Actress Erika Toda attended "Next on Netflix 2026," an event to announce Netflix's new lineup, held in Tokyo on January 27th. Toda, who stars as Kazuko Hosoki in the Netflix series "You're Going to Hell" (released April 27th), which depicts the turbulent life of fortune teller Kazuko Hosoki, who passed away in 2021, appeared in a luxurious chair as the venue went dark.
Toda appeared confidently, but as she fanned her face at her unusual entrance, she said with a wry smile, "I don't think I've ever made such an embarrassing entrance before." She greeted the audience, "I'm really torn between whether I should appear as Toda Erika or Kazuko, and I'm really excited, but I'm looking forward to having fun today."
When asked how she felt when she received the offer to play the role of Hosoki Kazuko, she revealed that she was confused, saying, "I wondered what was going on (laughs). Not only was her physique different, but her age was also different, and she was a woman who looked nothing like me, so I never thought I would be the one to play the role. I was just worried."
Amidst all this, she said she was encouraged by producer Okano Makiko's words, "You don't have to imitate the way she speaks or her physique. Just act as you see fit." She said, "When I read the script for the first episode, I was so fascinated that I thought it was the most interesting script I'd ever read, so I thought if I didn't have to imitate her, I'd go for it."
Director Takimoto Tomoyuki, who directed the film, revealed that he had turned down the offer twice, saying, "I don't want to speak ill of someone who has passed away, but I disliked Hosoki Kazuko. However, producer Okano told me, 'It will definitely be more interesting if someone like that shoots it,' so I thought I'd give it a try. Also, I was born in 1966, and I was interested in depicting the Showa era, and I thought Hosoki was a person who symbolized the Showa era, so I accepted the role."
As a highlight, Toda mentioned the "final 15-minute scene" in the final episode between Kazuko, played by Toda, and Sairi Ito, who plays the writer, saying, "I was trembling while watching it." Toda said, "It was a scene where I was so lost in thought that I just went ahead with the actual performance."
On this day, Kazutaka Sakamoto, Vice President of Netflix's Content Division, who oversees Japanese works, announced the latest information on Netflix's live-action, unscripted, and animated works.
