Sho Sakurai Joins Sunday Theater GIFT as Wheelchair Rugby Chairman
Sakurai's casting brings a performer with real-world parasports involvement into a drama that centers on wheelchair rugby, adding authenticity to the final chapter.
Reporting from 1 sources: Eiga Natalie.
Sho Sakurai (Arashi) will appear in the final chapter of TBS's Sunday Theater drama GIFT, playing Shunji Yanagihara, chairman of a wheelchair rugby association. It is his first co-starring role with lead actor Shinichi Tsutsumi. The drama follows a genius astrophysicist who guides a weak wheelchair rugby team. Sakurai has a background in parasports coverage and participation.
Sho Sakurai (Arashi) will appear in the final chapter of TBS's Sunday Theater drama GIFT, playing Shunji Yanagihara, chairman of a wheelchair rugby association. It is his first co-starring role with lead actor Shinichi Tsutsumi. The story follows Gote Fumito, a genius astrophysicist who by chance encounters wheelchair rugby and guides a weak team called Blaze Bulls through difficult problems while seriously engaging with the players. The cast also includes Yuki Yamada, Kasumi Arimura, and Hibiki Honda.
Sakurai has been deeply involved with parasports, serving as a special navigator for NHK during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and playing a player in the wheelchair basketball drama Emblem for You. He said he was happy to participate in a sport he had covered for years and watched privately, and that working with Tsutsumi for the first time was fulfilling. GIFT airs on TBS every Sunday at 21:00, with script by Tomoki Kanazawa and direction by Shunichi Hirano, Naoki Kato, and Hiroaki Ito.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Eiga Natalie 櫻井翔が日曜劇場「GIFT」で堤真一と初共演、車いすラグビー協会の理事長演じる