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▼ Taishi Nakagawa, Rising Star: Youthful Performance in ‘Sanadamaru’ Enchants TV Viewers
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Taishi Nakagawa has stirred a sensation among TV viewers with his youthful, dignified performance in the final few months of “Sanadamaru,” NHK’s taiga annual period drama that will be broadcast through mid-December. The drama, which has had high viewership, focuses on samurai warrior Sanada Nobushige (played by Masato Sakai) and the people around him.
Nakagawa, 18, plays the role of Toyotomi Hideyori, who succeeded his father, the mighty warrior and general Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Hideyori committed suicide at Osaka Castle in 1615 after his clan was defeated in the Siege of Osaka by his archenemy Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. In the drama, Sanada is depicted as loyally fighting for Hideyori.
Although Hideyori was usually considered a somewhat weak man, Nakagawa has reinvented the image with a powerful and convincing performance.
“I enjoyed playing my role immensely as I was surrounded by many talented people I want to emulate,” Nakagawa said, recalling the shoot that lasted three months. “I missed it after it ended.”
Nakagawa appeared in taiga dramas in 2011 and 2012, but in these he briefly played the main characters when they were children. In the latest drama, he plays an adult for the first time. He is extremely happy to be “boss” of the main character.
“In the past, I had to defer to people who played my characters in adulthood,” Nakagawa said. “So I was delighted when I was offered the role of an adult Hideyori. This time, a very young actor played my character as a child. It made me feel a little strange, but I also felt I’d reached the age [when I could really perform adult roles].”
He knew he would be under enormous pressure, but the joy of playing an adult role eclipsed this.
He first appeared in the drama in the episode aired on Sept. 25. The scene he first shot for this drama depicted Hideyori’s first meeting with Ieyasu (Seiyo Uchino) at Nijo Castle in Kyoto. It was a critical scene as it focused on an elderly Ieyasu feeling intimidated by young Hideyori’s brilliance. Ieyasu subsequently launched the Siege of Osaka.
Nakagawa said acting out the scene was his most memorable experience in the drama.
“My character’s intimidation of Ieyasu was so great that he decides to eliminate the young man before he dies,” he said. “It was very challenging for me and I became extremely nervous.”
Before shooting this scene, Uchino told him, “You should confront me with everything you’ve got.”
“Hearing it, I felt a little relaxed,” Nakagawa said. “I was virtually certain this would be the only scene in which we would perform together, so I was adamant that I would never be crushed by Ieyasu’s great presence.”
When the shoot was over, Nakagawa went to Uchino to say good-bye and was told warmly by the older actor, “You worked hard. Keep working.”
“I don’t know whether he was expressing appreciation of me or not, but I was very happy to hear this,” Nakagawa said. “Mr. Uchino and I belong to the same management company. I admire him a lot but met him for the first time when the drama was being shot.”
Nakagawa’s performance was so impressive that it moved Sakai, who seldom evaluates other actors, to praise Nakagawa’s acting. Sakai reportedly said, “Nakagawa truly made me feel like working under him as his subordinate.”
Nakagawa said he learned from Sakai how to behave during the shoot. He saw how easily Sakai communicated with the staff and other members of the cast to make sure things went well.
“Actors have their own ideas, and they sometimes differ from what directors want,” Nakagawa said. “Mr. Sakai has many different approaches to acting. When he was asked to change his performance in a scene, he was always willing to try it again in line with the director’s ideas. When asked to do something, he always exceeded expectations. He isn’t aggressive at all. Instead, he coordinates and warmly watches all of us from a distance.”
Born in Tokyo in 1998, Nakagawa made his showbiz debut when he was a fifth-grade elementary school student. He is now a third-year high school student.
Nakagawa will next star in “Kyono Kira-kun” (Today’s Kira-kun), a film adaptation of a popular girls’ manga set in school, that will be released in February.
He said acting in “Sanadamaru” has changed his life for the better.
“Until recently, when I had a problem with a friend, I didn’t stop to discuss it because I expected time would solve it naturally,” he said. “But now I have more friends whom I can convey my true feelings to and discuss my problems with. I’ve probably grown up a little.”
Nakagawa, 18, plays the role of Toyotomi Hideyori, who succeeded his father, the mighty warrior and general Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Hideyori committed suicide at Osaka Castle in 1615 after his clan was defeated in the Siege of Osaka by his archenemy Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. In the drama, Sanada is depicted as loyally fighting for Hideyori.
Although Hideyori was usually considered a somewhat weak man, Nakagawa has reinvented the image with a powerful and convincing performance.
“I enjoyed playing my role immensely as I was surrounded by many talented people I want to emulate,” Nakagawa said, recalling the shoot that lasted three months. “I missed it after it ended.”
Nakagawa appeared in taiga dramas in 2011 and 2012, but in these he briefly played the main characters when they were children. In the latest drama, he plays an adult for the first time. He is extremely happy to be “boss” of the main character.
“In the past, I had to defer to people who played my characters in adulthood,” Nakagawa said. “So I was delighted when I was offered the role of an adult Hideyori. This time, a very young actor played my character as a child. It made me feel a little strange, but I also felt I’d reached the age [when I could really perform adult roles].”
He knew he would be under enormous pressure, but the joy of playing an adult role eclipsed this.
He first appeared in the drama in the episode aired on Sept. 25. The scene he first shot for this drama depicted Hideyori’s first meeting with Ieyasu (Seiyo Uchino) at Nijo Castle in Kyoto. It was a critical scene as it focused on an elderly Ieyasu feeling intimidated by young Hideyori’s brilliance. Ieyasu subsequently launched the Siege of Osaka.
Nakagawa said acting out the scene was his most memorable experience in the drama.
“My character’s intimidation of Ieyasu was so great that he decides to eliminate the young man before he dies,” he said. “It was very challenging for me and I became extremely nervous.”
Before shooting this scene, Uchino told him, “You should confront me with everything you’ve got.”
“Hearing it, I felt a little relaxed,” Nakagawa said. “I was virtually certain this would be the only scene in which we would perform together, so I was adamant that I would never be crushed by Ieyasu’s great presence.”
When the shoot was over, Nakagawa went to Uchino to say good-bye and was told warmly by the older actor, “You worked hard. Keep working.”
“I don’t know whether he was expressing appreciation of me or not, but I was very happy to hear this,” Nakagawa said. “Mr. Uchino and I belong to the same management company. I admire him a lot but met him for the first time when the drama was being shot.”
Nakagawa’s performance was so impressive that it moved Sakai, who seldom evaluates other actors, to praise Nakagawa’s acting. Sakai reportedly said, “Nakagawa truly made me feel like working under him as his subordinate.”
Nakagawa said he learned from Sakai how to behave during the shoot. He saw how easily Sakai communicated with the staff and other members of the cast to make sure things went well.
“Actors have their own ideas, and they sometimes differ from what directors want,” Nakagawa said. “Mr. Sakai has many different approaches to acting. When he was asked to change his performance in a scene, he was always willing to try it again in line with the director’s ideas. When asked to do something, he always exceeded expectations. He isn’t aggressive at all. Instead, he coordinates and warmly watches all of us from a distance.”
Born in Tokyo in 1998, Nakagawa made his showbiz debut when he was a fifth-grade elementary school student. He is now a third-year high school student.
Nakagawa will next star in “Kyono Kira-kun” (Today’s Kira-kun), a film adaptation of a popular girls’ manga set in school, that will be released in February.
He said acting in “Sanadamaru” has changed his life for the better.
“Until recently, when I had a problem with a friend, I didn’t stop to discuss it because I expected time would solve it naturally,” he said. “But now I have more friends whom I can convey my true feelings to and discuss my problems with. I’ve probably grown up a little.”
- December 15, 2016
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