Anan #1640 – Takizawa Hideaki

This is only a rough translation of the article in Anan #1640.

anan #1640

People: Special – Takizawa Hideaki

Takizawa Hideaki-san showed up alone in the cafe where we had this interview. (It doesn’t say here, but his manager O-T was in the hospital for surgery then) He seems so natural that it almost made us think that he doesn’t care of himself as a well-known big star. He looked relaxed and calm like an adult.

“No, I’m not fully grown-up yet. I’ve always wanted to grow up fast. But when I turned 20, I was disappointed in myself for being far from my vision. So, now I’m aiming for a good 30-year-old adult. I don’t feel comfortable with myself as a 26-year-old.”

“Honestly, I don’t know if I have built my career well. One thing for sure is that all the experiences that they’d let me have made me who I am now. However the work we do constantly needs progress. It’s important to keep reforming myself. It’s difficult but, once I start, I’d like to continue. When I work on one project, I always try to enjoy things that can be connected to the next project. That also creates my motivation.”

What does he hope to be like in his 30’s?

“If I can continue doing the things I like, am interested in, and that leads me to a real project, that would be perfect.”

Takizawa-san’s year 2009 starts from starring in his stage musical “Shinshun Takizawa Kakumei” at Imperial Theater. For him, the stage is exactly the place where he can do what he’s interested in.

“We are right in the middle of a preliminary meeting, so I can’t tell you the details yet, but I’d like to make the musical worthy of a New Year production, and a spectacular one that is also enjoyable.”

Previously, he has been showing various challenges like “flying” and “acrobat” on the stage of “Dream Boy” and “Takizawa Enbujo”.

“After doing it many times, the eyes of audiences tend to get used to it, and they are not going to be surprised anymore with just any ordinary directional technique. With that, I know I have to keep up to the level.”

Recently, he’s not only a performer, but a producer and a creator as well.

“My fans often tell me to stop working in the background, but I don’t think it is ‘background work’ at all. Instead, I’d be in the position to do what I want to do – almost 100%. Perhaps you can call it ‘a main character behind the scenes’. Anyway, I guess I love creating things after all… Since I can understand the feelings both as a creator and a performer, it helps me know what they are expecting of me during each job.”

Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t always push himself to the front. He knows where and when to step back. Sometimes he even makes way on the stage for his younger co-workers.

“I’m just doing it to make myself look better. It’s just like, a flower (in the center) looks more colorful if the surroundings are beautiful.”

He says so, but you can find generosity behind his words if you look deeply at how he is trusted by his younger co-workers. We really feel that he is a true man.

Translated by nyanco, edited by mich :)