“I Was Always Prepared to Quit Acting”—Special Interview with Actor Yutaka Mizutani

Although I had once given up acting,

“Ah, it’s finally begun—that’s what I felt when I saw the finished film for the first time. I realized that my nearly 60-year career in the entertainment industry had been a long, long period of preparation, and that my own world was finally beginning.”

Actor Yutaka Mizutani (73) began speaking about his life with a gentle gaze.The “film” mentioned at the beginning refers to *Piccola felicità (Piccola Felicità) ~Small Happiness~*, which is currently being released in theaters nationwide in stages. It is his fourth film as a director—a major production in which he took on five roles himself: planning, directing, screenwriting, producing, and starring.

Mizutani first came to prominence in the drama *The Scarred Angel* (Nippon TV), which began airing in 1974, and went on to star in the *Netsu-chu Jidai* series (1978–, Nippon TV), which achieved viewership ratings exceeding 40 percent,and the national phenomenon “Aibou” (TV Asahi), which celebrated its 26th anniversary this year—he has consistently remained at the forefront of the industry. So what does he mean by calling this a “preparation period”?

“I’ve been interested in the world of film and television since I was a child. My earliest memory is probably from when I was about three or four years old—watching *Kurama Tengu* at an outdoor traveling movie theater.Adults and children alike sat on straw mats spread out on the ground to watch. I remember the scene where Kurama Tengu defeated the villains being met with thunderous applause—it was incredibly exciting.”

Later, after watching American TV dramas, I thought, “I want to go to that world,” and joined the Himawari Theater Company. I made my acting debut at age 14 in the TV drama *Magma Ambassador* (Fuji TV), but in my senior year of high school, I gave up acting and decided to study abroad in California, USA.

“I decided to study abroad because I wanted to see a new world. However, my father’s company went bankrupt, so I had to give up on studying abroad. I also failed my entrance exams for Japanese universities, became despondent, and ran away from home. I ended up at a rest house on the shores of Lake Yamanaka, where I lived and worked for about two months.”

At the time, Mizutani himself had no intention of returning to the entertainment world. However, those around him wouldn’t leave him alone and approached him about appearing in a drama. He reportedly returned to the set thinking of it as just a part-time job, but…

“Just because it was a part-time job didn’t mean I’d do it half-heartedly; I gave my all to every project. Doing the best I possibly can is something I’ve always made a point of doing. But when it was over, for some reason, it didn’t feel like I’d actually done anything. No matter how well it was received, I strangely felt no sense of accomplishment.I always thought, ‘There must be another world out there that suits me better,’ and I was mentally prepared to quit acting immediately if I found it.”

A Promise with Yusaku Matsuda

That feeling began to change when his daughter, Shuri (35), was born, when he was 38 years old.

“When I saw my daughter’s name listed on the family register, I felt a surge of emotion—the realization that I now had someone to protect. Of course, I still took jobs based on offers, but that was the first time I decided to try to continue acting for as long as possible.”

September 21, the day Shuri was born, was, coincidentally, also the birthday of his close friend Yusaku Matsuda (who passed away the previous year at the age of 40).He first met Matsuda when he was 20. Mizutani had appeared as a criminal in *Howl at the Sun!* (Nippon TV), the series in which Matsuda gained popularity as the “Jeans Detective.” The two hit it off immediately and developed a close, easygoing relationship where they could talk about anything.

“Actually, around 1988, when Yusaku-chan was hospitalized for bladder cancer, I was diagnosed with the same disease. We were admitted to the same hospital and underwent surgery, but since we hadn’t made it public, I set my hospital room name tag to ‘Yutaka Mizuta’—a combination of our two names. Yusaku-chan was flabbergasted, saying, ‘What kind of name is that?’ (laughs).Since we were both in and out of the hospital, whoever was discharged would visit the other, and we’d talk about all sorts of things. We even talked about how, once we were cured, we’d direct a TV drama together.”

The dream of directing a TV drama was never realized due to Matsuda’s death. However, keeping his promise to his close friend close to his heart, Mizutani went on to carve out a career for himself as a film director.

The “FRIDAY July 17 & 24 Combined Issue,” on sale July 3, and the paid edition “FRIDAY GOLD” feature detailed reports on his first collaboration with his daughter, Shuri, among other topics.

Click here to view the full article and additional photos↓

From the July 17–24, 2026, combined issue of *FRIDAY*