Masami Nagasawa’s New Year’s Day Marriage and the Strange Signs at Work

There had been whispers of a relationship with an unconventional actor

The big news right at the start of the year caused a stir.

On January 1, actress Masami Nagasawa (38) suddenly announced her marriage to film director Soshi Fukunaga (43).

Through her agency, Nagasawa wrote, with a handwritten signature:

〈We will support each other and cherish our daily lives, and from now on, we intend to walk through life carefully, step by step.〉

Her partner, Fukunaga, had his first feature film “White Blood of Liberia” receive Best Picture at the Los Angeles Film Festival. He also directed Episode 7 of “SHOGUN”, which won a record 18 Emmy Awards. According to someone in the film industry:

“He is a promising director mainly active in English-speaking countries. His meticulous and careful work is highly regarded.”

Nagasawa’s marriage came as a surprise even to the entertainment press.

In the past, she had been reported to date Kazunari Ninomiya of Arashi and actor Yusuke Iseya, but in the past ten years, there had been virtually no rumors about her love life. A TV station insider who knows Nagasawa said:

“Nagasawa-san is the type to be drawn to ‘talent’ over appearance, regardless of age. She’s interested in men whose aura is different from others, or who are knowledgeable about worlds she hasn’t experienced. A long time ago, there were suspicions about a relationship with an unconventional actor nearly two decades older than her. He really was a person with a unique sensibility.”

There’s more to the story. At the time when her relationship with that older actor was rumored, another handsome actor had feelings for Nagasawa, but she didn’t even glance in his direction.

As an actress, she deliberately chooses the stage

“That actor is highly popular, currently appearing in multiple commercials, and extremely successful. In private, he’s approachable and kind to women. From an outsider’s perspective, compared to the older actor with a slightly dangerous aura, this handsome actor would have been the correct choice. But perhaps she found that unsatisfying,” said the same TV station insider.

Nagasawa won the grand prize at the 1999 5th Toho Cinderella Audition at the record young age of 12 and debuted in the 2000 film Crossfire. This year marks her 26th year in the industry. She has experienced a wide range of things both personally and professionally to reach the now.

“In her 20s, she seemed very curious. In June 2014, she posted a photo on social media standing like a crab, arms and legs spread, blocking a stopped taxi, which caused a minor stir, but at that time she was innocent and lighthearted,” said a women’s magazine reporter.

Recently, however, there have been noticeable changes in Nagasawa, according to a senior executive at her talent agency:

“She not only reads scripts thoroughly, but when she has questions or wants to deepen her understanding, she discusses them with the director or producer until she is satisfied. It gives the impression that she has finally entered her full maturity as an actress.”

It can be said that Nagasawa’s true strength lies in the stage. Compared to dramas or films, theater may seem understated, but short-term rehearsals and performing in front of a live audience leave no room for evasion. The pay is also far lower than overseas productions like Netflix. Yet, the more skilled an actor is, the more they value the tension of the stage as the origin of acting.

Nagasawa is one of them. Two years ago, she appeared in Love Triangle (directed by Hideki Noda) alongside Jun Matsumoto of Arashi and even performed in London. Last year, in April, she co-starred with Mirai Moriyama in Odoru Fufu. The same talent agency executive continued:

“Even if the lines are the same, the stage changes day by day. Nagasawa-san would share what she noticed that day with the other members and refine it. I remember being impressed by her professionalism.”

Now that her marriage to internationally active director Fukunaga has been revealed, the talent executive said:

“Seeing Nagasawa-san’s transformation, somehow it just made sense.”

With her marriage to director Fukunaga, there are also rumors of overseas challenges for Nagasawa in 2026. She seems poised to achieve even greater success as an actress.