ARTICLE
Actor Kento Yamazaki on his fighting scenes in action film, ‘Kingdom’
By Flora / 27 May 2019 (Monday)
24-year-old actor, Kento Yamazaki was in Singapore to share his thoughts on filming the action-adventure film, Kingdom.
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Photo Credit: mm2 Entertainment
As the film’s protagonist, Shin, an aspiring warrior, Yamazaki shared that it was a challenging process for him. It wasn’t the long hours or the physical state that he has to prepare for his role, but rather the various fighting styles that he had to learn for the movie. “Shin is a self-taught warrior, so his style of fighting is very different. There were a lot of difficulties acting this role because depending on the enemy, Shin’s style of fighting changes.”
He added: “It was difficult, but it was also enjoyable.”
"Kingdom" is the live-action adaptation based on the manga series of the same name. It tells the story about Shin, a former general of Qin, who are war-orphans in the kingdom who dreams of becoming ‘Great Generals of the Heavens’. His time to shine came when he was pushed to protect the current King of Qin from assassins. Shin decides to stay by the King and help him regain his power of the throne.
Film still courtesy of: mm2 Entertainment
The film also stars Ryo Yoshizawa (Hyo/Ei Sei), Kanna Hashimoto (Ten), Masami Nagasawa (Yo Tan Wa) and Kanata Hongo (Sei Kyo).
Playing his best buddy, Hyo, and the reigning King of Qin, is Ryo Yoshizawa. In the first few scenes in the movie, their camaraderie between the two characters was so strong that it was hard to see them go their separate ways. And it was one of the memorable scenes of Yamazaki himself.
“Hyo and Shin have a really strong brotherhood. When they had to say goodbye in the movie, it was a very important scene for "Kingdom". Mr Hara, the original writer for the manga told us the importance of that scene and we put a lot of effort into those heavy scenes and focused a lot on that…. I hope the audiences will pay more attention to those scenes.”
Photo Credit: mm2 Entertainment
The film has been very well-received in Japan, and many foresee that this will be one of the most successful films in the actor’s career. Yamazaki chuckled and said: “I read the comic and was a fan of it before I was being cast as Shin. I was so excited to star in the movie, but at the same time, I felt pressured as it is a very known comic. It was difficult, but like Shin, I put 100% of my effort into it and I hope the fans will enjoy the movie too”
Kingdom opens InCinemas 20 June 2019