Rurouni Kenshin has been a mega hit
Sato Takeruâs next challenge
By Nikkei Entertainment! 6:30, 2015/2/16
In the âRurouni Kenshinâ (directed by Otomo Keishi), which had been said to be impossible to be made into a live action movie, Sato Takeru played the lead as Himura Kenshin perfectly to the end. The two parter, â~ Kyoto Infernoâ, and â~ The Legend Endsâ, made more than 95 billion yen in the theaters. Itâs a mega hit, making the combined earnings with the first film 12.5 billion yen. Sato is highly appreciated for mastering flesh-and-blood action using his inherent physical ability, and outstanding among the actors of his generation. What is he going to aim at from now on?
Sato: For me, âRurouni Kenshin Kyoto Inferno / The Legend Endsâ seem to be quite distant. Actually, the shooting finished as many as two years ago. Though I didnât aim at it, a result of our enthusiasm to make it a special, meaningful one in Japanese Cinema, if I do it at all, showed up in figures, and it made me very happy.
But if asked if my âRuroKenâ experience made me different, I donât think there is not so much difference. Of course, I have more confidence in me now than a year ago and Iâm able to perform better, I suppose. But Iâm just doing my best moment to moment and repeating it. Meanwhile, Team Otomo offered me a blissful environment. It was an unusual shooting site where all the staff go in the same direction and are allowed to go all out. That made my valuation higher, I feel. So Iâm not so sure if my next work will turn out such a great one.
âHe talks modestly, but after 2015 in reversal, he has a succession of works that require his acting ability. One of them is the film adaptation of a popular comic, âBaku-manâ. It is announced to be a drama of youthful life that depicts the struggle of a pair of high-school manga artists, for which Kawamura Genki, the producer, and Ohne Hitoshi, the director, work together, who produced a blockbuster âMotekiâ (2012).
Sato: After I did a lot of stoic things in âRuroKenâ, I felt like doing something light, so I thought it would be just the right thing. But its shooting required a different delicacy from that of âRuroKenâ and was extraordinarily stoic. (lol)
I met Dir Ohne for the first time to start âBaku-man.â At that time he told me about the roles; âSato is Mashiro Moritaka and Kamiki Ryunosuke would be good for Takagi Akito.â I thought, âAre you for real?â Dir Ohne wrote the script based on his impression of us after he met us, and I was surprised at the completed scenario. A URL was written in it. He wrote âThis scene is like this. Refer to the URLâ and it showed a video on YouTube.
They use CG to show the process of drawing manga and you can get the idea at a glance that they want to show it like that. I had a good impression with Dir Ohneâs thought that he wants to make something interesting and new by thinking outside the box.
His shooting style was another surprise. He takes terribly many cuts, and shoots many takes. For example, if he shoots my hands in close up, he takes both my right and left hands in close up and after all doesnât use any of them, as if. (lol) But I believed that Dir Ohne was sure to make a good film.
âHe has another work in succession with Kawamura Genki, the producer of âBaku-manâ. In the film adaptation of the best-seller novel âSekai-kara Neko-ga Kieta-naraâ, which Mr. Kawamura himself wrote, he plays a double role.
Sato: From the beginning, I had read the original novel attracted by the title and found it interesting, but I never dreamed of acting it myself, so I was really surprised to know I would do it
There are all sorts of films. You canât say âitâs interesting because it is a filmâ. Whether it is a film or a drama, what is exciting is exciting and what is boring is boring. So I decide if it is good or not for each work. So far, fortunately, Iâve encountered good works and Iâve enjoyed every shooting.
â Â Break new ground in âinternal actingâ
âNot intoxicated by success or popularity, he reflects upon his works objectively and works on his task. He plays the lead in the TBS Sunday Drama âTenno-no Ryori-ban (The Emperorâs Chef)â that starts in April, 2015. It is a drama that depicts a life of a real character, Mr. Akiyama Tokuzo, who supported Emperors in Taisho and Showa Era by cooking. Itâs a masterpiece which was once made into a series drama on the same broadcaster starring Sakai Masaaki. Sato had his hair cut short and tries to play the character from the age of fourteen to eighty. Its producer is Mr. Ishimaru Akihiko, who produced âROOKIESâ, which catapult Sato into the limelight, and a major hit period drama âJIN âäťââ.
Sato: It is a drama celebrating 60th anniversary of TBSâs establishment. The producer Ishimaru thought, âNHK describes the whole life of a person both in Taiga drama and morning television serial. Iâd like to make something like that.â Heâll take half a year to film this drama and heâs showing spirit very much.
Iâm feeling pressure. Tokuzo is a real-life character and lived a tremendous life. He is a very attractive person but Iâve never played this type of role. Iâm feeling itâs really a challenge, required to play a very human character Iâve never done.
â2015 seems to be a year when he will face a real test of strength as a talented actor to show if he can gain popularity with TV viewers. He is twenty-five years old now. Which direction is he going as an actor?
Sato: There are loads of things I want to do. I want to do action, human dramas, fantasy, too. I donât get stuck with playing the lead. For example, even if Kenshin had not been the lead role, I would have played Kenshin. Thatâs what I mean. Kenshin happened to be the lead character, I think.
Every actor has the potential, I think, but few are given a playground for it. I happened to be given the situation where I was able to fulfill my potential. Or I should say, Dir Otomoâs method exposes the actors in a good sense, so if you fit well in it, it will lead to a high valuation, I suppose
Iâm interested in the acting of the actors of my age. The one Iâm paying attention to is Sometani (Shota)-kun. I costarred with him in âREALâ and âBaku-manâ. âKisei-ju (Parasite)â was really exciting. My favorite actors are Yamada Takayuki-san and Kagawa Teruyuki-san. If you see these actors on the screen, you canât help anticipating something must happen. They make you want to watch it. Iâd like to be such an actor that makes you say, âIf Sato Takeru is on the screen, he must do something specialâ in anticipation.
*I may edit this if I find misspellings :p
