Mayuko Fukuda × Yuichiro Kojima: Part 2 "Working as an Actress, and How to Live"

Following the previous installment, actress Mayuko Fukuda and Wakamon member Yuichiro Kojima discussed various topics, including the candid thoughts of a 19-year-old juggling acting and university studies, and her ideal way of working.

A Major Encounter That Broke Through the Stagnation

Kojima: In our last conversation, you mentioned something like, "Now is the time to reclaim the time I lost as a child." You debuted as a child actor at age 4. Honestly, how have you felt about "working" all this time?

Fukuda: It was a complex for me, and I always had this sense of feeling uncomfortably constrained. Even around middle school, I'd think, "I'm supposed to be a student, so why am I working right now?" Things I said in magazine interviews back when I didn't really understand myself still linger. They're stuck in so many people's memories. But the person speaking was still just a kid, and a year later, my way of thinking had completely changed. That kind of thing really scared me.

Kojima: When did you start accepting your current job for yourself? Do you still feel uncomfortable with it now?

Fukuda: I still think it's a really strange world. I still can't think of it as normal when photos taken snap-snap end up circulating online. I feel like I'm doing something a bit special in a bit of a special place. But that stifling feeling I had since childhood completely changed when I encountered the stage play "No, Rather, Forget It."

Kojima: That was when I saw the play and met you, Fukuda-san. I was still in high school back then.

Fukuda: That's right! Those three older sisters in the play... they were just incredibly wonderful. Not just as performers, but as people. Sure, I'd met lots of actors before, met wonderful people I respected, but I'd never met anyone who made me think, "This is how I want to live." Even though all three were famous and successful, they'd talk about things like "the vegetables are cheap over there" (laughs)... they were just genuinely charming people, talking about ordinary things... Ah, I realized that feeling so stifled in this world, doing this job—it was just an excuse. It's all about how I choose to be, how I carry myself in different places, what I choose to absorb. I could totally live like that. It was a huge encounter for me.

What about an actress's work-life balance?

Kojima: Do those three actresses, like Ms. Fukuda mentioned earlier, not have that sense of thinking the current world is "special"?

Fukuda: No, quite the opposite—they all think it is special. So, they all have a clear sense of who they are when they're not in this world... As an actor, showing the beautiful parts, giving people dreams—that's one way to be. But personally, I think it's fine if the version of me sitting alone in my room, switch turned off, thinking "Ugh..." is the one shown on screen. I want to act from that position—living in the same world, looking at the same sky.

Kojima: For ordinary businesspeople, there was a time when society really emphasized work-life balance—keeping the professional and private sides strictly separate. But lately, those boundaries have started to blur. Is your sense similar to that? Like things are blending together inside you...?

Fukuda: There is this idea that precisely because I'm in a special world, I have to protect my sense of "ordinary me." But when I think about my acting, I want to be as seamless as possible when I'm performing. Even when I'm playing a role, it's still me. You can't control things like body temperature or passion. I want to be someone who doesn't leave that behind.

Kojima: I see. People tend to think actresses can "become" any role, but actually, by the time an offer comes, there's already a filter in place. It's probably because they see that raw part of you that the offer comes.

Fukuda: I realized that recently too. Before, I was always focused on how close I could get to the role—which is important, of course—but I started thinking, "This isn't a job where I have to erase my essence."

Kojima: So the role is an extension of your true self. Does that mean you're gradually moving away from the idea of strictly separating work and private life?

Fukuda: Hmm, but when it comes to work outside of acting—like stage greetings at glamorous events or magazine interviews—I might keep that self very separate from my private life. It's probably just a public persona, you know? (laughs)

Kojima: So you have three distinct sides, then (laughs). But, like in our line of work too, I feel like by the time a job comes to you, there's usually already a filter in place. People observe your everyday behavior and how you talk, thinking, "This person could probably handle it this way." Yet, surprisingly, everyone seems convinced they "have to separate" work and private life. Kids who were just normally working hard in bands before suddenly go, "Okay, job hunting time," and "Oh no, gotta take the civil service exam..." Personally, I've been feeling lately that not separating work and private life so rigidly leads to greater overall happiness, and maybe we shouldn't take work so seriously.

Fukuda: Of course, we need to earn money to live, and work is work. But when you're working, that's when a person's attitude really shows. That's why I still like people who take pride in their work, and I want to become that kind of working adult myself.

Starting from zero at 19

Kojima: What I find fascinating in our conversations is how your inner world feels like a messy blend of perspectives—both the sensibilities of someone in their 15th year as a working adult and the thoughts a typical 19-year-old should have. Is that because the unique experience of working since age 4 is gradually integrating into your authentic 19-year-old self?

Fukuda: I've always taken my work seriously, and the adults around me treated me seriously too. But no matter what I said, I was still just a kid. Lately, though, I've gradually started feeling like I'm a full member of the team creating something on set. Of course, that comes with responsibility, but it's incredibly rewarding.

Kojima: It's like how people started calling you an actress instead of a child actor, right? Is that the feeling?

Fukuda: Maybe. When I was little, I'd just be amazed that so many people knew who I was. By middle school, I'd think, "I'm more grown-up now, so can you all just forget about me for a bit?" And then I went to high school, then university... and now, I think most people have probably forgotten about me (laughs). So I'm starting to feel like it's about time I reminded everyone again, like, "Hey, this is who I am now."

Kojima: So right now, you're kind of starting from scratch?

Fukuda: Yeah, it's more like hoping I can debut again soon (laughs). So this year, I'm thinking about trying out for a lot of auditions.

Kojima: Wow, that's amazing! In a way, it's like job hunting, using your past experience (laughs). By the way, what's the most important thing for you when it comes to "working"?

Fukuda: Hmm, that's tough... In my world, doing unusual or outrageous things can sometimes be celebrated, but I want to be a proper working adult. Of course, in acting, I want to break through barriers by doing things never done before. But in a broader sense, when working among people, I don't want to be careless about things just because I'm in a creative field.

Kojima: That's wonderful. One last thing I wanted to ask: as an actress, you've played "young people" from so many different eras, right? Like young people during wartime, or in this spring's Japan-France co-production "Flare," where you play a very contemporary young person. From the perspective of young people living through different eras, is there anything you feel?

Fukuda: When I play roles from the past, there are slight differences in values, but fundamentally, things like finding something beautiful and thinking it's beautiful, liking someone, or getting annoyed with adults – those feelings are all rooted in the same place. So, when people say there's a generational gap, I don't think it's about the young people being this way or that way. Rather, I think it's the adults who forget what it was like to be a child who are being unfair.

Kojima: That might be true. Since the core is the same, we young folks will keep working to prevent misunderstandings between generations from arising over communication or superficial things (laughs). We look forward to actress Mayuko Fukuda's future endeavors.

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【Wakamon Profile】
Wakamon (short for "Youth Research Department") is a planning team that engages with the real lives and mindsets of young people, primarily high school and university students. We seek insights from their "now" to find hints for brightening and revitalizing the near future. By anticipating the future through their perspectives, we realize new businesses that foster better relationships between youth and society. Currently, 14 project members are based across our Tokyo headquarters, Kansai branch, and Chubu branch. We also share updates on the Wakamon Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/wakamon.dentsu ).