Why Tsuneji Mizukami, who almost “disappeared” for a while due to a trouble with his office, is playing a major role in the morning drama “Boogie Woogie

On December 17, actress Haruka Fukuhara (25) and actor Tsuneji Mizukami (24) held a stage greeting in Osaka City to commemorate the opening of the movie “Ano Hana ga Saku Haka de Ano, Kimi to Mukai ni Metatara (If I Meet You Again on the Hill Where the Flowers Bloom. The film has been a hit on social networking sites.

The film is an adaptation of Natsue Shiomi’s best-selling novel of the same title, which has become a hot topic mainly on SNS. It is a touching story about a high school girl (Fukuhara) and a young man (Mizukami) on a suicide mission who slip back in time to wartime Japan and fall in love. At the stage greeting, Mizukami was pleased, saying, “It’s not often that something like this turns out so well, so I’m honestly surprised.

At an event held in Tokyo on November 28, prior to the film’s release, he had put considerable effort into PR activities, including a surprise appearance by Masaharu Fukuyama (54), who sings the theme song “Soumou”. It seems to have worked, and as soon as the film was released on December 8, it became a hit, drawing 830,000 viewers and grossing more than 1.07 billion yen by December 18.

In the movie “OUT,” released in November, Mizukami broadened his range of roles by comically playing the role of the vice president of a motorcycle gang who, in addition to his 188 cm height and well-trained body, has an aging face that makes him look like he is not 17 years old. In the NHK television series “Boogie Woogie” currently being broadcast, Mizukami is attracting attention for his acting ability in the role of Aisuke Murayama, the beloved son of the heroine Suzuko Hanada, played by actress Shuri (33). Mizukami’s work is going too well, but two years ago, she was at the very bottom of her career.

Mizukami, who had been using the stage name “Takeshi Okada” since his debut, had been in court with his former agency since the spring of ’21 over issues such as working environment and salary. He filed a provisional injunction with the Tokyo District Court to terminate his contract with the agency. In the end, in August of the same year, a settlement was reached, agreeing that Mizukami would remain with the agency until her contract expired at the end of March 2011, and that she would not renew her contract with the agency. However, Mizukami was not satisfied with the outcome.

He said, “Even if I stay with the firm as is, I may not have any work until the end of my contract. Around the end of 2009, he must have been bewildered with no work, but after much deliberation, he decided to end his contract with the firm ahead of schedule in August of the following year.

This meant that he could no longer use his stage name “Takeshi Okada,” which he had used since his debut, but he decided to make a comeback under his current real name. His performance in his first starring role in his first movie, “Shiken ni ttekiru shiken no moru,” in which he starred alongside Sadawo Abe last May, was well received, and he has had no break in business since he took on his new stage name.

Mizukami, who started her career in earnest this year, was cast as one of the main cast members in the Fuji Television drama “Cinderella of Midsummer” in the July season. She also appeared in “Announcers’ War,” a drama broadcast on NHK on August 14 as part of a special program commemorating the end of the war. His subsequent steady success is as mentioned above.

The parent company of the former agency is a well-known entertainment agency that was called the “Garden of Women” in its heyday, with a strong female president who nurtured such stars as Maki Horikita (35) and Mirei Kiritani (34). Mizukami, who had a court case with the agency, is now making a “comeback” after a year’s blank, and there is a good reason for this.

He was a high school baseball player who aimed for the Koshien (the Japanese national high school baseball tournament) when he was in high school. He made his debut in the entertainment industry with a clean slate, and his personality was well-liked, and he seems to have been blessed with good relationships with the staff on set.

He appeared in “MIU404” (2008) as a result of his debut drama “Chugakusei Nikki” (2006) on TBS, and his role in “Boogie Woogie” is also a result of the drama “Seiten wo Sukuke” (2009). Actors who have been in trouble inevitably have their humanity questioned, but Mr. Mizukami overcame his troubles with his humanity.

In addition, the pressure exerted by the former Johnny’s and the discovery by the TV networks of the pressure became a major problem, and this was a major turning point in the old structure of the entertainment industry, which also became a “tailwind” for Mr. Mizukami.

Mizukami’s success in overcoming the headwinds with the help of many allies is likely to continue next year.

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