Actor Takes Risky Roles, Defends Ethical Films

Actor Isomura Hayato has a career marked by a pull toward difficult material, including Netflix's "Alice in Borderland" and the drama "The Moon." He took on the latter role despite concerns about career damage, winning a Japan Academy Film Prize for his performance.

Isomura believes that films should sincerely confront societal issues and that actors should challenge roles, even those they may not initially agree with, to gain new perspectives. He served on the jury for the Ethical Film Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

He noted that Japanese television dramas often cannot delve as deeply into ethical territory as cinema. Isomura desires more Japanese entertainment that incorporates political satire and black humor, which he finds less common in Japan than in countries like the United States.

Looking ahead, Isomura is producing the Shizuoka Film Festival to nurture film culture and wants to see more government support for the Japanese film industry, drawing parallels to changes in South Korea's film climate. He hopes to act abroad and produce films that contend on a global scale.