Interview with Kotaro Yoshida, late bloomer but “I never thought I had been under the stage for too long.

A theater graduate and a movie star

I had this suit custom-made on the recommendation of someone I respect. He looked so nice in his ascot tie that I asked him about it, and he said, ‘There is a tailor I know, so let’s make clothes together.

When the FRIDAY reporter said, “That’s a nice suit,” actor Kotaro Yoshida (67), dressed in a fine dark brown slim suit, smiled innocently.

Who exactly is Yoshida’s “admirer” ……? It is the silver screen star who stars in the movie “Return the Driver’s License! The film was released in 1994.

The film depicts about 30 years after the 1994 release of “No License! (1994), in which Tachi’s character, Hiroshi Nanjo, is once again involved in a slapstick drama over a driver’s license. Yoshida plays the president of the entertainment production company to which Nanjo belongs, and his presence is profoundly felt at key points in the story. Yoshida said with a wry smile that he was too nervous to play the role with Tate, with whom he was working together for the first time.

I was so nervous that I couldn’t concentrate on the role,” he said with a wry smile. That was all I could think about.

Yoshida made his first stage appearance while a student at Sophia University in a Shakespeare Study Group performance, and since then his career has long been centered on the stage. He has continued his studies as a regular in productions directed by Yukio Ninagawa, and although he is a late bloomer, he first came to prominence in his 50s with such high-profile productions as “Hanzawa Naoki” (TBS, 2001) and “Osan Zurabu” (TV Asahi, 2004).

As a theater actor myself, working with Mr. Tachi was like a different kind of martial arts. Even if it is the same play, the genres are different. This was the first time for me to work with a genuine movie star, so it was very fresh and frightening (laughs).

Yoshida was prepared to work with a “different kind” of actor, but her nervousness quickly dissipated.

I knew that the first shot was crucial, so I took it to heart. The scene in which I had to drag Mr. Tachi back from the location bus as he was about to go outside. To be honest, I was a bit hesitant and wondered if I could really do it, so I saved my energy a little. Then he said, “You can do it more seriously. We both agreed to do it without hesitation. From that point on, it became easier.

Why the “Swing Out of the Box

The shock of seeing Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” when he was in high school propelled Yoshida to become an actor. After his stage experience, Yoshida’s breakthrough came in his fifties, when he began working in film. It seems like he has been “under the radar” for too long. ……

I don’t know if that’s true in the eyes of the public, but I’ve never thought of myself as an “underachiever. People who do theater don’t originally think they can make a living just doing theater, so they do part-time jobs and so on. But in my case, it was different. I thought, “I’m going to sell someday,” even though I had no basis for it (laughs). Basically, you have to be positive to do theater.

What is important to him is “to be a presence that will remain in the audience’s memory,” he says.

I’ve only been performing on stage and made my debut in film late, so I don’t think I have much time left in my life as a filmmaker. That is why I have always been more conscious of the need to leave my mark in each of my works than those who have been involved in the industry since I was young.

It is not to stand out with eccentric performances, but to carefully scoop up the characters that emerge from the script. I want to get to the point where I think, “There is no one like this,” but there is still something realistic about the character. I want to aim for the very edge of that line. But recently, when I do ego searches, I get comments like, ‘Your voice is too loud,’ or ‘Your acting is too hot and bothered,’ so I feel like I need to do something about that.

(Laughs)” Even when she reads anti-comments on social networking sites, she has the mental strength to say, “I’m concerned, but I don’t get depressed. Behind this is a career that does not let criticism get the better of him.

In my career as an actor, there have been several turning points that came unexpectedly. For example, in 2006, I performed Shakespeare’s title role (“Titus Andronicus”) in England under the direction of Yukio Ninagawa, and it was very well received. This was a moment of recognition for someone who had done Shakespeare.

I entered the world of film after I turned 50 and was able to play roles in “Guilty” (’10, Fuji TV), “Hanako and Anne” (’14, NHK), and “MOZU” (’14, TBS), all of which I felt I could respond to on film. I feel that these roles gave me a great deal of confidence. I was excited and at the same time brave enough to work on these three films. I think these two were turning points for me in terms of my work.

In addition to the stage, Yoshida has become an indispensable presence in movies and TV dramas.

In the end, I use what I have cultivated on the stage in the film world as well. In the drama “The Brothers Karamazov” (’13, Fuji TV), I played a villainous father who abuses his sons in a scene. During the performance, I got into my stage habits and broke plates, threw bread, and even broke glasses while yelling and screaming. On stage, that kind of ad-libbing is appreciated.

Now that I think about it, there are so many taboos, but the cameraman was very good, and he switched from a stationary camera to a hand-held camera and followed the whole thing. That made me think, ‘Oh, I can do whatever I want. I regret it, but I am glad I did it.

He starts learning his lines at 8:30 p.m.

The intense range of emotions and the bizarre immersion in the role – this “monstrous performance” can be said to be Yoshida’s quintessential performance. But for Yoshida, this is nothing special.

He says, “I had a tremendous director, Yukio Ninagawa, so I had to take a lot of risks on the stage. So for me it was a natural thing to do, but at first it felt strange to do it on film. I wondered if it was okay to do it in such an exaggerated way.

But there are places that accept it. The drama series “Ossan Zurubu Love” (’16-) may be the one in which such a “swashbuckling” act unexpectedly gained support.

Since the story is about an “old man” who falls in love with a subordinate of the same sex, I wasn’t sure how to approach it at first. However, the interaction with Kei Tanaka (41) was very exciting. I heard that “X” ranked first in global trends when it aired. It was my first experience with that kind of response.

In his personal life, he married a woman 22 years younger than himself in 2004. He now has two daughters, and the axis of his life has shifted dramatically.

I have to pick up my kids after this interview today, too. I’m going as far as I can,” he says happily, the true face of a father anywhere.

When I didn’t have children and had a lot of free time, I felt like I was wasting it. I needed time to think about the play, or I had to stay alone and memorize the lines.

But now, my main focus is on my children, so I finish everything around 8:30 pm. From there, I read the script and memorize the lines. In the morning, my duties start with walking the dog, and when I get home, I feed the kids and wash the dishes. I don’t know if I can say it myself, but I think it’s amazing (laughs). (Laughs) Especially in the morning, it’s a big battle.

Yoshida’s expression seems to reflect a sense of fulfillment that goes beyond exhaustion. In closing, he had some positive words of advice for the readers of FRIDAY.

Our generation sometimes feels weak,” he said. But it would be a waste to be swallowed up by such weakness. We have worked hard to get this far in life, and I think there are still things we haven’t done yet. So if we keep pouring gasoline into the tank without turning off the engine, I think we will be able to see a new view. That is what I want to keep believing in.

On stage, in films, and at home. Yoshida continues to run at full throttle today.

From the May 29, 2026 issue of FRIDAY