Susumu Terajima on His Acting Journey Inspired by Takeshi Kitano
He passionately played the role of a "Showa-era deca" in the drama "D&D -Doctors and Detectives!
The true face of a “kowamote actor
Terashima says, “It’s my first time on set with all the staff, but I’m having a lot of fun. When I say an old man’s gag, it gets a big reaction, so I get carried away and say the gag again (laughs).
(Laughs.)” A mischievous expression appeared on the face of Susumu Terashima (60), and the corners of his eyes wrinkled with laughter. The man who is known as a representative of the “coquettish actor” has a surprisingly soft face when he is not acting.
Terashima plays Bunpei Yuge, a detective who is not discouraged by the organization, in the drama “D&D: Doctors and Detectives” (TV Tokyo), which will start airing on October 18 (Fri.) at 9 pm. In this human mystery, Yuge and the main character, a doctor, buddy up to solve a case in a town where the local medical system is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Yumigami is a true “Showa-era” actor,” said the director, “but he is a Showa star in his own right, and I felt that I had to act in the way that Showa stars lived. I wanted to apply what I felt from the way of life of a Showa star to my acting, so I am currently reading an essay by Ken Takakura (83 years old) titled “Anata ni Kosoete Kiketo (I Wanted to be Admired by You).
On the first day of shooting, he approached Naoto Fujiki (52), who plays the lead role of a doctor, and young actor Kentaro Maeda (25), with whom he has many scenes together as a policeman (later a detective), and they went out for a drink. This was Terashima’s first collaboration with either of them.
Fujiki-kun said, ‘Maeda-kun seems to be nervous in front of Terashima-san,’ so I decided to communicate with him. Did we have a heated discussion about acting? We didn’t. We didn’t (laughs). We just drank and talked about things that had nothing to do with work. But that kind of casual communication is important. Sharing both joy and pain is the basis of human relationships.
After saying this with a serious face, he then added with a playful smile, “Well, I only invited him out for a drink because I wanted to have a drink myself.
