama "Okaeri Mone" in the first half of 2021, and the drama series "My Wife Became a Primary School Student" (TBS, 2022). She made her film debut in "Shino-chan Can't Say Her Name" (directed by Hiroaki Yuasa, 2018), co-starring with Minami Sara, who is the same age as her. She won the Newcomer of the Year award at the 44th Japan Academy Awards and the Best Supporting Actress award at the 94th Kinema Junpo Best Ten Awards for her role in the film "Morning Comes" (directed by Naomi Kawase, 2020). She has also appeared in the NHK drama "My Worst Friend" and WOWOW's "Drama W: Someone in This Town."
