Nakajima and Tsuburaya

特撮の神様と創ったゴジラ映画は俺の青春の原点だった

The Godzilla movie I made with the God of Special Effects was the origin of my youth.

中島春雄
Haruo Nakajima

俺がゴジラを演じ始めた頃は映画界が活気に溢れていて、新しい特撮映画を創るっていうんで親父さん(故・円谷英二監督)を中心に、東宝特撮班全員が毎回すごい気迫で映画創りに取り組んでた時代。今でもよく覚えているよ。

When I first started playing Godzilla, the movie industry was full of vigor, and the entire Toho special effects team, led by my father (the late director Eiji Tsuburaya), worked hard every time to create new special effects movies. The era when I was working on I still remember it very well.

俺は体格も大きくて、荒っぽいことばっかりしてた。本多猪四郎監督の「太平洋の鷲」では、日本初の飛行機の爆破シーンで燃えた操縦席から甲板に飛び出すスタントマンもやってね。これを親父さんが見て、度胸を買われたんじゃないのかな。「ゴジラ」第一作の製作が決まった時に、突然親父さんから連絡があったんだから。

I was big and did a lot of rough stuff. In director Ishiro Honda’s “Operation Kamikaze,” I was also the stuntman who jumped out of the burning cockpit and onto the deck during Japan’s first airplane explosion scene. I guess my dad saw this and was inspired. When it was decided that the first Godzilla movie would be produced, my father suddenly contacted me.

何しろ初の怪獣映画で、台本だけじゃどんな役か見当もつかない。「キング・コング」のプリントを見せてもらって、「ああ、こんなもんか」と思ってね。撮影前、上野動物園に弁当持ちで1週間以上通ったもんだ。でも、初めてゴジラを着た時は10m歩くのがやっと。材料も固くて、ほとんど動きがとれない。だから、二作目からは動きやすいようにマチをつけて肉付けしたり、扁平足だった足に踵を付けたり、自分の体に合わせてから撮影に入ってたな。

After all, it was his first monster movie, and he had no idea what kind of role he would play just from the script. When I was shown a print of “King Kong,” I thought, “Oh, this is what it looks like.” Before filming, I went to Ueno Zoo for over a week with my lunch box. But the first time I wore Godzilla, I could barely walk 10 meters. The material is also hard, making it almost impossible to move. So, starting with the second film, I added gussets and fleshed out the shoes to make them easier to move in, added heels to my flat feet, and adjusted them to suit my body before filming began.

親父さんていうのは、ほとんど演技の注文をしない人で、台本が『アンギラス倒す』なら「春坊、次のカットは立ち回りだ」って言うだけ。怪獣映画に殺陣師なんていないから、動きは自分で一生懸命考えてね。着ぐるみを着てセリフがなくても、〝演技”をしなきゃ役者としては失格だろ。13本のゴジラ映画の間に、時代の求めるゴジラ像を模索してきた気がするよ。こうして1年間もゴジラや怪獣役を演じてきた経験からいうと、怪獣演技の基本は腰と腹筋。30ぐらい走り込んだり、水泳やバーベルもやったな。そういや愛用のあのバーベルを俳優部屋に残してあるはずだけど、今でもみんな使ってるのかね、あれを。

My father is someone who rarely orders acting; if the script is about “defeating Anguirus,”‘ he just says, “Haruo Son, the next cut is the stand-up.” There are no sword fighters in monster movies, so you have to think hard about the movements yourself. Even if you wear a costume and don’t have any lines, if you don’t “act,” you’ll be disqualified as an actor. During the 13 Godzilla movies, I feel like I’ve been searching for the image of Godzilla that the times demanded. From my experience of playing Godzilla and other monster roles for over a year, the basics of monster acting are the lower back and abdominal muscles. I did about 30 runs, went swimming, and did barbell exercises. By the way, I’m sure he left his favorite barbell in the actor’s room, but I wonder if everyone still uses it.

ゴジラ映画を創っている若い人たちには、もっと親父さんたちが創ってた頃の作品や、初代ゴジラ役者・中島春雄の長所短所を徹底的に研究してもらいたいね。きっと、新しいゴジラ映画のヒントや発見があるはずだからさ。

I would like the young people who are making Godzilla movies to do more thorough research into the works of their fathers and the strengths and weaknesses of Haruo Nakajima, the original Godzilla actor. I’m sure there will be hints and discoveries about the new Godzilla movie.

(30年10月30日談)
(October 30, 2019)

Source: ゴジラの咆哮, p 114