Young actress Sakuraba Nanami (16) has been given the starring role in the NHK dorama called "Twin Spica" that will start in June. It will be her second big TV role after the TV Asahi's dorama special "Ghost Town no Hana" that aired on March 20.

The dorama is an live-action adaption of the popular sci-fi manga by Yaginuma Ko. The primary setting of Twin Spica is in the near future at the Tokyo Space Academy, where high school students train to become astronauts. Kamogawa Asumi (Sakuraba) has dreamed of going to space since she was a child. Her experiences in school and her relationships with her friends, family and teachers are the central themes of the story.

Sakuraba had to audition for the role like many others. "You had to show your appeal and go through a test to show your acting abilities. I was extremely nervous during the audition, because I absolutely wanted to get that role." When she was chosen for the role, she was so happy that even started to cry.

For NHK it was clear that Sakuraba is the most appropiate person for the role of Asumi. "She has a great pureness and an infinite potential hidden inside of her. The way she mastered all the tests made it clear, that she is the right person to play Asumi."


Sakuraba just debuted 1 year ago and became widely-known thanks to her commercial for Softbank. Her pretty looks and her friendly and cheerful character helped her to gain a lot of popularity in very short time. She doesn't lack the necessary will-power either. "It's a work that makes me feel so great, I can improve myself and build up my courage without having to give up my dream. I'll work with all my strength, so that a lot of people will watch it."

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