Yusuke Santa Maria to star in FujiTV Spring 2016 drama "Hi no Ko"

Yusuke Santa Maria will be taking on the leading role in the upcoming FujiTV Spring 2016 drama "Hi no Ko" (Sparks of Fire) which will begin its run from 2 April in the Saturdays 11.40pm timeslot. This is his first leading role in a drama in 9 years since the 2007 FujiTV drama "Konshuu, Tsuma ga uwaki shimasu" (This week, my wife is cheating on me).

"Hi no Ko" is based on the same-titled novel by Shizukui Shusuke and features Santa Maria as a man named Takeuchi Shingo who was named as the suspect in the murder case of a family and on his way to death roll when he suddenly finds himself acquitted. 2 years later, Takeuchi who has become a helper for the elderly, moves to the house beside Kajima Isao's (Ibu Masato) family and tries to befriend them with his smile and thoughtful gestures. At the same time, strange things start happening around the Kajima family. Even though Isao's daughter-in-law Yukimi (Yuka) views him with suspicion, the rest of her family including her husband (Okura Koji), mother-in-law (Asaka Mayumi) and daughter Madoka (Shono Rin) all view Takeuchi as a good guy. Unknown to the family, Kajima was the judge who had acquitted Takeuchi. As Isao's daughter grows increasingly isolated from her family who believes Takeuchi wholeheartedly, she tries to find out who he really is and what motive he has for getting close to her family. Sakoda Takaya plays Seki Konosuke, the lawyer who had defended Takeuchi in court during the trial while Kinami Haruka plays Sasaki Kotone whose family operates a Japanese restaurant and Sato Ryuta plays Ikemoto Toru, the elder brother of the victim in the murder case who wants to expose Takeuchi's true colours.

Santa Maria commented that it has been too long since he last had a leading role so he has forgotten how it feels like to be one. Despite the huge number of lines he has to memorise this time, he is all set to go and will try his best to portray his character who's cool like a blue flame in this drama.

Source: Oricon 1 / Oricon 2