Toshiaki Karasawa as Kenji

Cast and Crew - 20th Century Cats and Crew 20th Century Boys

Interview

Did you read the original manga?

I did. It was so popular. The protagonist of "20th Century Boys" is an ordinary man, like the everyman hero of "Die Hard". That's the point that intrigued me. But when I read the manga, I never dreamed that one day I'd play Kenji.

Did you try to act just like the character in the original manga?

It's difficult to be a character out of a manga. The clothes and hairstyles were made to resemble those of the manga. The director was also very conscious of getting the same framing as drawn in the manga. I really wanted the movie to appeal to manga fans and to those who hadn't read the manga. To play the character of Kenji I decided to do my best to breath life into him, or he'd end up a stick figure. I had to become him and live his life to do so. I wanted to emphasize his ordinariness rather than play a perfect hero. Another thing I was careful about was the balance of my performance in this intricate ensemble movie. If Kenji stuck out in a scene, it would put the scene off balance. But the cast has an incredible line of talent so I didn't have to worry much. The way we used to choose movies to see was by picking ones which feature your favorite star. But now ensemble movies like "Ocean's Thirteen" are popular in Hollywood. "20th Century Boys" fits that trend perfectly.

What do you think are the most interesting points of the first film in the trilogy?

Kenji is an everyman who lives an ordinary life. But his childhood fantasy brings about doomsday. He is forced to accept responsibility and act on it, departing from the loser that he'd been. On the Bloody New Year's Eve, he confronts FRIEND. In the process he gets involved in many life-changing events. And the way he changes through the process is the most intriguing point of the film. I hope that the audience feels involved in the conspiracy with Kenji and empathizes with his tragedy.

Profile

Toshiaki Karasawa was born in 1963 in Tokyo and started to attract attention when he starred in the hit TV drama "Ai toiu Nanomotoni / In the Name of Love" in 1992. He also starred in the big budget period TV drama "Toshiie to Matsu / Toshiie and Matsu and Shiroi Kyoto / The White Tower", a hit medical melodrama of 2007, along with many movies. Working with the stage director Yukio Ninagawa, Karasawa performed "Macbeth" in New York and "The Tragedy of Coriolanus" in London.

Toshiaki Karasawa's other film appearances include, Koki Mitani's "The Magic Hour" (2008); "U-Choten Hotel / Suite Dreams" (2006); "Mina no Ie / All about Our House" (2001); "Rajio no JIkan / Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald"; Kazuaki Kiriya's "Casshern" (2004); Yukio Ninagawa's "Warau Iemon / Lemon Sneers" (2004); "Ao no Hono / The Blue Light" (2003) and Takayoshi Watanabe's "Kimi o Wasurenai / Fly Boys, Fly!" (1995).

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