As one of the members of the idol boy band V6, Junichi Okada is one of Japan’s most acclaimed acting idols. With a personal interest in mountaineering and photography, he described taking on the role in “Everest: The Ridge of the Gods” as almost predestined. Like his co-star Hiroshi Abe, Okada agreed to join the project because of the opportunity to film on-location at Mount Everest — both actors wanted to face their truest selves at the roof of the world.
Compared to Hiroshi Abe and Machiko Ono, 35-year-old Okada also had to deliver numerous lines in the Newar language. He didn’t disappoint audiences — tanning his chiseled features into a deep bronze and adopting a spot-on accent, he fully embodied the persona of a Nepali local. Playing a mountain photographer intent on capturing Hiroshi Abe’s climb, Okada brought his own camera and joined the crew on location shoots deep into Kathmandu. Even when the cameras weren’t rolling, he kept snapping photos of Abe along the way, prompting Abe to tease him: “You look just like a stalker.”
Due to his character’s role, Okada had to carry more photography equipment than the others, with his gear weighing up to 40 kilograms. He joked, “This film should be among the top ten most grueling on-location shoots in Japanese cinematic history.” Rather than focusing on the hardship of filming, Okada praised Hiroshi Abe: “It was Abe who made it possible to turn this novel — which no one dared to adapt for twenty years — into a movie.” He encouraged young actors to work with Abe at least once: “You learn so much just by being around him.”