Yuki Yamada is appearing in the TBS Sunday drama "GIFT" (Sundays at 9 PM), starring actor Shinichi Tsutsumi . He plays Ryo Miyashita, a solitary ace player who has lost his brilliance in the wheelchair rugby team "Blaze Bulls." Viewers have praised Yamada for his skillful handling of the "rugby wheelchair," saying, "He must have practiced a lot." We asked Yamada about behind-the-scenes stories from the set and his thoughts on this project.
◇ Carefully check "what can be moved and by how much".
The drama follows Wu Tetsuya, a genius astrophysicist played by Tsutsumi, as he solves difficult problems facing the underdog team "Blaze Bulls" from his unique perspective. It's a story of redemption where the team, friends, and family reconnect.
--The Japan Wheelchair Rugby Federation (JWRF) cooperated with the project, and active wheelchair rugby player Yasushi Mineshima served as instructor and supervisor on set. What kind of interactions did you have with Mr. Mineshima regarding the filming?
Of course, we practiced wheelchair rugby, but first we had to figure out what level of disability each of us would have. Even among the players, everyone is different in terms of things like core strength and which muscles they can use, so we had to decide in detail what parts of their bodies they could move and to what extent.
The character I play, Ryo, can't stand on his own, but he has a strong core and his right hand grip strength is about 20 kilograms. This is about the same as Mineshima-san's right hand grip strength, and when I actually had Mineshima-san squeeze my hand tightly, it didn't hurt at all, which surprised me as to how he was able to play like that with that kind of strength.
--What was it like once you actually started practicing?
It's already confusing when you start practicing. Ryo can barely move three fingers on his left hand, and his index finger can barely move, so even though he can push the wheel with his palm, he can't grasp it. We took videos of all those small details of his movements, including how his fingers move in everyday situations. Based on that, we started practicing.
Mr. Mineshima taught us with incredible calmness and passion. What we're doing in practice now is the same practice that professional players actually do. Mr. Mineshima told us, "You might not be able to keep up, but please take away at least one of the ten things we've covered today," and on the last day of practice he said, "Thank you for coming to practice." That "thank you" motivated me to do my best. Mr. Mineshima gave us a "gift."
--That's a wonderful "gift" filled with Ms. Mineshima's feelings.
Some of the actors playing the players had been practicing since around last summer, but I only joined a month ago. Because of my role, I had to be the best, so I felt a lot of pressure, but I used those "thank yous" as motivation to do my best.
The fact that they could leave a "thank you" for the practice that actors have to do as a matter of course made me realize that there are many "kind-hearted" people among athletes.
-- How did you improve teamwork with the other cast members playing your teammates?
In one match scene, we first acted out the choreography by ourselves, and then when everyone on the field—the bench players, the extras, everyone—acted together, everyone's expressions were different. Due to the filming schedule, there were times when we had separate days to film only the game plays and days to film the bench players' reactions, and sometimes it was impossible to capture every single moment on screen. So, with that in mind, we encouraged each other, saying things like, "Don't forget those tears!" or "Ryo! That expression was amazing, don't forget it until tomorrow!"
--I heard that the "Blaze Bulls vs. Sharkhead" game in the first episode took five days to film.
That's right. Even when we're filming from the bench side, it's definitely better if we're actually doing the work instead of using stand-ins, and the look on the bench side is completely different. So we're willing to row for five days or even longer for the sake of the project. Even if our arms feel like they're going to fall off, or even if we can't lift them anymore, we want to keep moving "for someone's performance."
Even when we were shooting and decided to push on a little further, we all believed in each other, thinking, "We're professionals, we can do it, absolutely," and continued shooting.
--Have you encountered similar situations before?
This was the first time we'd ever communicated with each other so much. I don't usually say things like this about other people's acting. Because everything tends to reset between takes, I felt that this was a set where we all needed to keep our energy levels up like this.
We're going to give it our all in our acting to get the staff excited again. Really, we're giving it our all. It's less acting and more like we're being "serious." I don't think it was acting anymore.
--That's truly a sport.
By conveying our genuine passion, we had photographers who wanted to "capture that face from a different angle" and lighting technicians who wanted to "wait a minute, let's add another light," so it truly felt like a "team sport."
Even though the environment, such as the air conditioning in the gymnasium, can change how a game is played, everyone on the team remained cheerful and smiling throughout. I'm sure there were tough situations, but not a single person complained. That's what makes the cast of "GIFT" so wonderful, and I would love to work with them again for the rest of my life.
◇ "I was happy to co-star with Shinichi Tsutsumi "
--What was it like working with Mr. Tsutsumi, with whom you co-starred in the film "The Army on the Tree" (2025), and with Ms. Kasumi Arimura, who played the role of magazine reporter Hitoka Kiriyama?
I was so happy to be able to work closely with Mr. Tsutsumi again. This was also my fourth time working with Ms. Arimura. And among them, there were even more new cast members, and everyone had such wonderful personalities, so I felt motivated to do my best for them as well.
I strongly believe that in order for this to be a drama where Mr. Tsutsumi, Ms. Arimura, and all the other cast members can be rewarded, the character of "Ryo Miyashita" has to be a fascinating character.
--Hosoda Kanata Hosoda , who also co-starred with you in the drama "Chiruran: Shinsengumi Shinsengumi " (2026), plays Taniguchi Soichi, the ace of "Sharkhead" and Ryo's rival. What aspects of the two characters' development and relationship should viewers pay attention to in the future?
When Kaota was swinging his sword as Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Soji, he told me, "Yuki-san, we'll be together again next time." Kaota started practicing wheelchair rugby a little earlier, but he's been watching over me for a year since then. We're not fellow disciples, but we're like senior and junior students at the same dojo, both of us being "actors."
I spoke to the director on set, and we added a certain line to the scene between Ryo and Taniguchi that wasn't in the script. When I told Kaota about it, he immediately responded, "Let's do it." It was Kaota's first day of filming, so I think he must have been feeling anxious, but the fact that he understood everything with just that one word really showed his talent.
--I can really feel the strong sense of teamwork.
This time, Ms. Mineshima and other national team athletes came and taught us. They are all athletes who won gold medals (at the 2024 Paris Paralympics) as members of the Japanese national team. There was a match scene the day after the national team training camp, but they still came and appeared in the film.
Ms. Mineshima looked at every single shot, paying attention to even the smallest details. She would watch the filming scenes and meticulously check whether the movements would actually occur in reality. I thought it was truly amazing that she could do that while also having her own training to do, and it made me realize that we have to do our best to deliver the best moments with the best possible feelings for the athletes.
--How was it for the cast members who played the athletes?
When we decided to do our best work for Mineshima and the others, we thought about how far we could push each other to improve, and decided to "have fun and laugh together." In particular, Rintaro Hachimura(who played Nakayama Kotaro) and Nobosemon Nabe (who played Kubota Kazunobu) really livened things up.
Also, Yoshihiko Hosoda (who plays Natsuhiko Tachikawa) and I would discuss "what kind of communication should we have here?" and we would go together to ask Mineshima, "What do you think in this situation?" Wan Marui (who plays Catherine Akiko Kimishima) was working on "GIFT" while also working on several other projects, but she joined in with everyone with a smile without complaining at all...
I truly believe this is a "miracle team." It all started with Mineshima-san, and we received this "circle of gifts."
--Finally, could you tell us about the highlights and points of interest in episode 2?
"Orange." That's the hint. Not the fruit orange, but the color orange. You might not notice it unless you look closely, so please pay attention to it.
