“The Only Way Is Up!” Hitoshi Ozawa Speaks from the Heart — [Full Interview]
Interview with Hitoshi Ozawa, a charismatic figure in the V-Cinema world, who experienced a period of "moral harassment" and two setbacks.
He made his acting debut in 1983 with the drama Taiyo ni Hoero! and quickly rose to stardom the following year with School☆Wars. Since then, he has also worked as a film director, handling numerous projects including BAD CITY.Overcoming a harrowing past and bitter failures
“In today’s world, there’s less tolerance, and you can really feel the sense of stagnation. If you cross the line with compliance, you’re out in one shot. Well, FRIDAY itself is partly responsible for creating that climate! Gahaha.”
Opening with a hearty laugh and a sharp take on society was actor Hitoshi Ozawa (63).
He made his acting debut in 1983 in the drama Taiyo ni Hoero! (NTV) and the following year shot to fame with School☆Wars (TBS). Since then, he has cemented his position as a charismatic figure in yakuza films and V-cinema. With his piercing glare and overwhelming presence, he earned the nickname “The Human Weapon Face,” and in recent years has continued to play hard-boiled men in works like The Specials and the Nihon Tōitsu series.
Even after turning sixty, Ozawa shows no signs of slowing down. On July 30, he will publish his candid autobiography Loving Turbulence (KADOKAWA), where he lays bare his life story.
“From the outside, people say my life looks pretty turbulent. Sure, I’ve had my share of turbulence, big or small—but for me, they were nothing more than passing points along the way.”
Although today he seems to enjoy a smooth-sailing career, Ozawa has overcome harrowing struggles and bitter failures.
In his mid-thirties, he poured his heart into producing his first gun-action movie, SCORE (1995). But looking back, he says its poor box office performance was the biggest setback of my life.
“Actors and staff all worked together as one to make that film, so the shock hit me hard. That was the first time I realized that no matter how much heart you put in, sometimes it just doesn’t pay off. More than 20 years later, right before turning sixty, I finally made BAD CITY (2023).
Kazuyoshi Okuyama (70), the producer who had worked with me on SCORE, watched it and sent me a message: ‘Ozawa, thank you for avenging the frustration we felt back then.’ That was the first time I cried. When I think about it, if SCORE had been successful, BAD CITY probably never would have been made. What once seemed like a minus actually worked out as a plus. Even if it feels like a detour, the road continues on.”
He also faced the collapse of a video production company he had run.
“In my mid-thirties, I founded the company out of a desire to make the film industry better, but back then it was nothing but days of being chased by money. I lent 80 million yen to a colleague whose business had hit a dead end, and when he disappeared, the company went bankrupt, leaving me saddled with massive debt.
But I was the one who decided to lend the money, so I can’t make excuses. Since it was money, I once had, I figured I could earn it back, so instead of declaring bankruptcy, I just worked like a horse. I’m not the type to carefully test a bridge before crossing it—my mindset is, even if the bridge collapses and I fall into the river, I’ll just swim across to the other side. People might call falling off the bridge turbulence, but once you’ve fallen, the only choice is to climb back up, right?”
Ozawa tasted rock bottom twice—first with the poor performance of a film he produced, then with his company’s bankruptcy. His astonishingly positive outlook and mental toughness, he says, were forged in the non-compliant workplace of the Showa era.
“Looking back, the acting world back then was what we’d now call straight-up power harassment or moral harassment. For example, on the set of my debut work Taiyo ni Hoero!, directors and staff couldn’t say a word to someone like Yujiro Ishihara (who died at 52), so newcomers like me, appearing as guest actors, became the targets of bullying.
Once, they didn’t even tell me the lines had been changed, so in the middle of filming I got yelled at— ‘What the hell are you doing! The lines are wrong!’—and I nearly punched the director. Another time, after finishing a flashy car chase scene, the producer told me, ‘We’ll come pick you up, so wait here,’ and I ended up stranded for more than three hours next to a completely burned-out car (laughs). Having fought through that kind of world, maybe that’s how I developed my own way of handling turbulence—the ‘Ozawa-style survival technique.’”
An unexpectedly surprising current dream
Lately, Ozawa has been thriving not only in his acting career but also on YouTube. The channel he launched on his 59th birthday, Warau Ozawa to Okoreru Hitoshi (“Laughing Ozawa and Angry Hitoshi”), has grown into a hit with over 320,000 subscribers.
“I never would’ve done this back in the day, but when I thought about how to make the rest of my life more fun, I figured I should give it a try. Even if I fail, it’s way better than ending without ever knowing. That’s why I started YouTube, and now I get to enjoy things like visiting my favorite neighborhood Chinese joints or collaborating with people I’d always wanted to work with.
For example, teaming up with Ichiro Furutachi (70) would’ve been impossible on TV, but I tried making an offer and it actually worked out. Furutachi-san is super funny and a great guy. He even jumped in for an impromptu drinking session while we were shooting, and afterward we drank together until 2 a.m. One thing led to another, and thanks to that connection I even ended up going out drinking in Shinjuku’s Nichome with him and Yukine—Sachiko Kobayashi (71).”
He also revealed ties with a senior actor from one of his most iconic dramas.
“When I was in my twenties on School☆Wars, I was taken care of by Shinji Yamashita (73), and I got him to appear on my channel, too. Back then I played a student named Ryo Mizuhara, and Yamashita-san was the passionate rugby coach. Almost every day he’d say, ‘Mizuhara, let’s go eat!’ and treat me to meals. I even got to enjoy his wife’s home cooking. He’s a benefactor and someone I deeply respect, so being able to reunite with him through YouTube is one of the best things about it.”
Though juggling both acting and YouTubing, Ozawa’s enthusiasm for his hobbies is just as fierce.
“My amateur baseball team, the Bulldogs, is still active, and besides that I’ve got reading, manga, games, Disneyland, touring neighborhood Chinese restaurants… I’m always busy. Lately I’ve gotten hooked on the mobile game Prospi A, and I’m raising four versions of Shohei Ohtani—yes, I’ve even been spending money on it (laughs).
To me, there are only two people worthies of being called ‘superstars’: Eikichi Yazawa (75) and Shohei Ohtani (31). I watch almost every game Ohtani plays live, which has actually made me start waking up early and living healthier. It’s nothing but positives!”
At 63, he’s still both an actor and a master of fun. And in the final chapter of his memoir Loving Turbulence, he writes that while he’s prepared for the possibility of dying alone, he also reveals a surprising ambition.
“If I could realize my dream of becoming an archaeologist, I might just quit acting. Or, if people say, ‘We don’t need Ozawa anymore,’ or if I start feeling suffocated by the entertainment industry, I’d be fine walking away at any time. There’s a good chance I’ll be off adventuring in the mountains or the sea.
But if I quit work, I’ll just turn into an old man, so I need to keep life exciting. If you guys at the weekly magazines ever think, ‘This industry is boring,’ come tell me—I’ll let you board my ship! Sounds like I’m talking about joining the One-Piece crew, huh? (laughs)”
Delivering a sharp self-comeback with flair, Ozawa’s voyage—rocked by waves of turbulence—looks set to continue for a long time yet.
From the August 1, 2025, issue of “FRIDAY”
PHOTO： Photo (3rd) provided by Hiroyuki Komatsu
