For his latest small-screen starring role, Japanese actor Tomohisa Yamashita went deep: emotionally and literally.
“I went to 15 metres [underwater],” he says. “It was a hard shoot, but I think it helped.”
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For his latest small-screen starring role, Japanese actor Tomohisa Yamashita went deep: emotionally and literally.
“I went to 15 metres [underwater],” he says. “It was a hard shoot, but I think it helped.”
It would have been understandable if Yamashita had made that 15-metre dive in the search for peace and quiet, simply based on the fact that so many cultural strands are woven into the series’ production, including dialogue in English, French, Japanese and occasionally Italian. The real reason he did it was different.

His character, Issei Tomine, is a highly paid Tokyo oenologist. He is also taciturn, permanently grumpy and, thanks to an affluent upbringing, indifferent to the opinions of the corporate clients seeking his professional advice. An imposing, affection-free mother inspires his sullen attitude to life.