Masaki Suda appears on “Sunday First Time Hearing”! He reveals the reason he is limiting his work

■There’s also a message from Ito Sari, who co-starred with him in the drama “Hyouka.”

Masaki Suda will appear on the MBS/TBS program “Sunday First Time I Hear It” which will air on September 22nd.

The guest will be the popular “Interviewer Hayashi Osamu” segment, in which MC Hayashi Osamu faces off against “charismatic figures of the times.”

Suda has been active at the forefront as an artist, having won the Japan Academy Award for Best Actor for three consecutive years since 2020, and recently holding his first arena concert. In this second interview, we will explore how he is facing his work, which has brought about major changes, and his bond with his late mentor, director Shinji Aoyama.

Looking back on his last appearance two years ago, he said, “I worked impulsively and pushed myself too hard,” and confessed, “I’m now limiting my work.” What was the trigger for that?

When talking about the hit drama “Hyouka”, in which he played the lead role, he revealed that he even participated in script meetings, something that actors normally don’t get to do. His co-star Ito Sari, who was watching him work behind the scenes, sent him a message, talking about the advice that saved her and her gratitude.

Additionally, his first voice role in a Ghibli film was in How Do You Live?, where he played the role of Aosagi, a bird man who can speak human language. He shared an episode in which, when he met director Hayao Miyazaki (the official spelling of “崎” is “tatsusaki”) for the first time, he said to him, “Sorry for playing such a strange role.”

Suda’s talent has been recognized by many top artists, and he has collaborated with them on songs, but it wasn’t until 2016 that he began his music career in earnest. Taihei, the drummer of Masaki Suda’s band, who knew what it was like back then, has commented on the shocking story of their first meeting and Suda’s charm. In addition, Taihei showed Suda the first original song he had written in his life, and he blushed, saying, “I wonder if I can listen to it…”

Speaking of “Cloud,” the latest work by director Kurosawa Kiyoshi, which was selected as Japan’s entry for the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film in March 2025 and in which Suda stars, he talked about an episode from filming, noting that the direction of movement was unique. Then, the late director Aoyama Shinji, who was a friend of Kurosawa and a benefactor of Suda, revealed his secret feelings for Suda, and Suda was overcome with emotion upon hearing his words.

(C)MBS

Program Information

MBS/TBS“Sunday First Time Learning”
09/22 (Sun) 22:20-22:54
MC: Osamu Hayashi, Aya Omasa
Guests: Leila Ikeda (Kanjuku Fresh), Miyuki Imori, Haruna Kondo (Harisenbon), Yu Sawabe (Haraichi), Miu Tomita, Kento Nakajima *In alphabetical order
VTR appearances: Masaki Suda, Taihei

“Sunday First Time Learning” program site
https://www.mbs.jp/mimi/

Masaki Suda OFFICIAL SITE
https://sudamasaki-music.com/