[Magazine Translation] PICT-UP October 2020 Issue - Nino Interview
[It isn’t like I am constantly aiming to surprise everyone by breaking down all the expectations people have of me, but rather I read the atmosphere during filming and constantly consider the sorts of things that I feel may be necessary to add to my performance.]For this film, I heard that you absorbed yourself in acting out your role in accordance to what you felt Director Nakano Ryota had in his mind.
My overall focus was to consider the sort of scene the director would like to see and act it out in the moment, aiming to depict it as accurately as possible to what he had in mind. I hoped to seamlessly respond to the director’s wishes during filming.
So you attended elaborate meetings for filming?
No, not really. The director took his time to carefully guide us through with his directions. For example, he’d say something along the lines of, “You’re at the station gates. You’re planning to head to Tokyo for the first time, but your older brother is the only one who has come to see you off. You were given a bag just before you left. You should be reminded of your brother and the emotions from your parting as you look at the bag in the train.” He also directed Hirata Mitsuru-san, who plays the role of my father in the movie, as well as the child actors who plays the children roles with the same level of detail. His explanations were so elaborate, you would think that there would be no way anyone could misunderstand his direction.
Were there any instances where you found it difficult to act because of how vividly imagined the scenes already were in the director’s mind?
There were. That’s why it was refreshingly different this time (laughs).
Simply following directions didn’t feel fruitful.
The reason why I took a more unusual approach this time is… The first time I met the director was during the Japan Academy Awards in 2017, where I was a presenter for the award ceremony. During that time, the director came up on stage to accept Miyazawa Rie-san’s Best Actress Award for her role in Her Love Boils Bathwater in her stead. Neither the director nor I realised it at the time, but I apparently misnamed the film’s title as The Summer Boils Bathwater. Thankfully, I corrected myself so there were no problems during the actual broadcast (laughs).
Is that so.
On the same day, I wrote a letter to the director as soon as I arrived back home. “I’m really sorry I misnamed the title of your film. I often experience having my name mispronounced so that was something I wanted to avoid at all costs.”
The fact that you often get called “Kazuya” instead of “Kazunari.”
I also wrote, “If you are ever shorthanded and in need of someone, please feel free to contact me.” (laughs) I received a reply from him, saying “Thank you for taking the time to write me a letter. If I ever come across such a situation, I’ll be counting on you.”
Whether it’s possible to make identical plates.
That reminds me, there was a period in time, during filming in Hokkaido for the drama Yasashii Jikan (2005), where I stuck to the (pottery) teacher and practiced making pottery. I still remember the words of that teacher, “Anyone can make a ceramic plate. It’s only once you manage to create identical plates that can be stacked seamlessly on top of one another that you can truly be called a potter.”
I see.
To create 10 plates today and another 10 plates tomorrow - the same one again and again. The creation process itself may be quite dull, but you won’t be able to create a completely unique plate that exists nowhere else in the world if you are unable to achieve that.
So you’re saying that concept is similar to your attempts to reach as close as possible to what the director has in mind?
I feel like there’s a sense of intimacy this way. Up until now, I believe I was largely chasing after a sense of achievement that can’t be felt with simply following someone else’s instructions but can be felt by following an action you thought of yourself. I probably thought that was the right thing to do somehow (laughs).
Why did you end up challenging yourself with this new approach despite feeling that way?
You could consider it a way for me to question myself - have you become someone who can produce identical things as you want to? I probably wanted to test my limits (laughs).
So as a result, it was a good experience.
It was. Simply following instructions like, “do this,” can often be a little strenuous task for anyone. But in this film’s case, the instructions were from someone who deeply understood the content, carefully wrote the script and deeply loved the creation, so closely following the directions also allowed me to experience a sense of accomplishment.
So you learned a new approach.
It probably means that I’ve matured (laughs). There’s a strength in me now to be able to accept whatever I am told which I was missing in the past. It was a bad habit of mine to add around 10% of my own ideas into my acting and considered it a form of “originality.” (laughs)
To interpret the expectations in filming and cleanly break it down.
What do you think is your greatest strength as “Ninomiya Kazunari, the actor”?
Being able to betray (expectations)… is what I’d say, though that’s a bit of an exaggeration (laughs). I tend to have my own personal interpretations of what is written in the script and respond to the different situations by adding my own expressions.
So it is precisely because you play that role that you are invited to star in various projects.
For example, I wanted to overwhelm viewers with intimidation during the investigation scene of Killing for the Prosecution, which I believe I managed to achieve. It isn’t like I am constantly aiming to surprise everyone by breaking down all the expectations people have of me, but rather I read the atmosphere during filming and constantly consider the sorts of things that I feel may be necessary to add to my performance.
Are you trying to give a sense of thrill to those around you during filming through your performance?
That may be the case. It’s a bit strange for me to say it myself, but my personal additions may be a form of enjoyment to those around me (laughs). Although in saying that, I am very careful about the extent I allow myself to add my own interpretations.
Doing so, you have managed to express yourself beyond what the producers and directors imagined.
I thought that it would be something that they could enjoy. That’s why I realised this time that I have been quite unwilling to try new approaches up until now.
The ways you express yourself have expanded. You could say that this film is a commemorative one in your career.
This has become an unforgettable project to work in. It was the first project for everyone involved since Reiwa* started. Around the middle of our filming period, we ate lunch together and I distinctly remember seeing the word “Reiwa” written in black ink being announced during a broadcast. Moreover, this film touches upon events during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, so we were also discussing the story's unpredictability during filming. Then, after we completed production, we became stuck in the current situation with COVID-19. My involvement with this film production has really allowed me to sense the passing of time.
*T/N: The current era of Japan's official calendar. It began on 1 May 2019.