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Ninomiya - the actor or the idol? - part 1
In the past month, we've seen many footages and news reports of Nino having a taste of the glamorous world. There were quite some hype in the local Japanese media that Nino has a good chance to get nominated as best supporting actor in the Oscar too.
While I don't really think it's that big of a deal (just my very own personal opinion so don't mind me), but no doubt I am very happy for Nino for getting such recognition in his acting. Happy that Director Eastwood finds him to be a young actor with great potentials, and the Jp media finally thinks he is more than just a Johnnys.
I am sure the fans are enjoying this moment, probably more than Nino himself (I suspect for Mr. Game Nikki, he probably enjoys catching that villian more than being part of the center of attention in the film fest). But underneath all these excitement and "proud-as-a-parent" moments, do we really understand what Nino thinks of himself as an actor? How he is taking all these as an idol?
I was reading the interviews that Nino had with H magazine in the Sept and Nov issue. In these two issues he talked about his approach in acting. I found it very interesting and thought could share with the others who wanted to understand him more as well. As we all know, you can never get much of an answer from Nino from those Q&A sections in the monthly Johnnys magazines. ~_~
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His Acting Approach...
Q: Your thoughts on the work of Kiroii Namida (Yellow Tears) I guess you could say it's a good piece of work. How should I put this…it's probably inappropriate for me to talk about this, but when I look at the script, I only read there parts that have my lines. The other information to me are unnecessary. That's because, my character in the movie does not exist in the other parts. Rather than trying to grasp the overall direction of the story, I much prefer to understand my character completely.
Isn't it the job of the director and the staff to ensure the movie is heading at the right direction? I have placed my trust in the team while I am doing my job.
Perhaps it's a better approach to try to understand more about the general direction of the movie, but that's not my style. If you ask me why do I want to participate in this work, I would say that's because I want to enjoy the work myself too. I will wait for the day until the movie is officially released to public, at the same time reading the interviews and reviews on the newspaper and think 'this sounds like an interesting piece'. And finally when I watch the movie I can say 'This is great! I am so glad to have participated in this work!' This is the way I would prefer.
Q: So to you, bringing out the importance of the movie itself is in priority to showcasing yourself as an actor?
Yes, because I am the audience too.
Q: Won’t it be very crucial on the kind of actors you are acting against?
You can say that. I don't really spend much time reading the script at home. Nor would I spend too much time trying to drill down character. It'd be a shame if I kill of the potential possibilities by thinking too much. Rather than trying to create this character by myself in my mind, isn't it more fun to create the character with everyone as the filming goes? Q: If you put too much thoughts into it, then you might lost some of the flexibility on the set, right?
Probably. Of course, there are many other actors who are able to first fixed a certain image of their character and still have the flexibility to change to better suit the filming. But I'm not like that. This might sound a bit strange but I think, when it comes to knowing what kind of person I am, the others might have a better idea than myself. Especially for people like us. (I think here he means as an idol who gets watched by the others constantly)
I think, rather than having myself to determine the personality of the character I’m playing, it's better for the others to create with me. As long as I know about the core elements of this character, I can create the world that belongs to him.
On top of that, everyone in Arashi is very talented! Once I've seen how they interact with my character, I would naturally reflect how the character should behave accordingly, I think this is the best approach. If I am too focused on how I think the character should be like, it would be too self-centered. Just like normally, who Ninomiya is depends on how he interacts with the person he's with? Ninomiya is not someone that I can create all on my own. * ano, at this point, I am a bit lost at nino's technical thoughts, gomen ne if it sounds confusing to you m(-_-)m. Q: are there any examples where you must stick to your principle at work? Not really, having no principle is my principle. For this type of work, if you are too determined to hold on to certain things, but these certain things are not wanted by the others, then isn't it pointless for you to hold on so tight to it? It doesn't even worth a cent. Of course, everyone thinks differently, however if you have limited yourself to not do something, or must do something because of this principle, then I think it's not worth it. I don't like myself to be someone that must do things in a certain way. Q: you don't want to limit your possibilities? How should I say this, the last thing you want at acting is to prefix your mindset. In acting, you just can't not let it go. Even if there is a small trace of yourself in your character, then the whole acting becomes meaningless. If you have the ability to hide it up, then having this prefixed mindset is still fine. but once you have the slightest thought of acting cute, acting cool, then this type of acting becomes very annoying. Of course, it's no problem if the character itself requires you to be cool, but if others can tell that "this is just yourself trying to act cool", "you just couldn't hide it probably", this is extremely annoying. If "it's that person therefore the role is very sexy", then there is no big deal about it (because the actor would be just playing himself). But if "it's that person but (made the role) look sexy", then this is where I find it interesting. Therefore, when I act, I would not preset anything in my mind. ~My thoughts~ Wow, I am really glad that H magazine had this interview with Nino ne. It’s the first time I read about how he prepares for his roles. You know most of the time all we hear is that Nino doesn’t need to look at the script at the film set because he is very good at memorizing the lines but that’s about it.
I think that, since Nino is interested in being a director and does write his own scripts for fun, that’s why he respect and has this trust in the different units in film making process. For example, an actor is supposed to work with the director to create a piece of work that the director has in mind, not the piece of work that the actor has. Also, the job of the actor is to reflect the characteristics of the role that is created by the scriptwriter but not to takeover the personality of the role.
I think tho, Nino’s approach probably only work on him because he is a genius in acting. He gets recognize by how natural he is in portraying the characters. Where as for Jun, I think he gets his recognition in acting by putting lots of effort in preparing for the role. I think Jun is not as good an actor as Nino naturally, but his hardwork made up for it! I really enjoy the acting of both of them ne!
Comments
YOU know my comments on this.
He's pretty much a lazy bum gamer who has a heck care attitude lol thankfully, he has the talents and memory skills to back him up.
When it comes to his work or profession, Nino is very serious about it. His non-chalance is a trademark of his, so is his wit, but when it comes to the serious stuff, he expects others to do their job as much as he does it. I don't think he is really a genius at acting, but I think that he the ability let others working on the same project to mold his character/role as they see it.
Thanks for the translation. Gonna favorite it.
I agree with some of your thought toward nino and Jun.
Nino do it in a natural way, whereas Jun is well prepare for his role.. both of them show passion in their job.
After reading this interview, I really appreciate Nino's way toward himself and his job;
work hard and play hard.. this is always true,
support them with my heart..
p.s sorry I am new in Vox , not good in creating my vox page to share my arashi stuff., but I am glad to see your posts.