This was my first time acting in a drama. The director was Sakae Okazaki. I had the impression that he was a very dignified director. At the time, I had no acting experience, so a director was an overwhelming presence for me. I didn’t know what was what with acting, but I think I acted while feeling Okazaki’s “sincerity” towards the work.

The role that I played was a difficult one–Shinya Kakuta, a boy who stabbed his father to death. This work is a story about the rebirth of boys and girls who have committed crimes, and Aiba (Masaki)-kun (playing Matsushita Kei) and Takahashi Issei-san (Sugita Koichi) also appeared in it.

In between filming, Aiba-kun and I would talk about music. I remember him telling me about a band he recommended, and we listened to and discussed the CD. I haven’t worked with Takahashi Issei-san since then, but I would like to work with him again.

The reason I got into this industry was because I saw Takizawa Hideaki-kun in a drama. Takizawa-kun’s first drama appearance was when he was 13 years old, and I was the same age when I appeared in this show. I feel it’s fate that I was able to appear in a drama at the same age as someone I admired. I was about 8 years old when I saw Takizawa-kun in a drama, so it’s quite moving to think that I was able to be in a drama 4 or 5 years after I started to admire him.