Yuumi Kawai strengthens presence with acting talent; Actor talks about deciding on career in high school

“Who is she?”

Many viewers must have wondered who played Junko, a delinquent high school student who loves her father dearly in the megahit TV miniseries “Futekisetsu nimo Hodo ga Aru!” (“Extremely Inappropriate!”) which aired on the TBS network.

The role was played by Yuumi Kawai, who previously worked mainly in films. The 23-year-old made her debut just five years ago, but has already received rave reviews from creative staff and fellow cast members. What are the reasons for their praise?

When you stare into her mysterious eyes, you feel like she’s looking right through you. That fits the image of Rena, the cool, 19-year-old detective Kawai who stars in the TV mystery drama ‘RoOT’. The show airs on the TV Tokyo network on Tuesdays at 12:30 PM. “RoOT” follows Rena who works at a detective agency and Sato, a rookie at the same agency (played by Ryota Bando), as they become involved in a big case while investigating the background of a suspected taxi driver.

Kawai gets more opportunities to play leading roles, but she receives them with equanimity.

“Instead of going deeper into it [the role of] Just Rena, I also think from the perspective of what I should do while there are other characters around,” she said calmly.

Although she looks composed, she feels the pressure. But not for exactly the reasons you’d expect.

“I feel more pressure because of the sense of responsibility I have to deliver for this series than for my place [in the story].”

Her words confirm that she puts a lot of effort into improving her performance by having an overview of the whole picture.

‘I can dream’

Kawai grew up with her parents and two younger sisters and was surrounded by songs and movies every day.

“I was the kind of kid who could only focus on one thing without thinking about the consequences. For example, I would stare at a stone or a leaf that caught my interest, and I couldn’t resist doing something with it.”

Kawai also loved performing. She started taking hip-hop dancing lessons when she was in the third grade of primary school. She also joined the dance club of Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High School and often performed for people.

“During my school years, I had a lot of experiences showing what I had created with others to the public and getting their reaction, so I wanted to get a job in that field,” she said.

Before she knew it, she was considering pursuing an acting career.

She initially planned to enter a college’s general department as a reserve before starting auditions. However, this suddenly changed in September of her junior year of high school. She shifted her goal to a job in a university’s theater department and at the same time applied to an entertainment agency and was hired. So why this change?

Kawai was then rehearsing her class’s tribute to the musical “A Chorus Line” for her high school’s cultural festival. Then she happened to watch the Broadway version of the musical in Tokyo, which reinforced her beliefs.

“I thought, ‘I can have a dream after all,’” she recalls.

However, she was afraid that she would not get many opportunities if she joined an agency with many girls her age because she was a latecomer to the showbiz industry. So she searched the Internet and found her current agency, Dongyu Inc., which only managed a few artists. The move is a testament to her astuteness.

Kawai has been building a successful career since her professional debut. Yet her fundamental feelings about being an artist have not changed.

“The desire to become someone else or to be completely absorbed in something does not come first. Which is very important [to me] is the experience of spending time with others and trying to create something together, but also the feeling that our work is reaching someone,” she said.

Kawai said she was looking for a way to approach her roles and productions.

“I looked at different people and copied their way of doing things little by little, so I tried something new every time. It’s like I’m slowly figuring out which way suits me best,” she said.

It seems that her childish nature, focusing solely on her interests and enjoying analyzing and studying them, came in handy.

Natural and free

Kawai has masterfully played difficult roles one after the other. Now she would like to take up the challenge of playing the role of a musician.

“I’ve always wanted to sing or play an instrument. I feel like one day I will get a role like that,” she said.

Although she is also interested in foreign productions, her ideal style is to be able to casually switch between working in Japan and abroad, rather than moving her base outside Japan.

“Before I want to become a good actor or improve my acting, I want to be someone who can be grateful for everything I encounter. Without it I cannot act or find [things to express from within myself]” Kawai said.

Day after day, actors must look carefully at the people around them and at themselves to deepen their thoughts. When performing, instead of pushing themselves, they must naturally exist in their role. That’s Kawai’s take on actors, and she’s only 23 years old. Her thoughts provide a glimpse into why she is highly sought after these days.