Ningen Series no. 2242 // Josei Jishin 9/29-10/6 issue part 2/3
Inoue Mao is someone who sped her way up to the road of becoming an actress. She was born on January 9, 1987 in Kanagawa Prefecture. At four, she started going to a theatre company and at five made her drama debut. “My mom invited me this place where we can study Japanese dance, ballet, acting and music together so it was like hitting four birds with one stone. (laughs)”
In1995, she emerged on the spotlight for playing the younger self of Matsu Takako’s character in the NHK drama [Kura]. She was eight years old that time. For five years since her first year in high school, she appeared in the CBC (Chubu Nippon Broadcasting Corp.) drama Kids War and became known all over Japan.
Her first big break was being the lead in TBS hit drama Hana Yori Dango. Shortly after that, she was casted in Fuji TV’s Monday drama First Kiss, Juui Dolittle and in 2011 appeared in the NHK morning drama Ohisama. That same year, she was appointed as the host of Kouhaku Uta Gassen. This year, she’s the lead actress of the current taiga drama.
NHK drama production head Wakaizumi Kyuurou has known Inoue Mao since the time when she was still a child actress. The first time they met was in the audition for the jidaigeki Terakoya Yume Shinan. Wakaizumi was the chief director that time.
“She was just a kid but she really pays attention to her scenes very well. Most of the child actors would just run around that you can’t just leave your eyes off them but Mao-chan did everything earnestly. We had no complaints about her since she memorised all of her lines perfectly and when we told her to cry, she’d cry in an instant. She’s a gifted actress. That time, she was a child actress who never gave us any problem at all.”
As for NHK taiga drama chief producer Komatsu Masayo, she was first charmed by Mao-chan through Ohisama. Mao-chan considers Komatsu-san as her mother figure in NHK. “Mao-chan is that kind of actress who will always surprise you with her acting. That feeling that she charms everyone with everything that she has. (laughs). For instance, in the 39th episode of the current taiga drama Hana Moyu, in this parting scene with the head of the Mori clan, Kitaoji Kinya’s character, she was this sort of creature. The moment she touches her partner in that scene, she can change him. In return, she undergoes a transformation herself. That sort of creature.”
Everyone might be praising her but she surprisingly thinks lowly of herself. “I am such an active but dark kind of kid”, she quips wiith a quick smile. “I played alone most of the time. I did kabeuchi tennis, roller skates, unicycle all alone. I am that active but gloomy kid. (laughs).”
She never went to the theatre company that regularly though. “It was in Tokyo so it was a bit far from Kanagawa. My mother is strict but she never forced me to do it and never meddled with me. When we memorise scripts in the TV studio, other kids would have their mothers write the small kanji readings on the script and help them memorise the lines together. My mother never helped me not even once. When she’s in the studio with me, my mother would just leave everything to the staff. I can only recall that memory of her eating the prepared food for us inside the green room (laughs). I think that really trained me to be on my own cause she never treated or spoiled me like a child. We never had any Christmas celebrations even from the start. She shrugs it off by telling me, [There’s no such person as Santa Claus. How can he even fly?]. Despite that, I would still persist and send my wish list to the post or put it in socks and such. But my mother would be like, [Do you really want this thing? Let’s go to the department store then.] And when she saw the wish list inside the socks, she’d blurt out [There’s no reason for you to put it in here]. She’s a person with this strong sense of reality.” In the same fashion, Mao tells us she never had birthday parties or Valentine’s Day celebrations at home. But with that cheerful smile in her lips, she seemed to like talking about her mother.
“I think it’s because I was raised like this, I had this cool image with me. I got this strong sense of reality from my mother. When I was a kid, I played with some boys in school. I had this strong sense of justice within me that whenever they bully someone, I’ll call the bully out and scold them. I even slapped a boy once.”
***
last part here
In1995, she emerged on the spotlight for playing the younger self of Matsu Takako’s character in the NHK drama [Kura]. She was eight years old that time. For five years since her first year in high school, she appeared in the CBC (Chubu Nippon Broadcasting Corp.) drama Kids War and became known all over Japan.
Her first big break was being the lead in TBS hit drama Hana Yori Dango. Shortly after that, she was casted in Fuji TV’s Monday drama First Kiss, Juui Dolittle and in 2011 appeared in the NHK morning drama Ohisama. That same year, she was appointed as the host of Kouhaku Uta Gassen. This year, she’s the lead actress of the current taiga drama.
NHK drama production head Wakaizumi Kyuurou has known Inoue Mao since the time when she was still a child actress. The first time they met was in the audition for the jidaigeki Terakoya Yume Shinan. Wakaizumi was the chief director that time.
“She was just a kid but she really pays attention to her scenes very well. Most of the child actors would just run around that you can’t just leave your eyes off them but Mao-chan did everything earnestly. We had no complaints about her since she memorised all of her lines perfectly and when we told her to cry, she’d cry in an instant. She’s a gifted actress. That time, she was a child actress who never gave us any problem at all.”
As for NHK taiga drama chief producer Komatsu Masayo, she was first charmed by Mao-chan through Ohisama. Mao-chan considers Komatsu-san as her mother figure in NHK. “Mao-chan is that kind of actress who will always surprise you with her acting. That feeling that she charms everyone with everything that she has. (laughs). For instance, in the 39th episode of the current taiga drama Hana Moyu, in this parting scene with the head of the Mori clan, Kitaoji Kinya’s character, she was this sort of creature. The moment she touches her partner in that scene, she can change him. In return, she undergoes a transformation herself. That sort of creature.”
Everyone might be praising her but she surprisingly thinks lowly of herself. “I am such an active but dark kind of kid”, she quips wiith a quick smile. “I played alone most of the time. I did kabeuchi tennis, roller skates, unicycle all alone. I am that active but gloomy kid. (laughs).”
She never went to the theatre company that regularly though. “It was in Tokyo so it was a bit far from Kanagawa. My mother is strict but she never forced me to do it and never meddled with me. When we memorise scripts in the TV studio, other kids would have their mothers write the small kanji readings on the script and help them memorise the lines together. My mother never helped me not even once. When she’s in the studio with me, my mother would just leave everything to the staff. I can only recall that memory of her eating the prepared food for us inside the green room (laughs). I think that really trained me to be on my own cause she never treated or spoiled me like a child. We never had any Christmas celebrations even from the start. She shrugs it off by telling me, [There’s no such person as Santa Claus. How can he even fly?]. Despite that, I would still persist and send my wish list to the post or put it in socks and such. But my mother would be like, [Do you really want this thing? Let’s go to the department store then.] And when she saw the wish list inside the socks, she’d blurt out [There’s no reason for you to put it in here]. She’s a person with this strong sense of reality.” In the same fashion, Mao tells us she never had birthday parties or Valentine’s Day celebrations at home. But with that cheerful smile in her lips, she seemed to like talking about her mother.
“I think it’s because I was raised like this, I had this cool image with me. I got this strong sense of reality from my mother. When I was a kid, I played with some boys in school. I had this strong sense of justice within me that whenever they bully someone, I’ll call the bully out and scold them. I even slapped a boy once.”
***
last part here