Shin'ichi Tsutsumi

Tsutsumi Shinichi is primarily known as a stage actor. After appearing in *Perfect Woman* (2000) he received considerable attention in Japan, and his performance in *Pure* (1996) earned notice for his portrayal of the orphaned journalist Sawatari Toru. He trained for the stage with the theatre project Tokyo in the early 1990s after leaving the JAC, where he had met mentors Hiroyuki Ada and Tamasaburō Bandō, from whom he drew inspiration. At the JAC he initially intended to learn action roles, which later appeared in his film work for actor‑director Sabu, but his career developed toward a more detailed acting style. In his teens Tsutsumi skipped school before returning to complete high school out of duty to his mother. He left at 18 to join JAC Kyoto and at 20 moved to Tokyo to join the JAC branch there. While working other jobs he joined the theatre project Tokyo by 1990, where he met David Leveaux and refined his acting skills. The 1990s were prolific for him in theatre; besides work with TPT he also collaborated with Hideki Noda, their latest joint production being *Sakura no Mori* in June 2001. He is currently starring in *Power of Love* (2002) and works with longtime associate Eri Fukatsu. In May he will appear in a stage performance of Tennessee Williams’s *A Streetcar Named Desire*, directed by Yukio Ninagawa, and later that year his next film with Sabu, *Drive* (2002), is scheduled for release, in which he plays a salaryman kidnapped by bank robbers. Tsutsumi Shinichi is a classically trained actor who has worked across stage, drama and film, noted for his professionalism and ensemble focus.