“I wonder if I’ll be okay” on appearing in a film for the first time in 7-8 years

–The movie “Ienai Himitsu” tells the story of the protagonist Minato (Kyomoto Taiga), who returns to Japan after failing to study abroad and returns to music college, but tries to distance himself from the piano. He meets Yukino (Furukawa Kotone) at university and falls in love with her. This is Kyomoto’s first solo lead role in a movie, so it seems that you were a little confused when you were asked to play the role.

I was approached about “Ienai Himitsu” before the drama “Tsukadama no Ichihana” (Nippon Television), but it had been 7 or 8 years since I last appeared in a film, and it was also my first lead role in a film, so I wondered, “Is it okay to play the lead role in a film after such a long time?”

However, after watching the original Taiwanese film and reading the script, I realized that it wasn’t just a beautiful and poignant story; it also had plot twists that would surprise viewers, and since it was the type of work I liked, I wanted to take on the challenge.

–There was a scene where you played the piano. Did you practice a lot?

I started taking one-on-one lessons three months before filming began. At the time, I was filming the TV drama “Hamaru Otoko ni Kiritai Onna” (TV Asahi), and immediately after that I was scheduled to go to Kyoto for two or three weeks for the period drama “Miracle Ohatsu ~Torberu Iwa~” (TV Asahi), so it overlapped with my busy period.

However, my teacher told me that I wanted me to practice the basics every day, so I bought an electronic piano and brought it into my accommodation in Kyoto and practiced every day.

If I don’t make sure to play the piano every day, my teacher will notice during lesson and say, “You haven’t been playing the piano, have you?” (laughs).

Wow, it was really tough. I think I did a good job at not causing any trouble for the staff on set, so I’d like to give myself an 80 points (laughs).

The two-person bicycle ride was emotional!

–The movie had a lot of heart-melting scenes, such as Minato and Yukino riding a bicycle together, frolicking at the beach, and playing a piano duet, but which was your favorite situation, Kyomoto-san?

I’d love to ride a bicycle with someone else. For example, Yukino clinging tightly to Minato’s back… it’s so emotional (laughs). It’s impossible to do in real life, so when I think, “I’ll never be able to do this again,” it makes me feel like it was an even more precious time.

However, I had never ridden a bicycle with someone on the back, so I lacked confidence and it was difficult.

Before letting Kotone ride, we practiced many times with a staff member riding on the back. I think what they were trying to say was, “If we can’t check that it’s safe, it’s too dangerous and we can’t let Kotone ride!” (laughs).

–In the piano duet scene, you and Furukawa Kotone were in perfect sync.

Kotone-chan has experience playing the piano and is very good at it. I thought I was practicing so as not to cause any trouble, but I made quite a few mistakes… But I think the reason I was able to get through it well was because Kotone-chan was playing the role of Yukino.

Kotone-chan led me quite a bit in both piano and acting. Not just in this film, but in all the films I appear in, the actress playing the heroine is always solid, so she always helps me out.