I felt like it was fate that I had been working on the script for 10 years.

──In “Drought,” a waterworks employee reexamines his way of life after interacting with a family whose water bills are overdue. Ikuta’s appearances are often glamorous works that follow the royal road of entertainment, such as the “Moon Song” (2014, 2016, 2021) series and “Yudoo” (2023), but this time he plays an ordinary waterworks employee. I felt that he was breaking new ground, so please tell us what made you decide to appear in this film.

The original novel was published 30 years ago, and the screenplay based on it has been around for 10 years. I heard it was rumored to be a “great script” in the film industry, and when I read it, I was convinced. I felt the passion of the people who had been carefully protecting this script, determined to make it into a movie. Then, over time, it came to me. I felt it was fate.

–I heard that because the main character is “the ultimate ordinary person,” the production staff wanted Ikuta Toma to play the role, since he has never played that kind of role before.

I was very happy. I was able to hear a lot of passionate thoughts from the staff. I couldn’t be happier when the people who had worked so hard to make this into a movie said, “We want Ikuta to play this role.”

──This film is the first produced by Kazuya Shiraishi, who is known for films such as “The Blood of Wolves” (2017) and “The Death Penalty” (2022).

I had many conversations with Shiraishi-san before filming began. He and Hasegawa Haruhiko fell in love with the script and said, “I want to get this out into the world,” and so they became producers, and it seems they spent years preparing the film.

Shiraishi-san said, “It will definitely be a good work. I guarantee the quality on set, so please look forward to it.” The script was well-crafted and the set was well-prepared, so I was excited to start filming.

──Iwakiri Shunsaku, a waterworks employee played by Ikuta, is a man who has doubts about his job but keeps those feelings hidden and works silently. What was it about him that attracted you?

I think it’s natural for a member of society not to bring negative thoughts to work, even if you have worries or stress, and I think everyone lives by those social rules. I’m one of them.

But sometimes, you want to deviate from those rules. Something that you’ve been holding back breaks through, and you end up doing something you never imagined you would do. Iwakiri in this film finds himself in exactly that situation.

But I don’t think that’s a bad thing in life. Iwakiri comes to the realization that “maybe it’s okay to change my life, which has been bound by rules, in order to do what I think is right.” I think this is a feeling that applies to everyone, and I found that appealing.