Kentaro Ito’s Work Ethic and Goals for a Long-lasting Career

While drama distribution is thriving, Ito says he also places importance on terrestrial TV dramas. Behind this is the existence of family.

“While distribution and movies are contents that people pay to watch, terrestrial dramas can be enjoyed by anyone who turns on a TV set, and they can be watched by the whole family. I think this is the best kind of entertainment.”

After continuing, he went on to say, “My family was the same way,” and then he went on to say, “I’m the one who’s going to watch From Today! (broadcast on NTV in 2018), which was based on a popular Yankee manga from the ’80s and ’90s.

 

“The director’s goal was to have the children enjoy the film in a new way, while the parents who read the manga enjoyed it in a nostalgic way. I was struggling to keep up with the ad-libs of Kento Kaku (34), Jiro Sato (54), and Tsuyoshi Muro (47) (laugh). It was a big film for me because it gave me a chance to be recognized as an actor, and I learned a lot from it.”

After saying this, Ito turned to the reporter and said that his current position at age 26 is suffering.

 

“It is suffering, but I am convinced that it is not a negative suffering, but an emotion that I will need for myself in 10 or 20 years from now. I want to attract offers to perform in this RISING SUN as well as in the future with the kind of work I will be doing. I want to be an actor who can stay in the scene for a long time.”

Beyond the pain, Ito is looking ahead to his own success story.

From the October 27, 2023 issue of FRIDAY