Miki Mizuno: A breakthrough in her teens, a passionate performance in “Odoru Daisousasen”… True feelings about her “smooth-sailing life as an actor”.

Interview with “Actor

I have always been a complete workaholic. All this time, I was working for my career, for my life. But now it’s not just that. I have a new pillar, my family, and it’s as if I have a new life.

Says actor Miki Mizuno with a smile on her face. In recent years, she has expanded her activities to include variety shows and news programs, and her flexible, unpretentious, and natural appearance has won the sympathy of viewers of all ages and both sexes.

The first time I became interested in acting was when I read the manga “The Glass Mask” in sixth grade. I admired the main character, Maya Kitajima, and in the summer of my first year of junior high school, I applied for an audition to be an image model for a commercial.

She won the runner-up prize in the “2nd Tohato All Raisin Princess Contest,” which she participated in, and began her entertainment career.’ In 1992, she got her big break with the line “Hey, kiss me” in a commercial in which she co-starred with Toshiaki Karasawa (61), which created a big sensation.

One of his best-known works was the blockbuster hit “Odoru Daisousasen” (Fuji Television), in which he appeared in 1997 when he was 22 years old. In the series, which was also made into a movie, Mizuno played the role of Yukino Kashiwagi, a regular member of the cast.

I enjoyed working on the set of “Odoru: The Bayside Shakedown” and actively communicated with my co-stars, such as going out to eat with Eri Fukatsu (52). To be honest, I did not realize how popular it was at the time of the first drama series, but when it was made into a movie, it was amazing.

On the first day of the opening of the movie, there was a long queue of people who couldn’t even see the end of the line. I remember the producer, Mr. Chihiro Kameyama (68, current President of BS Fuji), was in tears when he saw it. I am often referred to as “the same guy who worked on ‘Odoru Daisousasen,'” and it was definitely a big film for me.

Emotions that hit me when I got the “lead” role

In 2001, I played my first leading role in the drama “Jyoshiana. （In 2001, he landed his first leading role in the drama “Jyoshiana” (Fuji). It was smooth sailing in his acting career, but Mizuno’s thoughts were different.

I was happy to have reached my goal of playing a leading role, but I was struck by the feeling of “What should I do next?

Ever since I moved to Tokyo at the age of 16, my life as an actor has been like being tossed about by a muddy stream. In the old days of serial dramas, it was not unusual to have a six-day week of filming that would start in the morning and continue until the next morning. I had no personal life, just doing what was in front of me. So I couldn’t make it my new goal to just continue to star in dramas like that.

The February 28 issue of “FRIDAY March 14-21” and the paid version of “FRIDAY GOLD” will feature Mizuno’s new life as an actor and the changes in her state of mind due to raising a child.

For more details and multiple photos, click here↓.

From the March 14/21, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY