Honami Suzuki Loves the Idea of Freedom as She Marks 40 Years and Keeps Expanding Her Acting Range

“I’d like to appear on stage.”

“Please!”

A clear, lively voice echoes. Contrary to her cool image, actress Honami Suzuki arrived at the interview location with light, graceful steps.

She made her acting debut in 1986 in the TBS drama Onna Fūrin Kazan, and this year marks 40 years in the entertainment industry. While she is a veteran with a long career, in recent years she has steadily expanded the range of her activities and roles.

In last year’s TV drama Private Banker (TV Asahi), she played a naive dumpling shop owner who falls victim to an investment scam. In Hito no Hito-mi (Fuji TV), she portrayed an indecisive HR manager. In the ABEMA original drama Scandal Eve, she completely changed direction, delivering a powerful performance as a villain, playing the president of a major talent agency who tries to destroy a small agency run by the protagonist (played by Ko Shibasaki) using any means necessary.

She is also scheduled to appear in the NHK BS drama Taiketsu, starting April 5. Meanwhile, she has recently become increasingly active in stage productions as well.

“About ten years ago, I started going to the theater more often and began to think I’d like to try it myself. When I told people around me, ‘I want to do stage work,’ some said, ‘I thought you didn’t like it.’ I’ve never said I disliked it—it just wasn’t really an opportunity I had. I realized that in this industry, things move based on image, and if that’s the case, then I should actively say, ‘That’s not true,’ and try to break that image.”

Continuing to express her passion for the stage, her starring play Ase ga Me ni Haitta dake opens on April 3. The production will tour five locations across Japan, starting in Tokyo and then moving to Hiroshima, Osaka, Toyama, and Yamagata. This laugh-out-loud funeral comedy features Suzuki playing the role of a mother who returns as a ghost.

“I’m working with playwright-director Yū Tomisaka (40) for the second time since Topō Seisō – Is a Liar the Beginning of a Politician? in 2024. After that production ended, we talked about wanting to work together again, and that became this new stage play.

A funeral is something everyone experiences, so I think it’s a subject with many possibilities. There is also the classic film The Funeral by Jūzō Itami (deceased, 64). I trust that anything Tomisaka writes will definitely be interesting.”

I want to aim for freedom

Recently, Suzuki has been taking on a wide variety of roles, giving the impression that she is becoming more and more free in her work. When this was mentioned to her, she responded with unexpected words.

“I really like the word freedom. I want to aim for freedom. I’m very happy that I was thought of for a villain role in Scandal Eve. I feel like there are people who find it interesting to see me take on different roles one by one. I always approach my work with the intention of responding with my full effort to such directions.”

She smiles slightly and says, “Playing a villain was fun too,” adding that she has loved television dramas since she was a child.

“Because of my mother, I used to watch NHK morning dramas and TBS daytime dramas like the ‘Paula TV Novel’ series. I really loved Kanako Higuchi (67), who appeared in Paula TV Novel (Koro-gibashi, aired in 1978). She was so wonderful.”

In her third year of high school, she applied for the Horipro Talent Scout Caravan and received a special jury award out of 120,000 applicants. However, she recalls that she did not enter the industry with a firm determination to become an entertainer.

“In high school, audition magazines were popular and widely available, so I applied quite casually. I never imagined I would pass there and continue working for so long. I also took university entrance exams, so it wasn’t really a case of strong determination or anything like that.”

From a wind-blown beginning to a 40-year career, the veteran actress now seems to be spreading her wings most freely.

In the April 10 issue of FRIDAY released on March 26 and the paid version FRIDAY GOLD, she also reveals changes in her values after a hiatus and the books that have recently influenced her.

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From the April 10, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”