Ryo Narita and Arata Iura Go Guerrilla Driving in Shibuya in a Flashy Convertible Car!

Around 4:30 in the evening of March 30, a Chevrolet Impala appeared on the streets of Shibuya, which were packed with people after the “Manbou” event. Climbing into the backseat of the flashy convertible were actors Ryo Narita (28) and Arata Iura (47).

The two actors, both wearing masks, are conversing with passersby. Passersby were thrown into a panic when they saw these two handsome actors descend on the scene unannounced. Whenever they stopped at a traffic light, they were subjected to a concentrated barrage of photo-taking, and they responded in a friendly manner, saying, “You can take pictures, but please watch the movie, too~.”

This was a secret promotion for the film “Elder Phoenix,” scheduled for release on April 15. They were cruising around guerrilla-style in a green Chevrolet, which also appears in the film.

The film is a sequel to “Niwatori Star,” which was released in 2017, and the main cast remains the same, only the setting has changed. It is a road movie with a unique worldview in which two childhood friends, Narita and Iura, ‘set out on a journey in search of the urban legend firebird. The previous film was released in the main theater, but its extreme violence scenes and Narita’s wet scene with TV personality LiLiCo attracted a lot of attention. The sequel was the focus of much attention.’ Thank you,’ a remote piece that directors Iura, Narita, and Kanata Wolf distributed on their personal Instagram accounts in the Corona disaster, was the inspiration for the production.

The “charade” has been sealed.

Narita has no trouble teaming up with Iura, an actor who is nearly 20 years his junior, and with six movies having been released in the past year, he is a force to be reckoned with. In drama, he starred in “Fugitive Doctor F” (NTV) in January, his first starring role in a prime-time drama series, and his first stage production, “Pandora’s Bell,” is scheduled to be staged in June.

What is it about Narita that is attracting so much attention among the popular actors of “1993,” including Masaki Suda and Ryoma Takeuchi? Columnist Takahiko Kageyama answers.

In NHK’s morning drama “Ochoyan,” Narita played a difficult role in which he made a move on a woman other than his wife, Hana Sugisaki, and got her pregnant, but there is something about him that makes him stand out. It brings out the good-natured side of me that I can’t hate. It is a performance that is not yet developed, but it is not yet finished, and from the creator’s point of view, it looks like it is worth putting on a play. He may be the one who finds himself on the big board.”

Narita, once the subject of endless rumors of “charlatans,” seems to be devoting himself to his work these days. He is on his way up in acting world with his sights set on becoming the number one actor of his generation.

From the April 22, 2022 issue of FRIDAY