ARTICLE
[InC-terview] Kazuya Kamenashi on Playing 33 Characters in It's Me It's Me!
By InCinemas / 14 Oct 2013 (Monday)
Kazuya Kamenashi of popular boyband KAT-TUN stars in the upcoming film, It's Me It's Me, adapted from the novel 'Ore Ore'. Check out our interview with the multi-talented actor-singer!
It's Me It's Me premiered in the 15th Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy in April where Kamenashi won the 'My Movie Audience Award'. In the interview, we find out about his inspiration playing 33 different characters and how he juggles with acting, singing and hosting.
InCinemas: Hi Kazuya Kamenashi, share with us, how did you land yourself in It's Me It's Me and how was the working experience with director Satoshi Miki like?
Kazuya Kamenashi: After watching films such as In The Pool, Adrift in Tokyo and drama series Time Limit Investigator, it makes me want to try to act in these genres of work. So when I had the opportunity to work with director Satoshi Miki, I thought it was a rare chance and I would take up any challenge that is given to me.
The works of director Miki mostly focus on the rhythm. Instead of the acting and facial expressions, the focus is on the tempo. Whether is it my solo scenes or the scenes with other cast, I had learnt a lot from the filming. What I noticed from the filming is how the director works around with his overflowing ideas on set. It had given me a very great experience.
InCinemas: In It's Me It's Me, you played 33 roles with different personalities. Which one is the most challenging and which would you say is your favourite of all?
Kazuya Kamenashi: My favourite characters are Mizunokuchi & Seijima.
When I am tipsy, my character is closer to Nao, and when I am wary of someone, Daiki kind of personality that will appear. I guess my personality is the combination of both Nao & Daiki? If I did not enter Johnny Entertainment, I think my personality would be similar to Hitoshi; when he meets up with his mum and acting cool, this part I think is also closer to my personality.
(View more movie details of It's Me It's Me!)
InCinemas: Share with us. What's the first thing you would say if you see another person that looks just like you?
Kazuya Kamenashi: If there is a whole group of them, I don't think it will be very fun because I like to be the one and only, so I don't like to have someone else that is similar to me. (Laughs) I think it is the relationships of human beings that are different, which is interesting and it is the scariest if everyone's personality are the same.
InCinemas: Where do you draw your inspirations from to portray so many characters?
Kazuya Kamenashi: I am the kind that cannot fully portray the ability of the character if I have not grab hold of that character. For the 3 main characters, I had them all ready in my head, and as for the rest of the other characters, they are formed with the help of costumes and make up.
InCinemas: How was the filming process like?
Kazuya Kamenashi: Honestly speaking, before the shoot, I imagined the filming would be something simpler such as, filming all the scenes of Hitoshi first, then all the scenes of Nao, and then film all the scenes of Daiki. Thereafter, the post production staff would composite them together.
It is completely different from what I thought it would be! (Laughs) The script required me to read the expressions of the characters and I couldn't memorise all the lines. From the beginning, 3 different scripts were prepared for Hitoshi, Nao & Daiki respectively, then I memorised them separately.
InCinemas: How do you juggle singing, acting and hosting at the same time?
Kazuya Kamenashi: I realised my strong point is that I can easily fit myself into various situations. I am the kind that will want to blend into the situations than the kind that insist that "my personality is originally like this".
The Kamenashi in KAT-TUN require the idol image but when it comes to hosting, the idol image is not needed.
InCinemas: You've acted in many dramas and films, is there a specific role/character you would like to play in the future?
Kazuya Kamenashi: Movie is always a genre that I adore and I am really glad to have 2 representative works. Humanoid Monster Bem the movie is a sequel from the TV drama whereas It's Me It's Me is purely movie oriented,
It's Me It's Me is a production that allows me to break from my limits of acting, I'm sure it will help a lot in my future work as an actor. For one person to act out so many characters, it is very rare and I'm sure there is no such opportunity in the future, therefore it was really enjoyable. It is also addictive! Probably I would be unsatisfied with only acting as one character in my future works. (Laughs)
InCinemas: It's Me It's Me opens in Singapore on the 24th October. Could you share a little more about the movie and also something to your fans and supporters in Singapore?
Kazuya Kamenashi: It's Me It's Me is a movie that you have never watched before. It's light-hearted and enjoyable but at the same time it contains deep and important messages. In the current society where everyone is connected via mails (sms), how does one confront his inner self and to connect & interact with one another? This is a production that will provoke one to think about this issue.
Don't forget to catch It's Me It's Me when it opens InCinemas 24 October 2013!