"W Sai" (Wasei), starring actor Teruyuki Kagawa, will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW from April 6th. Actor Anne Nakamura plays Domoto Midori, a detective from the Kanagawa Prefectural Police First Investigative Division who is pursuing a "certain man" who brings "disaster" to the person played by Kagawa. We asked Nakamura about his role as Domoto, who he said he could empathize with, as well as his current and future plans for his continued success 10 years after his full-fledged debut as an actor.
◇ Realizations gained from working with two directors
This completely original film depicts how a "man" played by Kagawa appears as a different person, changing his appearance, tone of voice, face, personality and even mannerisms, and mercilessly brings about a "disaster" for six innocent characters living in modern times while carrying their own conflicts. Kagawa plays each of the six roles, and the film is directed, written and edited by Yutaro Seki and Kentaro Hirase, who worked on "May."
Regarding his appearance in this film, Nakamura said that "creating something with the two of them in May" and "acting with Kagawa" were big factors.
"It was my first experience having two directors on set, and I found it very interesting the idea of writing a script and then directing it on set. I also wanted to be involved in the creation of things, and the opportunity to meet Kagawa again made me think, 'I definitely want to participate!'"
Looking back on their first teaming up in May, Nakamura said, "Because the two of them actually wrote the script, we were able to directly communicate our thoughts and feelings with each other on set, and it was fun to move forward without any questions."
Regarding the directing aspect, he said he was inspired by the fact that there were two different opinions coming from different directions.
"I had a preconceived notion of what a detective should be, but having two directors to give me hints when I was unsure gave me more options, and I realized a lot of things, like, 'Maybe this is okay this way,' or, 'I don't need to get up and move so quickly here.' They also guided me, naturally correcting some of my acting habits."
This will be Nakamura's first co-starring role with lead actor Kagawa since the drama "Japan Sinks: People of Hope" (TBS), and Nakamura expressed his joy, saying, "I'm happy to be reunited with him," and praised Kagawa's acting with respectful and endearing expressions, saying, "Kagawa's demeanor was a perfect fit for the role, and his acting was truly amazing."
◇ There were many parts I could relate to and it was a role I was able to love
Regarding the role of Domoto Midori that she plays in this film, Nakamura says that the two directors' image matched hers, and she revealed, "When the two directors saw a black-and-white photo of me without makeup, they said, 'You were perfect for the role of Domoto. We want to see a Domoto with that kind of energy, lazy, and so absorbed in his work that you couldn't even tell his gender.'"
When Nakamura met the two directors, they were able to convey specific images to her, such as "I'd like you to do it in the tone that Nakamura has now," which made it easier for her to get into character. She expressed her gratitude, saying, "It made it easy to get into the groove, and I was able to agree with the tone that was good and adjust to the role, so I was able to approach it in a very natural way."
Domoto's character is "a workaholic who cannot help but investigate even the smallest possibilities in order to uncover the truth," but Nakamura says of his impression of him, "Domoto is extremely obsessive and is always looking for reasons for things. People around him are put off by him, but he loves his work. I can sympathize with that."
"I'm also the type of person who wants to know the reason, and always immediately thinks, 'Why?' (laughs). So I could only sympathize. There was a time when I was just rushing through life, hoping that as long as I was fulfilled with my work, it would be fine, so I felt like I was able to take on the role of Domoto without too much difficulty. It was a role that I was able to love."
◇An endless enthusiasm for acting and a desire to take on new challenges
Nakamura said that the way he immerses himself in his work is a common thread between him and his character, but when asked about how he feels about his current work, he explained that there has been a change, saying, "Now that I'm in my late 30s, I've come to think that it's important to think about my own life little by little as I move forward."
"Of course I love my job. But I also think it's important to be myself when I'm not working. I feel like I can enjoy acting even more if I have the right balance."
As an actor, he is always challenging himself, but he analyzes his own personality as follows: "Maybe it's that I always want new stimulation (laughs). The role I play changes depending on the work. In this profession, you never do the same thing over and over, and I think I like that."
Regarding his current situation, in which he has continued to be active and star in numerous productions since making his full-fledged acting debut in the 2015 drama "5→9~My Buddhist Priest Loved Me~" (Fuji TV), he said, "I never imagined it."
"When I did '5→9' I had just started acting, so it wasn't really about acting. I went from not knowing what acting was, to slowly realising that acting is fun, over the last two or three years. I think I've been able to enjoy it while hanging on."
When we asked Nakamura what his next step would be, he spoke of his passion for acting and his desire to take on new challenges.
"I can't choose when I'll be given a role, but I can express my intentions, such as 'I want to play this role' or 'I want to challenge myself in this way in the future.' I like to carefully build up the experience of each job that comes before me. From now on, I don't want to be limited to acting, but rather I want to continue to take on challenges in anything that I'm interested in, in order to grow as a person."
"Serial Drama W Sai" will start on April 6th. It will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW Prime and WOWOW On Demand from 10pm on Sundays. There will be a total of 6 episodes, with the first episode being broadcast for free. The first episode is also being streamed for free in advance on WOWOW On Demand, YouTube, and the WOWOW official channel. (Interview, text, and photography: Endo Masaki)
