Rena Tanaka: “Back then, I was frustrated every day.

Trying her hand at comedy for the first time in more than a decade

I have dreamed of being in show business since I was five years old. Back then, I used to pray every night, “Someone find me! I used to pray every night, “Someone find me!

One person who fondly remembers the unfulfilled ambition and frustration of those days is actor Rena Tanaka (45).

In her acting debut, the 1998 film “Ganbatte Ikimasshoi,” she passionately played the role of Etsuko Shinomura (a.k.a. “Etsu-ne-ae”), a high school student who establishes the rowing club of her dreams. In the last part of the movie, Etsu-ne’e shouts “Ganbatte Ikimasshoi! in the last part of the film, which was a big hit and brought a refreshing sensation to the viewers.

Since then, she has continued to appear in a succession of high-profile films, including “Hatsukoi” (2000) and “Tokyo Marigold” (2001), and has continued to build her career, remaining at the forefront of the industry.

In the film “The Gold Thief,” which opens in theaters on April 3, Tanaka takes on the challenge of playing a role in a comedy for the first time in more than a decade. Tanaka plays Mikako, a housewife who is fascinated by gold and becomes a thief. Although the setting is outlandish, Tanaka felt a strong synchronicity with the protagonist’s struggles.

Mikako has been ambitious since she was a little girl,” said Tanaka. She wanted to work hard and contribute to society, but her parents decided that normal was the best and that she should be mediocre. My partner also told me to ‘follow my work’ and quit my job. I can really understand her frustration at not being able to live her life in her own way.

This “bitterness of not being able to live life in her own way” overlaps with the frustration of Tanaka, who grew up in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and decided at the age of five that she would become an actress. She had watched singers Seiko Matsuda (64) and Fumiya Fujii (63), both stars from her hometown, on TV and believed she could be like them, but reality was not so easy.

But reality was not so easy. “When I was about 15 years old, I really started to get impatient. When I told my high school guidance counselor that I wanted to become an actress, the teacher was surprised, and my mother said, ‘What are you talking about, like a dream? I didn’t have the means to go to Tokyo, and I really didn’t think it would be possible. I am alive today because I became an actor, but if I had not become an actor, I would have been in a lot of pain and would not have been able to live. So, there were many things that were linked to Mikako’s thoughts and feelings.

Despite the fierce opposition from those around him, Tanaka’s life was shaken by a long-awaited moment.

I was in despair because I was going to graduate from high school the following year, but I had turned 17. I remember well the color of the sky and the slopes I walked down on my way home from school, thinking, ‘Am I going to go on living an ordinary life like this? At the time, I was appearing in a local commercial in Kyushu, and my mother was encouraging me, saying, ‘If you keep working like this, someone will find you,’ but I felt like I had no more time left and was frustrated every day.

Then I came home from school and my mother told me that I had an audition for the movie “Ganbatte Ikimasshoi. I felt like I had already been accepted, and I thought, “This is it!　I’m sure I’m going to get it. It’s my role! It’s my role!

Like the protagonist of a boy’s comic book, he has a fervent confidence that has no basis in reality. In fact, during the selection process for the lead role, which had not been decided for a long time, a film director who happened to be back home saw Tanaka in a local TV commercial and said, “I like this girl,” and called her in for the final selection.

My mother’s words came true beautifully. But all the people at the audition venue in Tokyo were all fierce competitors who had taken lessons. All I had was my bare spirit (laughs). (Laughs.) I lost my mind during the audition and stopped acting in the middle of the audition, but the director told me, “Don’t worry, you can still do it from now on. But when I saw his face, I had an animal instinct and thought to myself, “I got the part! I thought to myself, “I’ve been accepted!

Her intuition was right, and she successfully won the heroine’s role. The movie was a long-running hit. She herself made an impressive debut, winning all the awards for best newcomer to the film industry that year.

In the 25 years since then, Tanaka has built up her career and has become one of Japan’s proud leading actresses.

In the April 28 issue of “FRIDAY April 17/24” and the paid version of “FRIDAY GOLD,” Tanaka talks candidly about episodes from her “Natchan” breakthrough and her future prospects.

For more details and multiple photos, click here↓.

From the April 17/24, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY