Today is Hiroyuki Sanada’s birthday. 御誕生日おめでとう, Hiro! He wasn’t filming today, but arrived on set for a bit of birthday cake.

Not only is it Hiro’s birthday today, but it’s also his last day on the shoot. It’s rather sad actually. The cast has really become a tight knit group and now one of them is leaving. Whenever I speak to a cast member about how they’re getting along, they all talk about how they lived together for a while before they started filming and how they did activities like scuba diving and a Zero G flight to prepare for their roles as astronauts, but which helped to bond them. They always talk about how close they’ve become… and Hiro is no different. When talking to him, I sensed that he really will miss his fellow cast members rather a lot and was already talking about when he will be back.
Hiroyuki has been in more movies than one can possibly imagine. He’s a superstar, a megastar, an MBE, for goodness’ sake. Still, he is the most charming, delightful man you could ever hope to meet. I really hope this isn’t the last we see of him.
又ね