The TV Asahi drama "Reborn ~The Last Hero~" (Tuesdays at 9 PM), starring actor Issei Takahashi, began airing on April 14th. We interviewed Takahashi, who takes on the challenge of playing two completely different characters, and Anne Nakamura, who plays the heroine. We asked them about their impressions of working together for the first time and about playing two roles.
The drama tells the story of a man who is reborn as someone else and given a second chance at life. Mitsumasa Neo, the president of an IT company who had achieved great wealth and fame, was pushed down the stairs by someone and fell to his death...or so it seemed. However, he time-slips 14 years into the past, to 2012, and is reborn as Hideto Nomoto, the heir to a dry cleaning shop in a dilapidated shopping district. Hideto (with Mitsumasa's mind) searches for the person who killed him and stands up to the upper class from the perspective of an ordinary person. Takahashi plays both Mitsumasa and Hideto, while Nakamura plays Sarasa Iketani, Hideto's childhood friend.
--This is your first time working together, could you tell us your impressions of each other?
Takahashi: I feel every day that he is someone who approaches his work on-site with great sincerity.
Nakamura: Thank you! I didn't really have an image of Issho-san smiling, but his smile has incredible power. There's a big difference between when he's smiling and when he's serious.
Takahashi: That's devastating (laughs). Thank you.
-- How was it playing two roles by yourself, Mr. Takahashi?
Nakamura: They're really different. Their faces and voices are the same, but their personalities are different, which is scary! Everyone on set is saying the same thing.
Takahashi: Is everyone saying that? I haven't heard a word, so I'd really like to hear more praise... I'm the type of person who thrives on praise (laughs).
Nakamura: Everyone's saying that! Don't you know if you're acting well?
Takahashi: I lack confidence. I ask each department, "Is everything okay?" every time.
Nakamura: Well, I guess I have to say it out loud then (laughs). When I saw the trailer, I was amazed at how different it was!
Takahashi: I was confused myself when I saw the trailer (laughs).
Nakamura: You don't really think you're changing much yourself, do you?
Takahashi: If I tried to make too much of a difference, it would feel wrong given the theme of this work. The characters I'm playing are completely different people who look alike but live in different eras, so I'm approaching it with the feeling that I want to do it as it is (without being particularly conscious of it). So if they look different in that way, then I think that's fine. If I tried to change them artificially, I think it would be difficult later on.
--You mentioned being confused after seeing the trailer, but was the final product different from what you expected?
Takahashi: That's right. It's more serious than I thought (laughs). I thought, "So this is how it's going to turn out." At that time, we were filming a scene where Ann and everyone in the shopping district were having fun together, so (the staff) said, "It's completely different, isn't it?" I was a little worried about whether it was okay for the set to be this much fun (laughs).
Nakamura: We're also looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Takahashi: I'm looking forward to it! I'm taking on a really interesting challenge, so I hope you can get a sense of that!
