©Courtesy of Netflix

 

 

Exclusive Interview with Actress Yuriyan Retriever

 

 

Q : I heard that you participated in the audition process for this film, rather than being directly offered the role of Dump Matsumoto.

Yuriyan Retriever: In the fall of 2020, my manager told me that there was an audition for the role of Dump Matsumoto-san in a Netflix movie about the life of Dump Matsumoto-san, directed by Kazuya Shiraishi and created by Osamu Suzuki. I had always dreamed of becoming a comedian in the U.S. or a Hollywood star, so I expressed my desire to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Q : In this film, I heard that an active member of Marvelous, a professional wrestling organization led by Chigusa Nagayo, trained the wrestlers (actresses) as an instructor. What kind of training did you have?

Yuriyan Retriever: First of all, I apologize for being so personal, but I weighed about 110 kilograms after becoming a comedian and lowered my weight to about 65 kilograms before auditioning. But in order to get closer to Dump Matsumoto-san’s impression at that time, I had to get my body closer to Dump Matsumoto-san body at that time, before starting my wrestling practice, I was supervised by Ms. Tomo Okabe, who helped me lose weight and train.

Netflix is providing all of my meals and food expenses, and because we want to stay healthy, they will conduct monthly health checks, which may involve blood tests, to ensure we are doing well. So I was put on a nutritional management and training program to enhance my weight and body size. Is it safe to continue growing? Our initial step was to develop our bodies.

After that, within about six months, I joined Chigusa Nagayo and Marvelous, and all the actresses who played professional wrestlers were taught from scratch how to climb into the ring and how to perform the Ukemi(Falling technique for Judo or Wrestling), such as the Denguri-Gaeshi（RollingOver) and other various movements, and we practiced more and more techniques and Ukemi techniques. We practiced techniques and Ukemi four days a week, almost every day, and rode trains and buses from Tokyo to Funabashi City in Chiba Prefecture.

Q : I heard that Dump Matsumoto-san, despite being called the “The Queen of Villain,” has a very gentle personality and is well-liked by her younger colleagues, when you met and talked with Ms. Damp Matsumoto-san, what did you take away from her and reflect it in your role?

Yuriyan Retriever:  When I met Dump Matsumoto-san, she was really kind to me, and since I was going to play the role of Dump Matsumoto-san, she was very kind to me, saying that only Yuriyan would be given dumplings, etc. I really love him. I actually met Dump Matsumoto-san only a few times during filming and preparation time, but she always told me that I shouldn’t be shy and that I should do my best to make a scary face.

I listened to Dump Matsumoto-san’s words, books written by her, materials and videos she gave me, and Chigusa Nagayo’s stories of that time, I don’t know how to put it. I don’t mean that we were all pretending to be something we weren’t, but it really felt like we were all playing our roles and living in the same place, face-to-face with each other.

©Courtesy of Netflix

Q : In this film, Ayame Goriki and Erika Karata play the roles of Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo,　The scene in which the girls face each other in the ring was shot in a very long shot, and you can see them practicing their techniques in earnest, Both Actresses have actually gained 10kg, so how was it watching their performance up close?

Yuriyan Retriever: They are both wonderful actresses, and when I first met them, they were cute, slender, gentle, and really the kind of girls you would never imagine doing wrestling, But as we practiced together, in the beginning, they were cackling, but in the second half, they really had more guts than anyone else. They even said they would do things that no one else could do anymore, or they said, “Let us do it ourselves.

I was in the scene of the actual match in the ring, and I was watching from below the ring, and the two actresses, who were in the same class(they all trained at the Marvelous), were becoming stars, the audience became more and more enthusiastic. At first they were just doing something, but then they were drawn into the match, and I felt as if I were actually watching it happen in front of my eyes, with the audience all standing around, excited and enthusiastic. It was as if it was actually happening right in front of my eyes.

Not only their wrestling techniques, but also their facial expressions, their acting, and their breathing between acts, I felt that the two of them were becoming stars in front of my eyes, and I felt frustrated that such a person would become a star, and their performance made me feel that kind of frustration. (Just like characters)

Q : Looking at this film, in addition to Dump Matsumoto-san, who plays the lead role, there are other unique wrestlers such as Lioness Asuka-san, Chikusa Nagayo-san, Devil Masami-san, Bull Nakano-san, and Jackie Sato-san, who are all portrayed very well. And there are also scenes that sometimes make you laugh. What was your impression of Osamu Suzuki’s script when you first read it? Yuriyan-san, I know you are not from the generation that watched wrestling back then, so what was your impression when you read that script?

Yuriyan Retriever: The script was written by Ikegami-san and the project was planned by Osamu Suzuki-san. I wasn’t born during the time when Dump Matsumoto-san was depicted in the series, but I thought it sounded really interesting that the story would be centered around Dump Matsumoto-san and her colleagues.

When I read the script, I thought it would be more bloody and scary since it was a story about some villains, but of course there are parts of that in the script, but it is really a story about young women in their 20s and 30s at the time. As I read the story, I got the refreshing impression that it was a story about the youth of young women in their 20s and 30s at that time, and as I read on, I realized that everyone was doing their best.

When I read the script, that was how I felt, but when I actually acted in the film and saw the work of director Kazuya Shiraishi and director Katsuhito Mogi, who shot episodes 4 and 5, it was exciting and interesting, and I wanted to see what happened next.

©Courtesy of Netflix

Q : In the series, you play the role of Dump Matsumoto-san in a scene where you fight with a chair, fork, chain, and other weapons, did Damp Matsumoto-san actually give you some kind of guidance beforehand, like how to make these weapons more realistic?

Yuriyan Retriever: First of all, how to swing a bamboo sword, you never swing a bamboo sword in your life, right? So, when I was asked to swing the Shinai(A Bamboo Sword) here, I was hesitant to do so, or my movements looked too small.

But Dump Matsumoto -san told me, “Yuriyan, don’t be shy. You can do it more, more, with all your might. She showed me that Dump Matsumoto-san is really scary and strong when she does it from behind, rather than waving her hands in the air from here, and he showed me that he is really scary and strong when he does it from above. Dump Matsumoto-san was the type of person who showed me what she could do from behind.

Q : Wrestlers of that time not only performed their wrestling, but also sang, like that Beauty Pair and the Crash Gals. In the opening of this film, you also sings a song. What did you tell the production team before you sang, and how did you end up singing in the opening of this series?

Yuriyan Retriever: I was very happy when I heard that I would be singing the opening song. The song was a song that Dump Matsumoto-san1111s2q2w2q az had released at the time as a member of the “Gokuaku-Domei” (Group of Villainous wrestler in Japan) . It was called “Dump the Heel. Dump the Heel. I sang “Dump the Heel,” and I was like, “What’s the word? I think it’s the perfect song for that thrilling moment when “Queen of Evil” starts. I was under a lot of pressure to get the song off to a good start, but the recording was a lot of fun,

The director Kazuya Shiraishi, the director Katsuhito Mogi, and the men who came to record the song were all in front of one microphone and said, “Hey! Hey! When I called them in, Director Kazuya Shiraishi would give me advice on how to make it more like this or that, but he told me that I could direct them when I said that. I said, “Please don’t laugh. I said, “Please don’t laugh.” I said, “Please make it sound scary.” I said, “Please be serious.

If you like the interview, share your thoughts below!

Check out more of Nobuhiro’s articles. 

Here’s the trailer of the series.