Translation “Freedom of Choice” Interview with Ninomiya Kazunari (from August “MORE” )

ArashiNino has uploaded the above scan in her vox (N-locked).
(Isn't she just amazing with her sharing?I cannot thank her enough for all the work she does to spread Arashi love! )

Translation completed by request and cross posted in her post's comments section.

Enjoy!

xxxOz

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Translation

“Freedom of Choice” Interview with Ninomiya Kazunari (from August “MORE” magazine)

Nino stands in the middle of a building site. Only the posts stand among scattered building materials – it is not possible to imagine what kind of structure would arise there.

“How old am I?”

He mumbled all of  a sudden when we were moving on from the photo shoot to do the interview.

I answered “you will be 26 y.o. this year, I thought”, to which, he replied “ah, that’s right…26”, with a little smile.

For someone who usually remembers names of the staff and dance choreography for new song before anyone else could, not remembering own age is a little odd.

“I forget easily when it is something that does not matter much to me *laugh*. Recently, my memory is failing. I had a very good memory once upon a time. When I was still a Johnny’s Jr, I could remember all the Senpai (senior members)’s songs, dance choreography and even the set list their concert, as well as being good at remembering lines from scripts…but I cannot do that now. Ah, but it may not be that my memory deteriorated, but rather, influenced by my motivation. As for the script for tv drama…maybe it is not that I cannot remember, but rather, I am not trying to remember…”

He says that his thought shifted when he started filming “Ryusei no Kizuna” last year.

“I predicted that tv drama to become my turning point, and just as I predicted, it became a turning point for me. Until then, I would prepare myself well so when the filming starts, then I could nail it. But I stopped preparing myself too much prior to filming. At the time, I had not acted for more than a year and was spending all my time just doing magic…so I was a little worried about how I would go…but when I received the script and read it, my head was filled with imagery (of the drama) straight away.  I realised that I could understand the drama’s worldview more easily and deeply than before. When you are acting all the time, you probably have better hunch/gut feeling on set, but I believe no one came close to how deeply I interpreted the script *laugh*. It is all thanks to magic. It is very difficult to understand what a magic instruction book says. In drama scripts, there are lines of all the characters, and descriptions of the scenes as well, but in magic instruction book its different – reading magic instruction books…it is a little like reading a script with lines only for the character I am acting and nothing else. I have no idea what the other characters may say or do, so I need to just imagine, understand the situation, and express it”.

He says that he has always been good at turning what is on a piece of paper into reality.

He reads a magic instruction book as if it was a book with very complex storyline…he tries to deeply understand the book, and enjoys expressing what he interpreted.

“I have always been good at turning what is on a piece of paper into 3D reality since childhood. Because I was given opportunities to act in theatre plays, movies and tv drams since I was about 13 y.o…I think…just following the directions of what is in the script would not enable you to turn that into reality. It is the same as taking a magazine clipping of an actor to a hairdresser. Just simply cutting and styling hair that is the same as the actor does not make you look like the actor. That is because each one of us has different face and atmosphere that surround us…*laugh*. Memorizing directions on a piece of paper does not help you. It is important to interpret and to develop own images.

I thin that this ability I always had was further developed by doing magic. My perspective was widened which enabled me to read the script and to understand it at a deeper level. So when I read the script, I felt that directions in the script gave a lot of information. It was like reading a puzzle book with answers already written in. There was too much information there that I could not contain my imagination to manageable level. That is when I thought, it is probably better to just let my body feel the character, and try not to let my head direct everything.  Even if the script had detailed directions about a scene, when you actually act it, the way you act would change depending on the atmosphere of the filming and the flow of it. Also, if you just simply follow the script saying “you cry here because…”, then the acting loses reality. Depending on who is acting the character, there should be many choices on how to act the character, and, it would be more interesting for the actor to choose what he/she thinks is the best, making choice at every situation.”.

Ninomiya says “I would like to choose the best expression for each and every moment, with as much flexibility as possible, and do it freely”.

“Because, what you choose…that is what decides your character and your life…don’t you think? It not just for actors. Am I going to eat break fast today or not? Am I going to have a shower or a bath? What to say, and what not to say…? Everyday, we are faced with so many options. Accumulation of your choices you make for small and big things everyday…that makes you who you are. That is why, just following directions in the script to act is not interesting for the actor nor the audience. I think it is OK to use the prescribed formula for “Successful in ratings” or “The director will like me”, if that is your thing. But it is not like that for me. I have known and worked with the staff from “Door to Door” for a long time now…team of staff like the one from “Door to Door” know what I am like, so they just let me do what I want freely *laugh*.

After long absence of 4 years, Ninomiya returns to Theatre. What choices will he make there? It is fascinating because even Ninomiya himself cannot even imagine what choices he will be making yet.

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