Daigo of the comedy duo "Chidori" and actress Haruka Ayase appeared at the premiere screening of the film "The Sheep in the Box" (directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda), in which they both star, held in Tokyo on May 11th.
The two will play a married couple. Ayase recalled, "At first I was surprised, but I quickly thought, 'This looks interesting.'" Daigo said, "He's Ayase's husband, you know? I asked the director, 'Is this okay?'" He continued, "The director said, 'It's normal to me.' But then when I was doing an interview earlier, he said, 'That sense of incongruity is good'... So it was incongruous after all!" he said, teasing Director Kore-eda.
Ayase revealed, "I'm from Hiroshima, and Daigo is also from Okayama, which is close to Hiroshima. Daigo was the only one who was free to use dialect, but it was a very familiar dialect, so it felt natural."
The film has been selected for the competition section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, which will be held in Cannes, France, starting on the 12th. Ayase, Daigo, child actor Rimu Kuwaki, and director Hirokazu Kore-eda will be heading there. Daigo said, "We'll be walking the red carpet, right? I'll probably be the first one out of the car. I wonder if I'll be able to reach out to Ayase then. If I can, I'll still be calm, but if I can't, I'll be extremely nervous."
The film is set in the near future and depicts the life of a couple who have lost their child and a humanoid robot that resembles their son. It is Hirokazu Kore-eda's first original screenplay in eight years for a Japanese film, since "Shoplifters" (2018). Ayase plays Nene, the architect wife, and Daigo plays Kensuke, the second-generation president of a construction company.
The event featured appearances by Kuwagi-san, Kanichiro san, Hiiragi Yota-san, Noro Kayo-san, and director Kore-eda.
