BE:FIRST's JUNON Describes Watching Yuya Yagira on the RYUJI Set
A boy-group member taking a supporting yakuza role in a remake helmed by Nobuo Mizuta puts the focus on what he learns on set, not on the size of the part, and his account of copying Yagira's manner is the kind of detail that carries a promotional interview.
Reporting from 1 source: Cinema Today.
JUNON of BE:FIRST plays Hiroshi, an underling of Yuya Yagira's yakuza lead, in the film RYUJI Ryuji, opening October 30. He says the role let him grow as an actor and a person, and that he studied Yagira's behavior on set to build Hiroshi's habit of mirroring his boss. The film is a remake of a 1983 release and is directed by Nobuo Mizuta.
Hiroshi, the character JUNON plays, is the gentle underling next to the hot-tempered Nao, played by Riku Hagiwara. JUNON describes Hiroshi as someone who could just as well live in the straight world, and says that when Hiroshi later appears in clothes and sunglasses almost identical to Ryuji's, he had to watch Yagira's earlier scenes closely to get the imitation right.
The story runs in Shinjuku's Kabukicho between 1984 and 1990, with Ryuji trying to leave the underworld for his wife Mariko, played by Rina Kawaei, and their newborn son. Ken Miyake plays Kazu, Ryuji's sworn brother. The film opens October 30.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Cinema Today BE:FIRST・JUNONが誰よりも尊敬する存在