The Lady Miz Diva: Playing tonight, MORI, THE ARTIST’S HABITAT, shows us a couple that made their own life on their own terms; really living the way they want, in a paradise they made. How did you first read the role of Kumagai Hideko, and what was it about her that appealed to you?
Kirin Kiki: Within this film, Hideko’s character is someone you don’t really see inside Japanese society these days. She is a woman who almost puts her husband first, and respects him highly. And that is the way she lives her life. From that kind of husband, she also receives a lot of love, in return. And so, I was drawn to this kind of woman character.
LMD: Hideko is very much the anchor of Mori’s world, he would be lost without her. I feel that is a core of your performances, to be the base around which the action and drama takes place. I wonder if because of the strength of your performance that directors base their films around you? Even if the role doesn’t have a lot of screen time, often your character is the backbone of a story.
KK: Regarding my character in the upcoming film, SHOPLIFTERS, I’m not all that kind of character. {Laughs} But I do believe that anybody -- a wife who was alongside such a brilliant and skilled artist would have been grounded in the way Hideko is.
LMD: I feel like the Kumagai family are true free sprits, and that there is a similarity to yourself. You started your career playing comedic and eccentric roles -- you played your first grandmother before you were thirty -- there is a sense of free-spiritedness in your travels through cinema. Do you feel that you’ve played the characters you’ve wanted on your own terms?
KK: It’s not something that I need to necessarily be proud of, but through the way I’ve lived, I’ve somehow managed to be that way.
LMD: Just a few weeks ago, I interviewed Director Harada Masato, who revealed that you have a test that you give to your directors: That you will begin by going over the top in your performances, and see how the director reacts. Is that true? What will that tell you? What is the rate of failure?
KK: It is not necessarily that I’m testing them. I think in Japanese cinema these days -- contemporary Japanese cinema -- a lot of people seem to like acting where people aren’t doing anything. I feel that, as a characteristic.
But I believe that with acting, whether that’s through being over the top, or to try it in different ways, I think as an actor, it is good to try different ways of acting. And it is the director who then makes the choice of what way to do it in --even if a bad way is okay. So, it’s not necessarily that I’m testing them.
That all said, in terms of the passing rate, I would say about 50-50.
LMD: I take it that the lower 50 percent doesn’t get to see Kirin-san again?
KK: Yes, that’s right.
LMD: When I speak with directors who have worked with you, so often I hear them say, ”There was no other person I could see in that role but Kirin-san,” or “It was written with her in mind.” Thinking of what you’ve just said, regarding the sameness you see in Japanese acting, do you think it’s your bolder, stronger style of performance that has made you a muse to so many directors?
KK: Actresses these days, have stopped revealing themselves; revealing what’s inside them. They tend to hide what possibly may be ugly about them. And because of that, naturally, a lot of roles end up coming towards my way.
Kirin Kiki: Within this film, Hideko’s character is someone you don’t really see inside Japanese society these days. She is a woman who almost puts her husband first, and respects him highly. And that is the way she lives her life. From that kind of husband, she also receives a lot of love, in return. And so, I was drawn to this kind of woman character.
LMD: Hideko is very much the anchor of Mori’s world, he would be lost without her. I feel that is a core of your performances, to be the base around which the action and drama takes place. I wonder if because of the strength of your performance that directors base their films around you? Even if the role doesn’t have a lot of screen time, often your character is the backbone of a story.
KK: Regarding my character in the upcoming film, SHOPLIFTERS, I’m not all that kind of character. {Laughs} But I do believe that anybody -- a wife who was alongside such a brilliant and skilled artist would have been grounded in the way Hideko is.
LMD: I feel like the Kumagai family are true free sprits, and that there is a similarity to yourself. You started your career playing comedic and eccentric roles -- you played your first grandmother before you were thirty -- there is a sense of free-spiritedness in your travels through cinema. Do you feel that you’ve played the characters you’ve wanted on your own terms?
KK: It’s not something that I need to necessarily be proud of, but through the way I’ve lived, I’ve somehow managed to be that way.
LMD: Just a few weeks ago, I interviewed Director Harada Masato, who revealed that you have a test that you give to your directors: That you will begin by going over the top in your performances, and see how the director reacts. Is that true? What will that tell you? What is the rate of failure?
KK: It is not necessarily that I’m testing them. I think in Japanese cinema these days -- contemporary Japanese cinema -- a lot of people seem to like acting where people aren’t doing anything. I feel that, as a characteristic.
But I believe that with acting, whether that’s through being over the top, or to try it in different ways, I think as an actor, it is good to try different ways of acting. And it is the director who then makes the choice of what way to do it in --even if a bad way is okay. So, it’s not necessarily that I’m testing them.
That all said, in terms of the passing rate, I would say about 50-50.
LMD: I take it that the lower 50 percent doesn’t get to see Kirin-san again?
KK: Yes, that’s right.
LMD: When I speak with directors who have worked with you, so often I hear them say, ”There was no other person I could see in that role but Kirin-san,” or “It was written with her in mind.” Thinking of what you’ve just said, regarding the sameness you see in Japanese acting, do you think it’s your bolder, stronger style of performance that has made you a muse to so many directors?
KK: Actresses these days, have stopped revealing themselves; revealing what’s inside them. They tend to hide what possibly may be ugly about them. And because of that, naturally, a lot of roles end up coming towards my way.