Mimi wo Sumaseba/ Whisper of the Heart - Tori Matsuzaka

 How did you feel when you were asked to be in the film?

I can't deny that I was a little hesitant by the fact that it's such a beloved work, but when I heard that the story takes place 10 years later, I thought, "Oh, I'd like to see what happens next!". That was the most decisive factor for me. I felt that the purity of their feelings for each other shone through in a way that is not seen in today's romance films, and I wanted to work on it.

I heard that the filming of "Rurou no Tsuki" and "Mimi wo Sumaseba" overlapped a little this time.

 The filming of "Mimi wo Sumaseba" started in February 2020. We were almost finished filming when the Covid happened and we had to stop filming. We finally managed to finish filming in October of last year.

Wasn't it difficult for you?

That's right. We were just at the very end of "Rurou~" and there were one or two scenes for "Mimi wo Sumaseba". That was quite difficult (lol). But it was unavoidable, and I realized that people can do it if they try hard enough (lol).

The role of Seiji suited you very well. Did you find it easy to play the role? 

It was certainly not a role that was completely different from my own, and more than anything else, the character of Seiji this time, 10 years after his junior high school days in the original work, was chasing his dream of becoming a cellist in Italy, but the sound of his heart, which could be heard when his heart was moved, was no longer audible now. I was in a situation of being stuck and struggling, so there may have been more than a little connection to my own work. I myself am always struggling with my work.

From the point of view of the audience, you have evolved a lot since the "Call Boy," but you also take on a lot of challenges every time you do something.

I don't know what it is, but it's like a set of things that come with me every time I perform. I am a worrier by nature, so I am never satisfied while I am working on something. I have to overcome my own challenges. ------ most think a series of films with heavy themes was an unnecessary burden, but even without that, it is precisely because I get to work on each new film that I find things to overcome within myself.

What do you mean by "on my own"?

For example, if I am at home the night before a shoot and think, "This scene is an important scene," I think right after "Something will go wrong with the scene tomorrow" (lol). That has nothing to do with tomorrow's scene, so I should just separate the two, but there is a part of me that thinks like that. So, during the filming and performance, I don't really feel "Wow, this is fun," but rather, after the work is done, I feel "ah, I'm glad I did it.". Maybe I should be a little more relaxed about it. ・・・・・・(lol)

The first time I worked with director Yuichiro Hirakawa was for "Tsunagu" in 2012, exactly 10 years ago.

This time, there were some lines that I was a little embarrassed to say (lol), but he told me, "Don't just say it plainly, but say it strongly," and he conveyed the exact degree to me with every facial expression. When I saw the completed film, it was just right. I felt that his plan was very clear in his mind. He is a passionate director who conveys his thoughts straight to the audience, and I think that has never changed.

Mimi wo Sumaseba/ Whisper of the Heart - Producer Asami Nishi about Tori Matsuzaka

 What made you decide to cast Tori Matsuzaka as Seiji? 

I had worked with him in Inemuri Iwane (2019), and I thought he was a really nice guy, and his softness and good-naturedness were just like Seiji's. He was the first person that came to mind, and I was sure that girls who liked Seiji would not be disappointed if they saw him as different from their image of him. 

What do you mean by "a good person"? 

There was a time in a previous film we worked on together when cooperation on the set was not going well. I was wondering what to do about it, but Matsuzaka-san noticed and organized a dinner party. He said, "Why don't we do it? You can tell them it was organized by me." He is always looking at the people around him with a calm eye, and he always takes action after knowing what he needs to do. And he does so in a casual manner, without giving off any sense of "wow" factor. That is what makes him Seiji-kun. Seiji may seem a little mean and oblique, but he is actually very kind. I thought it was wonderful that he did not pretend to be kind.

He also practiced a lot on the cello, didn't he? 

No matter how much you practice, you can never reach the level of a professional in instrumental scenes, so it is difficult to know what level to ask of the actors. There were some actors who said, "I can't do it," but Matsuzaka-san came to me earnestly asking, "How much should I do?". He was very serious and stoic. I later learned that he had been working on "In Those Days" (2021) until just before the film was shot, and that it was also quite difficult for him to play the bass guitar there. Moreover, we had to rearrange our schedule due to covid, so we spent several days at the end of the film shooting "Wandering" (2022) and "Whisper of the Heart" at the same time. It must have been very difficult to switch between the two. I am very grateful for that. I was thinking that this is the first time a straightforward love story like this has been shown in a movie since "Kyo Koi wo Hajimemasu" (2012). I hope that his fans will also enjoy the film.