Miki Mizuno “I always wanted to create something” “Becoming a mother changed the way I read scripts.

She said, “If I continue like this, my life will be over before I know it.

I’ve always been a total workaholic. All my life I have been 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” 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 guy who made ‘Bayside Shakedown’,” and it was definitely a major work for me.

In 2001, she played her first leading role in the drama “Jyoshiana. （In 2001, he won his first leading role in the drama “Jyoshiana” (Fuji). It was smooth sailing for Mizuno’s career as an actor, but she had a different idea.

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,” he said.

So, she chose the theater as her new career field. The world of “The Glass Mask,” which he had longed to be a part of. He became independent from his agency, and while appearing in video productions at the same time, he became more and more devoted to theater.

I went to see plays even on my days off, and afterwards I would go out drinking with friends I went to see with or actors who were in the play. …… At that time, I was drinking at least five days a week (laughs).”

He drank until about 3 a.m. and woke up before noon. Marriage and childbirth were never on her mind. One day, however, Mizuno suddenly realized.

When I woke up from the sofa with a hangover before noon, I thought to myself, ‘My friend who just had a baby has one life. My friend who just had a baby gave birth to a life, woke up early in the morning, fed her child and raised it. On the other hand, I’m watching a play, and I’m giving input, but I’m not creating anything. I’m not raising anything. I suddenly became impatient. If things continue like this, my life will be over in a flash. I vaguely felt that I had to create something.

Creating from scratch

This desire led Mizuno further toward theater. He studied to write scripts, collected materials, and dabbled in the classics. He formed the theater unit “Propeller Dogs” and became involved in production.

I enjoy playing imaginary roles that are given to me, but they are not something that I have built up on my own. I think that creating something from scratch from one’s own initiative is what ″generating″ means. I feel that if I make acting my only identity, my existence will be in jeopardy. I was able to confirm myself by “creating” works with my colleagues.

Perhaps it is the strangeness of life, but in 2004, Mizuno married Mitsuru Karahashi (47), an actor and illustrator whom she met through theater. She was blessed with a child and gave birth at the age of 43. It was a bolt from the blue for Mizuno, too.

It was frustrating to have to cut back on my acting and creative work, but raising a child is very interesting,” she said. But I find parenting very interesting. I feel fulfilled by raising a child that I have brought into the world. Of course it was hard work, but I had the cooperation of those around me, and I was able to get through it with the energy and stamina I had developed through the drama series (laughs).

She says that becoming a mother has given her a better understanding of her roles and has added depth to her acting. Above all, she says, it has changed the way she perceives her work.

I played mothers before I had children, but you don’t understand the love you have for your children until you actually become a mother. The warmth of a baby’s body when you hold it in your arms, the sound of its cries when it cries, the smell of its milk… ……. These things stimulate female hormones like crazy. I don’t think I would have understood this feeling no matter how much I tried to imagine it before giving birth.
I have become tearful, my sensitivity has changed a lot, and the way I read scripts has also changed. I feel that my understanding of acting has deepened, whether I am playing the role of a mother or not.

While raising a child who is now in elementary school, she is currently playing the role of the proprietress of a long-established brothel in the historical drama “Belabo: Tsutaje Eika no Yume Banashi” and an enigmatic doctor in “Forest” (TV Asahi).

He is now more interested in making this industry a place where his friends and juniors can have dreams than in his own acting career. The Japanese entertainment industry is a narrow, inward-looking world. If there were a system in place that allowed young people overflowing with talent to challenge themselves on a more global scale, this industry would be a much more enjoyable place to be. Our generation must speak up to make this happen.
I don’t know yet whether I will become an actor or not, but I think my child will probably say, “I want to go into the world of creation! I think my child will say, “I want to go to the world of creation! I hope we can create an environment where we can send them off with a reassuring, “Go ahead! I hope I can create an environment where I can send them off with peace of mind.

Mizuno’s eyes are filled with love for the younger generation.

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