How did Masaki Okada tackle Takatsuki in “Drive My Car?”
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” took Haruki Murakami’s story to the next level, or to another universe, and it was largely thanks to the brilliant cast. Masaki Okada, who played the role of Koji Takatsuki – young actor with an ambivalent personality who had an affair with the deceased wife of Yusuke Kafuku (the protagonist) – left a strong impression, especially during the scene in Kafuku’s SAAB 900: the two engaged in a long conversation, or confession, about his deceased wife.
Here’s some experts of Masaki Okada’ interview on how he tackled the role in “Drive My Car.”
How did you approach Koji Takatsuki, whose character was rather elusive?
Okada: I discussed about this character with the director (Ryusuke Hamaguchi) a lot, which is something I’ve never done before. The more we talked, the more I was convinced that there was no single answer. At some point I decided that it had to be up to the people who would watch this film. (Was Takatsuki a good guy or bad guy? I would leave those kinds of questions to them.) The film is complete now, but I still do not know how to make sense of Takatsuki. But the experience to play a person who I couldn’t really make sense of, it was huge. It forced me to go really deep, which opened my eyes as an actor. I told Hamaguchi that this experience made me even more passionate about acting.
Did you like Takatsuki? Did he resonate with you?
Okada: As I said, I’ve never been this open to a director about how I felt about the role I played. It was interesting because my interpretation about Takatsuki’s personality was often slightly different from Hamaguchi’s take. And as we kept discussing to reconcile our views, new aspects kept surfacing. We ened up unearthing various sides of Takatsuki, which made me try to pursue him as much as I could. Sometimes I told Hamaguchi that I didn’t agree with the lines he wrote for Takatsuhi, and he would listen to me. It was amazing how Hamaguchi put together a team – both the crew and the cast – that respected each other’s work and was determined to realize his vision. I could tell that it all materialized it when I eventually saw the film.
For Hamaguchi, “voices” – the voices uttered by actors – were a big inspiration to make “Drive My Car.” During the sequence in which Kafuku directs “Uncle Vanya,” a classic screenplay by Anton Chekhov, Kafuku orders actors to practice by stripping off emotions from the text. He made them do it time and time again.
What happens when you try to strip off emotions when you utter words?
Okada: It was an eye-opener. When you try to detach your emotions from what you say, it affects your facial expressions. It made me realize that I was relying on facial expressions so much when I acted, and I wasn’t paying enough attention to my voice. After working with Hamaguchi, I became a lot more cognizant of what my voice can do. So I now try to focus on it properly.
Okada: Hamaguchi pays a lot of attention to actors’ voices. It made me pay attention to my voice. I realized that even the way how my voice sounded or reverberated would change the way how I perceived what I just said. I’ve never paid so much attention to all the subtle details surrounding how I uttered words. Even before I got to work with Hamaguchi in this film, I knew that he was known to ask his cast to read the text time and time again. Now I am like, “OK this is what they were talking about.” It got me even more passionate about acting. It also made me realize that I really enjoyed the process during which the role started becoming part of myself.
Reference: Cinema Life Masaki Okada interview
