"Harumu Hitobito" Director Nakajima Shunsuke × Starring / Planning and Producer: Souma Yukimi Respected the opinions of a mother [Director's Interview Vol.503]

It was good to be paired with such a passionate person.

Q: Soma-san plays the lead role, but could you tell us about the other cast members?

Soma: We all came up with candidates for the cast. Nakajima had worked with the lead actress, Kaho Seto, before.

Nakajima: I have worked with Seto Kaho twice on advertising projects and once on a short film. I thought she would be a perfect fit for this project, so I offered her the role.

Soma: Maehara Mizuki, who plays Ako's husband, is someone I've always wanted to work with. Nakajima agreed, so I offered him the role and he agreed to appear, but before filming this, we were cast as a married couple in the drama " Unmet: The Diary of a Brain Surgeon " (24 TV). It was a strange coincidence that we ended up playing married couples in two consecutive works.

"Harumu Hitobito" ©Harumu Hitobito Partners

Nakajima: I worked with both Asaka Kodai and Maehara Mizuki a few years ago, so I was happy to be able to work with them this time. I made the offer to Asaka when he was still a freelancer, just as he was about to transfer to another agency. I really wanted him to appear, so I went to see a play he was performing in in Aichi Prefecture, and even sent him a gift with a letter, asking the people involved to pass it on to him.

Soma: I said, "I'm off!" and headed out, but I was surprised to find out that he was heading to Aichi (laughs). It was a moment when I realized how lucky I was to be working with such a passionate person.

Q: Your three-year-old son, Yuuri, also played an important role and was well integrated into the story. How was the casting and direction handled?

Nakajima: We chose Noda Eiji, who played Yuri, through an audition. Eiji had a good aura about him, so we took a chance on him, but when filming actually started, he turned out to be a bit of a troublemaker (laughs). But once he got going, he was amazing and performed well. I've had experience directing children in commercials, but this was my first time directing a 3-year-old.

Soma: Nakajima-san was also really good at directing children, showing them the monitor and explaining "This is what's happening now," and I think he was able to keep them entertained. The assistant directors and staff were all warm and friendly, and they were very good at interacting with children.

Reason for requesting a retake