HPDBC Chapter 17 This is what you call a veteran actor
Chapter 17 This is what you call a veteran actor
Kanagawa Prefecture, Midoriyama Studio.
This is the dedicated filming location for NHK's Taiga dramas.
Compared to the bustling and fashionable atmosphere of commercial television stations (such as TBS and Fuji), this place is exceptionally quiet, solemn, and even carries a suffocating sense of oppression.
A huge banner in the corridor reads: "Respect history, revere tradition."
Most of the staff coming and going were elderly, wearing dark gray work clothes, and speaking in very low voices.
The actors waiting in the corridor, even the biggest stars, were all diligently memorizing their lines, and no one dared to make a sound.
This is the "underworld" of the Japanese entertainment industry, a realm that only truly talented individuals can enter.
Kitahara Shin, dressed in a heavy set of contemporary armor (Sengoku armor), was kneeling in the corner of Studio 3.
This armor is made of real iron plates and leather, and weighs 15 kilograms.
He had been kneeling for an hour, and his knees and back were already sore and numb, but he remained motionless, his back straight, like a lifeless sculpture.
Today is his first major scene since joining the crew.
The plot is as follows: Inaba Masasada (played by Kitahara Shin) is sent back to Edo Castle by his father and has his first audience with his birth mother, Kasuga Tsubone, who now wields immense power in the inner palace.
The role of Kasuga no Tsubone is played by Reiko Ohara, a national treasure-level actress in Japan.
At this moment, the previous scene was being filmed in the center of the studio.
A new actor playing a young servant is kneeling on the ground, reporting to Kasuga no Tsubone.
"Um... Lord Kasuga, the Shogun..."
The new actor's voice trembled, and his eyes darted around.
He was clearly intimidated by the aura emanating from Reiko Ohara in front of him.
Reiko Ohara, dressed in a magnificent robe, sat gracefully on the high platform.
She didn't speak, nor did she even look at the newcomer; she simply fiddled with a string of Buddhist prayer beads in her hand.
But that imposing, dignified aura was like a mountain pressing down on you.
"Card!"
The director frowned, took off his headphones, and said, "What's wrong? Can't you even speak clearly? We need samurai from Edo Castle, not trembling rats!"
"I'm sorry!" The new actor hurriedly kowtowed, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
"One more time!"
The second time, he still stuttered.
The third time, the newcomer completely forgot their lines.
"Get out." The director waved his hand coldly. "Change actors. We don't need to film this scene anymore. Go straight to the next one. Inaba Masasada, get ready."
The new actor practically ran out in tears.
The atmosphere at the scene plummeted to freezing point.
All the staff held their breath, afraid of incurring the director's wrath.
Reiko Ohara remained seated on the high platform, expressionless, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with her.
She took a small sip of tea, and in her worldly-wise eyes, there was no sympathy, only indifference.
"Kitahara-kun, it's your turn," the script supervisor whispered, a hint of worry in his eyes.
Taking on a role under such a low-pressure environment is a hellish challenge for any newcomer.
Kitahara Shin took a deep breath and stood up.
As the heavy armor made a "crunching" sound, his expression changed.
The agility that belongs to modern people vanishes instantly, replaced by a deathly stillness that seems to have been buried in the dust of history for three hundred years.
He walked steadily into the set.
She didn't look at the camera, the director, or even at the "mother" sitting on the high platform.
He walked to the designated spot and knelt down as if a mountain of gold and a jade pillar had been overturned.
Place both hands on the ground, forehead touching the ground.
"Mother, Zhengding...is back."
His voice was deep, yet extremely penetrating.
It was not the joy of a long-awaited reunion, but a heavy feeling tinged with the stench of blood.
Reiko Ohara put down her teacup.
Her gaze finally fell on the "son" who had been lying on the ground.
"Raise your head."
Her lines remained detached, carrying the scrutiny of someone in a superior position.
Kitahara Shin slowly raised his head.
His back muscles were taut, trembling slightly with each breath.
Their eyes met in mid-air.
Reiko Ohara had prepared a cold reprimand as her next line.
But when she saw Kitahara Shin's eyes, she froze for a moment.
Those eyes...
There was no fear, no pandering, and not even expectation.
There is only a bottomless void, and a desperate longing for "motherly love" that is suppressed deep within.
In that instant, Reiko Ohara felt that she was no longer the high and mighty actress; she had truly become Kasuga no Tsubone, who abandoned her son for power.
A bittersweet feeling welled up in her heart.
"...You've lost weight."
This line was not originally in the script.
This was something that Reiko Ohara blurted out.
Her tone shifted involuntarily from the originally intended "coldness" to an extremely complex "sigh of disappointment and frustration".
The director sat bolt upright behind the monitor.
The wording has been changed?
But he didn't call a halt.
Because this change is more moving than the original script.
Kitahara Shin did not panic because the other party changed the lyrics.
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and his eyes twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he clenched his teeth tightly.
"Your child... dares not complain of hardship."
This response was perfectly executed.
"Okay! Cut!"
The director's voice was brimming with barely concealed excitement, "That take was perfect! flawless!"
The tense atmosphere on set instantly relaxed.
Several veteran lighting technicians exchanged glances, all seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
This newcomer not only took over Reiko Ohara's role, but even forced this national treasure-level actress to change her lines.
Kitahara Shin remained kneeling until Ohara Reiko stood up, at which point he slowly rose, his body swaying slightly from kneeling for so long.
"Are you alright?" The stagehand next to him quickly tried to help.
"It's nothing, thank you." Kitahara Shin waved his hand, his expression returning to calm.
As Reiko Ohara was about to leave the set, she stopped in her tracks as she passed Shin Kitahara.
This senior, who was usually known for his strictness, looked Kitahara Shin up and down, his gaze settling on his knees, which remained slightly bent and respectful even when he was standing.
"Good kneeling posture."
She said casually, "Trained?"
"I practiced at home for a week for this role," Kitahara Shin answered truthfully.
"Um."
Reiko Ohara nodded, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the lounge. But after taking a few steps, she said to her assistant, "Go, get him my back massager. Kneeling in that armor for so long will break his back."
The staff around heard this.
Instantly, everyone's gaze towards Kitahara Shin changed.
In a Taiga drama production, receiving a compliment from the lead actress is a matter of luck; but for Reiko Ohara to give you a massage device is a genuine expression of recognition.
Kitahara Shin watched Ohara Reiko's retreating figure and thanked her earnestly.
"Thank you, senior."