A Love Story with Tsuyoshi Kusanagi? Exploring the Role of Kunimura Jun in Onmyoji 0 and Go-Ban Kiri

People say I’m quite a natural (laughs).

–Kunimura: “I’m not really aware of it, but people say I’m quite a natural (laughs).

Kunimura: I’m not really aware of it, but people say I’m quite natural (laughs). (Laughs.) People who are more of a “tsukkomi” (a person with a natural tendency) often tell me, “You should at least be aware of your naturalness before you act” (laughs).

–That’s surprising (laughs). (laugh) When you think about it, do you feel a similarity with Kusanagi-san who faced you across the Go board in “Goban Kiri”?

Kunimura I don’t know. I think he is rather solid.

–I have a strong impression of the natural and free Kusanagi-san that he shows in variety shows.

Kunimura I am sure that he has that side of him, but I am sure he has been trained through variety shows, and since he is not only doing acting, I think he does things that I could never do, including the way he handles various kinds of nerves.

–You and Kusanagi-san also co-starred in NHK’s Miyagi regional drama “Peperoncino.

Kunimura: I think it’s his ability to concentrate. He is not the type of actor who thinks and plays around while acting like I do.

I play while performing.

–Do you think “playing while performing” is a luxury a veteran actor can afford?

Kunimura: I don’t necessarily have the luxury to do so, but I am sure that I have changed over the years as I have been doing this.

At first I didn’t have much leeway and tried my best to express what I had thought up, but gradually I began to think about how I should stay between cuts.

Some people call acting and performance “reaction,” and I think there are elements of that, but in my case, I think it’s about feeling first. The same is true of the atmosphere of the moment, and as we go from cut to cut with the same person over and over again, no two situations are ever the same.

The most important thing is to feel first, and if you feel it, you will naturally react to it.

But in Kusanagi’s case, when you are concentrating on something and a different element pops in, you want to come back out. In my case, I think it is interesting to have one entrance but not know where the exit will be.