Actress Yu Miyazaki, who gained attention last year for her role as the heroine in the Netflix series "Glass Heart," is now playing Sakura Munakata, a postdoctoral researcher at a university, in the TBS Sunday drama "GIFT" (Sundays at 9 PM), which started on April 12th. This is Miyazaki's first appearance in a Sunday drama. We spoke with Miyazaki, who is showing a "new side" of herself, including wearing glasses.
◇What I focused on was the part where "admiration turns into hatred."
The drama is a story of bonds and redemption set against the backdrop of wheelchair rugby, a parasport, in which genius astrophysicist Fumito Gotetsu (played by Tsutsumi) finds answers to difficult problems facing a weak team, and in the process learns the importance of friends, family, and love. Regarding her appearance in the drama, Miyazaki said, "For me, who doesn't appear in terrestrial television dramas very often, Sunday Theater is something very special and I feel honored to be a part of it."
The character Sakura Munakata, whom she plays, is a postdoctoral researcher engaged in astrophysics research at the university where Gotetsu works.
"When I first heard about the role, I didn't know what a 'postdoctoral researcher' was, and there were some really difficult words in the script. But as I researched, I found the concepts of space and black holes to be really interesting and fascinating."
For Miyazaki, who has mostly played energetic characters up until now, the role of Sakura Munakata is "a new challenge." Initially, she had the impression that "because she was so talented, she probably hadn't experienced many setbacks."
In the first episode of the drama, Sakura's research is dismissed by Gotetsu, who tells her that "this hypothesis will never be proven." And this happens in a public setting, at a presentation. Those around them whisper that Gotetsu had "drowned Sakura in darkness," but according to Miyazaki, this was Sakura's "first setback."
"Sakura is confronted with reality by the person she admires (=Gotetsu), but she doesn't want to accept that reality, and she can't come to terms with her own weaknesses, so she kind of 'falls into darkness'."
Also, as mentioned in the dialogue in the first episode, Sakura's feelings towards Gotetsu, whom she calls a "genius," are a mix of love and hate, and according to Miyazaki, they are "extremely complex."
"I focused on portraying Sakura's 'weakness' and how her feelings change from admiration to hatred, so I would be happy if people would pay attention to those aspects as well."
◇ "I don't want to keep playing the same kind of roles."
Incidentally, this is the first time Miyazaki has played a character who wears glasses, and before the broadcast began, she said, "I think I look so different that people probably won't even recognize me." She is currently 25 years old. Her strong gaze and somewhat boyish looks are also part of her charm.
Looking ahead, she says she doesn't want to keep playing the same kinds of roles.
"I haven't set specific goals, but since I'm working as an actor, I'd like to challenge myself with various roles and expand my potential. Specifically, I'm interested in psychology and I enjoy researching real-life incidents, so I'd like to try playing a psychopathic role, and also action roles."
Finally, we asked Miyazaki, who has a habit of "looking people straight in the eye," to tell us about the highlights of "GIFT" as seen through her straightforward gaze.
"I also had the opportunity to watch the match scenes, and the actors were really playing the game seriously. Everyone was putting their all into this sport and the energy on set was incredible, so I hope that viewers can feel that energy through the screen."
*The character "崎" in Yu Miyazaki's name is the one with the standing radical (tatsusaki).
