Beat Takeshi to star in new TV Tokyo drama SP "Hagoku"

Beat Takeshi will be starring in the new TV Tokyo drama SP "Hagoku" (Jailbreak) which will be shown within 2017. The drama SP which is based on the same-titled novel by the late Yoshimura Akira, is the first real-life adaptation in 32 years. The last real-life adaptation was produced by NHK in 1985 featuring the late Ogata Ken and focused on the prisoner rather than the warden.

In this drama SP set in 1942, Takeshi will be playing a prison warden named Urata Susumu who works at Kosuge Prison in Tokyo and has no purpose in life other than stop his prisoners from escaping ever since his wife died during an earthquake. One day, he is informed that a former inmate at Kosuge named Sakuma Kiyotaro who used to respect him a lot and was sent to another prison in Akita to serve his life sentence had escaped. 3 months later, Sakuma comes to Urata's house and reveals that he was subjected to inhumane treatment at the Akita prison and wants to launch a lawsuit against them. However, Urata tells on Sakuma which results in the latter being caught and sent to the prison in Abashiri, Hokkaido. Subsequently, Urata gets transferred to Abashiri to become the chief warden and meets Sakuma there again.

Although Takeshi is an experienced actor and director, he revealed that he tried to do exactly what the director asked for and felt nervous about acting in this drama which had the theme of what it means to live.

Filming began in the middle of January.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon / Eiga.com