“He Wasn’t Just Odd”—Shiro Sano Defends His Portrayal of Fuyuhiko-san

“Start over from zero with your acting.”

“When I graduated from high school, I took the 20,000 yen I had saved from New Year’s money to go buy a guitar. But for some reason, I ended up buying a Minolta SRT101 instead.”

So says actor Shirō Sano (70), who appeared for the interview holding his Fujifilm mirrorless camera that he carries around regularly. “I take pictures of whatever catches my eye,” he says—but his skill level is so high that he’s even held solo exhibitions.

His acting career, his main profession, marks its 50th year this year. With his slightly eccentric and unique aura, Sano has appeared in five dramas just in the first half of this year, and he is also set to appear in NHK’s upcoming fall morning drama “Bakebake.”

“The moment that made me want to become an actor was when I was five years old, attending a Christian kindergarten. During a Christmas nativity play, I played the role of one of the ‘Three Wise Men.’ It was so fun. What made it fun was that I got to wear a cape, like the ones the heroes from my favorite shows, ‘Shonen Jet’ and ‘Moonlight Mask,’ wore.

It wasn’t the coolness of being a hero, but rather the mysterious and mad scientist vibe of being a wise man. I think I felt a kind of fetishistic joy from that. In middle school, I also loved the ‘Ultraman’ series, starting with ‘Ultra Q.’”

The saying goes, “The soul of a child of three is present until a hundred”—strange, eerie, and dark things have always guided Sano’s actions.

“I joined the drama club in high school because I wanted to do something underground. In the late ’60s, with the student protest movements, underground and subculture were all mixed together in the psychedelic age. I was enjoying everything—movies, music, literature, modern poetry, and photography. I’d heard of Jūrō Kara (died at 84), the founder of underground theater, and his Situation Theater, but I had never actually seen it live.”

After graduating high school, he moved to Tokyo and participated in the founding of the “Shakespeare Theater.” At the age of 25, he finally knocked on the door of Kara’s Situation Theater, the destination he had long aimed for.

“Kara-san was strict. Personality-denying comments were an everyday thing (laughs). Looking back now, it feels like a dream, but he even wrote good roles for me. Still, I was completely useless.

The problem was that my acting wasn’t chaotic—it was that I was trying to do it properly. I was just pretending to be the character. Kara-san once told me, ‘If you act like that, you won’t be able to do work in film and TV.’”

Eventually, he was told, “We don’t need someone like you anymore,” and in 1984, he left the theater after five years.

It was unexpectedly film that reached out to the now-unmoored Sano.

He met director Kaizō Hayashi (67) and starred in the black-and-white silent detective film “To Sleep So As to Dream” (released in 1986), set in the Asakusa district of the 1950s.

“Since it was black-and-white and silent, it felt like a revelation—‘Start over from zero with your acting.’ It portrayed the world of Ranpo Edogawa and eerie fantasy. I was lucky that it gained global recognition and was even invited to the Venice International Film Festival.”

However, appearing in just one film wasn’t enough to make a living. After returning from glamorous Venice, he recalls, “I was working part-time building sets at a TV station to survive.”

“I was working while wondering, ‘What am I even doing?’ (laughs). But I was fortunate to receive offer after offer from directors considered masters of cinema. Even though I had no track record on TV, I was suddenly cast as the lead or given major roles in two-hour dramas.

Movies were interesting because each cut had its own charm, but TV dramas had the excitement of being shot all in one go. Trendy dramas were all just love stories, and I thought, ‘So shallow, so full of themselves’ (laughs).”

The Ever-Growing Presence of My Mentor, Kara-san

What made Sano’s name resound as an actor who continues to thrive at the forefront was, without a doubt, that iconic work.

“There have been key turning points in both film and television for me. Zutto Anata ga Suki Datta (aired in 1992 on TBS) was definitely one of them.”

Starring Chikako Kaku (63), the story follows a woman married to an elite banker—played by Sano—who turns out to be a mama’s boy and sexually averse. Troubled by this, she falls back in love with her first crush.

Sano’s portrayal of “Fuyuhiko-san,” quivering his lower lip while letting out a strange “Mmmnngh~” and rocking back and forth on a hobbyhorse, created a social phenomenon, with the show peaking at over 34% in viewership.

“I wasn’t trying to play a weirdo. I was asking myself—what would a real mama’s boy husband look like at that time? It’s like with Godzilla—he didn’t choose to look like that; it was because of nuclear testing. I was interested in why this type of person existed at all.”

Sano’s commitment to character creation ran deep.

“We had intense discussions with the production team—about postwar history, the financial crises, the social context at the time that shaped the family. From there, I crafted a real human being. That method came from Kara-san. I wanted to apply the Situational Theater approach. It also felt like a response to what Kara once told me: ‘With acting like that, you’ll never make it in film or TV.’”

In 2021, while working nonstop, Sano was struck by a serious illness: multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. He suffered for two weeks with fevers approaching 40°C. Even then, he likened his surroundings to a film set—the doctor was the director, the medical staff were the crew—and that image helped him through his battle.

“I treated it like I was an actor playing a patient. Not because it was romantic or dramatic, but I think it was a survival instinct—using fiction to protect my own psyche.”

Then last year, a major event shook him. His long-admired mentor, Kara, passed away.

“Even after death, Kara-san’s presence continues to grow. He was always asking: why is the world like this? If he were here, he’d be tackling today’s social issues head-on, turning them into plays and theatrical works.”

Sano turned 70 this March. Asked what he sees for the future, his answer was not about himself, but a reflection on the industry.

“We need to value what screenwriters create more. As mirrors of our time, we must keep presenting deeply thoughtful perspectives.

One of the most memorable recent projects for me was the Aibou Season 23 episode titled ‘Casting.’ The reason? The script was excellent. A man begins drifting between imagination and reality, until the boundaries blur.

Filming with Yutaka Mizutani (72) was also a joy. He accepts everything. He has a deep love for the work and the people around him. Having such a senior figure in front of you naturally pushes your own motivation higher.”

Even after 50 years in show business, the eyes of this veteran actor still shine with the light of a young boy.

“I went out to buy a guitar with my New Year’s gift money,
but somehow ended up buying a camera instead (laughs)”

Shirou Sano / From Shimane Prefecture. Began his entertainment career in 1975 as a founding member of the “Shakespeare Theater.” In 1980, he joined the “Jokyo Gekijo” (Situation Theater) led by his mentor Juro Kara, a pioneer of underground theater, and later expanded into film and television. This year, he continues to appear in numerous works, showcasing his impressive presence.

A precious photo with Juro Kara, the founder of underground theater. Sano said, “To me, even after his passing, he remains a huge presence.”

Unpublished cuts in this issue: Shirou Sano — Reflections from the veteran actor celebrating 50 years in the entertainment industry and his 70th birthday.

From the July 11, 2025, issue of “FRIDAY”