On October 12th, actor Masaki Okada appeared at a press conference in Tokyo for the drama series "A Little Esper" (TV Asahi, Tuesdays at 9pm), which starts on the 21st, along with lead actor Yo Oizumi. He complained that he had to make a NG due to Oizumi's ad-libbed imitation.
In the drama, Oizumi plays the main character, Bunta, who passes the audition for the mysterious company "Nonamare" and begins his job as a "slightly psychic" to save the world, while Okada plays Kizashi, the president of Nonamare.
While talking about an episode from the filming, Okada said, "Oizumi suddenly started doing an imitation of Fukuyama (Masaharu) (laughs). I hardly have any scenes where I have to goof around (due to my role), but he responded (to my acting) by doing an imitation of Fukuyama. I couldn't help but laugh, and had to do a NG...I felt really bad and left the set," he said, laughing as he complained.
Oizumi explained that it was just a bit of fun as they re-shot the same scene over and over again, and recreated the scene in an imitation of Fukuyama, saying, "I'm a bit of a psychic." He laughed bitterly, saying, "It wasn't even in the script. The director told me to stop." When an audience member responded, "I'd like to see it on air," he apologized, saying, "It has nothing to do with the drama, so it probably won't be used... (laughs)."
The drama is an original script by Akiko Nogi, a hit maker known for "Unnatural" and "MIU404." After being fired from his job and divorcing his wife, Bunta, a salaryman at rock bottom, passes the audition for a mysterious company called "Nonamare" and becomes a "slightly psychic" to save the world.
