Been an actress for 16 years. Still, "now is the starting point." "Step" Sari Ito Interview [Actor's Interview Vol.4]

The determination that “I don’t have to be seen as cute” was the foundation for my breakthrough.

Q: That's a wonderful story. I think it was a memorable work, but what was it like playing the role of a childcare worker?

Ito: I've been working as an actress since I was 9 years old, and I sometimes have ``infidelity'' in my profession. During my junior high school days, I went to a nursery school for work experience, and it was my dream job.

All the children are so obedient that they have been calling me ``Kero Sensei'' ever since I was introduced to them. No one called me ``Ito-san'' or ``Sari-chan,'' and even when the cameras weren't rolling, they came to play with me and hugged me... I was able to be Kero Sensei because of that kind of environment, and I think the children who were there definitely made me Kero Sensei.

Q: I see. As with Kero-sensei this time, Ito's acting gives the feeling of ``living the role.'' How did you acquire these techniques and styles?

Ito: I'm not really the "innocent" type, nor am I the "super cute" type. I thought that if I didn't have to be seen as ``cute,'' I should try my best to make weird faces, and I gradually developed a style of ``shaking it off.''

On the other hand, I find it difficult to ``create (a role),'' and lately I've been wondering, ``Is what I'm doing actually acting?'' I started to feel like I was constantly having a simulated experience, and I ended up crying even when I didn't mean to. But those moments are the most fun. I think simply enjoying each experience is my way of doing things.

Q: That's exactly the state of "living the role." However, it seems difficult to reset the role...

Ito: If I get a cut, I'm like, ``Okay,'' so I might not be too upset about it (lol).

I'm not the type to make things too rigid, but I go to the site with the points I want to accomplish one by one. What would happen if we actually had a conversation instead of just reading the script until it wore out? I'm looking forward to it.

I'm more of a "receiver" type of person, so I feel really blessed to have met him.

Q: Have you had any memorable encounters during your career as an actress?

Ito: I was able to meet Mr. Iizuka at a time when I was thinking of starting my life as an adult actor.

Once, someone said to me, ``I can only imagine you wearing a uniform,'' and I was really disappointed. However, in the drama " GTO " (14) (with director Iizuka), even though I was in a uniform, the actors treated me as an equal, and I think it was a time to "nurture actors." It was space.

When you're in the acting club, you get special treatment and a lot of attention, but it's just an acting club within a production department, a photography department, and a recording department. Mr. Iizuka was the one who made this fall instantly. I learned everything about how to be in the field, from the basics to advanced techniques, and at that moment my mindset completely changed.

Up until then, I had been busy just doing what I was told, and I had not been able to make suggestions or express myself. Was it the moment when you became an adult actor that you became able to do that? And I think.

Q: A benefactor, right? By the way, in your "meetings" with many actors, are there any techniques that make you say, "I stole this!"?

Ito: It would be a shame if I hadn't stolen it (bitter smile), but I'd like to try out everyone's ad-libs for " Naked Director " too! I think so. I still haven't been able to express that intense feeling, so I'm a little scared...

But since they were really great seniors to me, I felt like they were the ones who would definitely help me no matter what happened, so I decided to try and share my thoughts with them, and it would be cool if I could say ``ad-lib'' that doesn't give a sense of intention. I really think so.

Tetsuji Tamayama (with whom I co-starred in ``The Naked Director''), he would shake his hips by himself (lol). It wasn't written in the script at all, and I think it's cool that the seniors created such characters themselves. I haven't stolen it yet, but I would like to steal it someday.

A new weapon “Addition” gained from “Keep your hands off Eizouken!”