~ The column on Oricon that features the youngsters of 2009 ~

Okamoto Anri

In 2004 she debuted as elementary school student, this year she became an exclusive model for the magazine "SEVENTEEN" and since the 7th you can see her as part of the main cast in the movie "Yatterman", Okamoto Anri. We will show you everything, from her ordinary eating habits to the tears of the 14-years-old girl who decided "to live in the world of show business."

Profile

• Name: Okamoto Anri
• Born: 1994-07-01
• Birthplace: Tokyo
• Heigth: 165cm
• Bloodtype: A
• Hobbies: collecting commodity samples, collecting stones, going to science museums
• Special skills: trampoline, volleyball, dancing

Character
Left her team with "tears" !?

On her blog Anri writes a lot about food. Her favorite food are dried plums. "I even receive dried plums as present on Christmas and my birthday. (laughs) I also like cheese, I put it on dried plums and grill it. It's really good, I love it! However, noone ever wants to try it. (laughs)"

She's very tall and really a beauty, when she speaks she always smiles. She's also an A-type, but - "I'm not good at cleaning, even my bag is crumpled. (laughs)" Anri might be cleaning up her room, but she can't throw anything away. "Even when doing a big spring cleaning, I wouldn't be able to throw away more than what fits in a supermarket plastic bag. My mother disposed of a pen case, porch and a purse I didn't use at all recently with the words, 'You certainly don't need those.' (laughs)"

Both her parents and her older brother are playing volleyball. With the first year in elementary school, she also tried to start playing it professional, but when she went to Harajuku for the first time to watch a volleyball match in her 3rd year, she got scouted by a talent agency. "I thought that I would always play volleyball and had no interest in the world of show business at all. (laughs) I even went to the interview just for fun and still succeeded."

However, despite her age you could say that it already was the decision of her life, because she really started to enjoy to work as an actress and a model. During her 4th year she left her volleyball team with "tears". She gained so much attention through doramas and commercials, that she eventually got selected for one of the key roles in the life action movie "Yatterman".

"One time when we retreat I hang onto Yatterone and get smashed right into the ocean, another time I run up some stairs, get hit and kicked, and tumble down." It's been the first time that it really got physical for her. Afterwards she even had bruises on her legs, but she really enjoyed the filming. "I was able to come out of my shell, it was an incredible feeling. (laughs)"

Breakpoint
The movie "Smile - A Christmas Miracle"

In 6th grade she appeared in a movie for the first time, its name was "Smile - A Christmas Miracle". It was about the first love between the ace from an ice hockey team and a figure skating girl. Anri was the one who played that girl.

Back than the figure skating was a bigger problem than the acting itself. "I had never been on the ice before." She had 3 months to learn figure skating to 1 song. "They told me that we could use a double, but I didn't like that idea. However, in the beginning I couldn't even let go off the railing. Every single day I fell down on my butt and hurt myself. 'There's no way I can do that', is what I thought whenever I fell."

She still kept on practicing - "It was fun and so I didn't let it put me down." - and in the end she was even able to do jumps and spins. There was another difficulty during the filming in Hokkaido for her.

"I had to play a girl that falls ill. I've never had really been ill myself and worried about how I should play this part." Obviously Anri didn't have a lot of acting experience and in one crying scene she also had problems to cry just like that. In the end it took them about 2 months to film the movie. "On the final day, the director came to me and thanked me for my big efforts until then. I was really surprised and cried a lot when he did that."

There's one thing she learned during that movie, something that will help her to gradually improve herself. "You might be inexperienced, but that's no excuse for not doing a role properly."

Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com / Source: Oricon
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