"Laughing Kaibutsu" by Amane Okayama For me, "manufacturing" is necessary to sustain life [Actor's Interview Vol.36]

"Manufacturing" is necessary for sustaining life

Q: Since Tsuchiyama is facing the world of comedy, was there anything you kept in mind?

Okayama: Not really. When I was interviewed the other day, Tsuchiyama said, "(Comedy) was something that anyone could do without spending money." As we were talking, I realized that Tsuchiyama is someone who is absorbing a lot of things other than comedy, such as movies and manga. So I was curious and asked him, "For example, if movies and manga were something that you could do without spending money, would you have gone down that path?" And he said, "Absolutely." When he looked around, comedy was the first thing he could grab. So it doesn't seem like a story that depends on a category, but rather something more universal.

However, it was difficult to come up with a joke every five seconds. It's impossible to write a sentence in five seconds in the first place (laughs). I actually practiced with a timer. Before the filming started, I had time to rehearse with Honoka Matsumoto and the others, and at that time I also challenged myself to actually come up with a joke.

"Kaibutsu of Laughter" ©2023 "Kaibutsu of Laughter" Production Committee

Q: In the scenes where you were thinking up material, you were constantly fidgeting.

Okayama: The speed inside my body is really increasing. I wasn't trying to shake my leg though (laughs).

Q: This film is also about "manufacturing." What does "manufacturing" mean to you, Mr. Okayama, as someone who is always involved in "manufacturing"?

Okayama: It's like sleeping and eating. It's something that is necessary to sustain life. I think people who make things as a profession are like that. Of course, there are many people who do it as a job, but I feel that it can't be helped because they were born with that nature. There is no difference in how it is perceived from other jobs, it is something that exists alongside the many other jobs. I don't think of it as something special. I see it as one of the cogs that turn society.

In the "creation" of a movie, the part that the actors play is only a small part, but I think they play a fairly big role in terms of playing the role. At first, how do you express something that is just a script through acting? During the time you spend doing that, you may feel like you are creating something.

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Okayama Amane

Born June 17, 1994 in Tokyo. Made his acting debut in NHK's "Nakagakusei Nikki" in 2009. Won the Best New Actor Award at the 32nd Takasaki Film Festival for "Poetry Angel" (directed by Iizuka Toshimitsu) in 2017, and the Best Actor Award at the ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL for "Love's Sickness" (directed by Yoshida Kota) in 2018. His major appearances include "The Journalist" (2019/directed by Michihito Fujii), "Become King" (2019/directed by Okui Shuji), "Blue, Painful, Fragile" (2020/directed by Kariyama Shunsuke), "Funny Bunny" (21/directed by Iizuka Ken), "Kingdom 2: To the Faraway Land" (22/directed by Sato Shinsuke), "The Fishko" (22/directed by Okita Shuichi), "Silent Parade" (22/directed by Nishitani Hiroshi), "The Girl Doesn't Know" (22/directed by Igashi Aya), "Kingdom: Flame of Destiny" (23/directed by Sato Shinsuke) and "At a Snowy Mountain Villa" (24/directed by Iizuka Ken).

Interview and text: Fumio Koda

Editorial staff and writer for CINEMORE. My favorite movies are ``The Goonies'' and ``Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.'' My recent favorites are 4K digitally remastered classics by Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu.

Photography: Kazunari Aoki

Hair and makeup: AMANO, stylist: Haruki Okamura

"The Laughing Monster"

Now available at Theater Shinjuku and other theaters nationwide

Distributor: Shogakukan, Animo Produce

©2023 "Laughing Monsters" Production Committee