Veteran Tsutomu Sekine Open Up Secret to Thriving in Entertainment Industry: Prioritizing Quality Time with Daughter Over Late Nights

Even now, He still has the same desire to absorb new things as he did when he was in his 20s performing Mantis Man. Even at the age where he is considered a big name, he continues to check out every show, and personally goes to the dressing rooms of comedians he finds interesting and greets them. Because he is humble and not arrogant, he is able to stay free from the effects of old age.

 

The tide has turned since KUKI KAIDAN won the King of Contest in 2021. Comedy nowadays doesn’t have tsukkomi. They have gotten better at showing the story, and there is no longer a need to go into it in an obvious way. I love new comedies like ‘Ranjyatai,’ in which a guy keeps doing blurbs that could be considered creepy, or Pattie-chan, in which a kizayo makes two gals swim.

A characteristic of Sekine’s career is that there have been no scandals during his long career.

The reason there have been no scandals is because I don’t go to such places in the first place. I don’t drink, so I don’t go out at night. The other reason is simply that I was never popular (laughs). Even when I go to Ginza for socializing, I compare my conversations with hostesses to those of YOU (59) and Michiko Shimizu (64), and I find it more interesting to talk with them. The time I spent playing with my daughter Mari (39) was many times more enjoyable than the nightlife. So I would go home as soon as I finished work.

The real Mari reveals that the reason why her father is not hated is because, My father has all the sensibilities of an elementary school boy (and in a lower grade). When she asked him about it, she said with a big smile.

I thought my senses stopped at about the eighth grade, but Mari is watching me very closely (laughs). But that’s why I’ve always sought out interesting things, and even though I’ve been doing this for 50 years, I never get tired of it.

Underlying his unlikability is a pure love of comedy. Even though he has reached his 70th birthday, Sekine remains the same TV kid at heart as he was when he was a small child.

From the March 22, 2024 issue of FRIDAY