Akari Takaishi plays the heroine in the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake" (Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times). Episodes 53 (broadcast December 10th) and 54 (broadcast December 11th) focused on Heaven's (Tommy Bastow) past, revealing that he was once married. We spoke to production manager Hashizume Kuniomi about the behind-the-scenes story behind the casting of Misha Brooks as Heaven's ex-wife, Martha.
In episode 53, Rio (Kana Kita Kana) confesses her feelings to Heaven at a party celebrating her recovery. Heaven is surprised to learn of Rio's feelings, but before answering her, she asks him to tell her about her past. He also reveals that he worked as a newspaper reporter in Cincinnati, USA, and that he fell in love with and married a black woman named Martha.
However, in episode 54, Heaven was fired from her job after marrying a black man, and in desperation, Martha slashed her landlord with a razor and was arrested by the police. Life with Martha continued to go wrong, and the two divorced. Heaven confessed, "I gave up the place I wanted to stay forever with my own hands."
Regarding Brooks, who plays Martha, Hashizume recalls, "I decided on her through an audition."
"There aren't many black women acting in Japan. I was introduced to an American actor who wanted to act in Japan. She seemed very talented, so I invited her to come to Japan and audition with me."
The deciding factor for his casting was that "his acting was overwhelmingly good." Furthermore, he has previously studied in Japan and loves the country. Hashizume said, "He previously did a homestay in the Asuka Village area of Nara, and his Japanese is really good."
"She was an incredibly talented woman, graduating from Harvard University and studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for graduate school. She had a high level of understanding, had studied the basics of acting properly, and was an extremely talented actress."
Furthermore, Brooks is originally from Ohio, a state neighboring Cincinnati, and Hashizume recalls, "Since his hometown is close to Cincinnati, I think he was able to create a realistic atmosphere throughout the film."
"The flashback scenes between Heaven and Martha were all shot in English, so it was fun to see Tommy acting only in English, and I think it really helped him develop his true abilities. I was using Japanese all the time during filming, and I was tired, but Misha was a great conversation partner, and it felt like the two of us were talking the whole time. I think the American atmosphere came out really well on screen."
