‘The Head 2’ role ‘a baby step, a big step’ for Sota Fukushi

Imagine getting stuck in “the coldest place on Earth”—Antarctica—during its six-month winter. As if that isn’t enough of a challenge to hurdle, there’s also an unknown killer on the loose just waiting for you to put your defenses down.

Such was the do-or-die dilemma that world-renowned biologist Arthur Wilde (John Lynch), his vengeful nemesis Dr. Maggie Mitchell (Katharine O’Donnelly), her love interest, microbiologist Aki Kobayashi (Tomohisa Yamashita), and their colleagues at the Polaris VI research station had to endure in HBO and HBO Go’s terrific first season of the survival thriller and “subzero whodunit,” “The Head.”

Fueled by its terror-sowing and reality-channeling sense of claustrophobia, we binged the six-part series—which generated a 90-percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes—when it was launched in June 2000 at the height of the pandemic.

The show’s sophomore season—which wraps up with its final two episodes today—replicates its claustrophobic setting as it places its main characters on board the Alexandria, a massive scientific freighter that houses a laboratory, where the abusive and ambitious Arthur, now an escaped convict (after he was wrongfully convicted for killing eight of his teammates in Polaris VI), carries out a crucial mission that could be key to his redemption.

In Season 1, Arthur’s group sought an end to climate change by trying to grow a type of bacterium that feeds on carbon dioxide. For the six-episode Season 2, director Jorge Dorado takes Arthur and his new group all the way to Point Nemo in the South Pacific—about 1,680 nautical miles from the nearest land (in Chile)—to find a photosynthesis-efficient algae that enhances the work of the carbon dioxide-chomping bacteria he found in Antarctica.

Unpredictable story

Keeping Arthur company for the deadly ride is his estranged daughter, marine biologist Rachel Russo (Olivia Morris)—who dropped a passion project in Palawan in the Philippines to work with her father. With them are Captain Jacques Renaud (Thierry Godard), Alec (Moe Dunford), Oscar (Enrique Arce) and his brother Charlie (Hovik Keuchkerian), Amy (Josefin Nelden), Wil (Ibrahim Koma) and Yuto (Sota Fukushi of “Bleach” and “Kamen Rider” fame).

But all hell breaks loose when they find the severed head of one of their teammates in the laboratory. What to do?

In 2000, when we interviewed Tomohisa—who made a surprise cameo in Episode 3 last week—the award-winning actor and J-pop star said that he was impressed by the quality and depth of the series.

“The script is very well-written,” he noted. “It’s a well-structured story covering three different timelines. And each character is unique, representing the diversity and depth of humanity.

“Most importantly, the story is so unpredictable and imaginative… And I hope the show will make viewers realize the importance of always pursuing the truth.”

In a quick chat with Japanese actor Sota Fukushi last week, the handsome 30-year-old star said he was thrilled to work on a project because “not all TV shows are bold enough to hire a predominantly international cast.” In fact, “The Head’s” latest season has fielded 20 new actors from 10 different countries.

“A lot of viewers find ‘The Head’ fascinating because it’s a mystery thriller that takes place as its characters try to find a solution to climate change,” Sota said. “But the stakes get higher when someone begins killing people. So we have to find out who the murderer is before we all end up getting killed [and jeopardize the mission].

“The dilemma is the same, but this time, the story happens on a ship. So, there’s still nowhere to run! At the center of this tale is the conflict between Maggie and Arthur, who are both driven by their passion.”

On Instagram, where Sota has more than 700,000 followers, the actor described his participation in “The Head” as both a “baby step” and a “big step” because it’s his first time to embark on an international career.

Language barrier

But he said during the interview that it’s also a “very hard endeavor” because, while he worked well with his coactors, they were sometimes weighed down by the language barrier. “Communicating through English was the biggest challenge for me,” he admitted.

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Even the cast members’ approaches to acting were different, so they had to make adjustments as needed, Sota recalled: “We had three French actors, three Swedish, a British, a Scottish, an Irish, a Spanish, etc.—as you can see, it was a very ‘international’ group of actors.

“We Japanese actors don’t really do the dirty language, while others could deliver it naturally. Sometimes, I would use body language to communicate something.”

But what made the experience doubly satisfying, Sota added, was working on a set where everybody was willing to collaborate.

“That’s another thing that I liked about working on ‘The Head,’” he explained. “For example, Yuto is from Japan, so I thought it would be nice if he could sometimes speak in his language, like when he’s by himself. In Episode 1, for instance, I requested my director [Jorge Dorado] if I could use some Japanese words, so I was happy when he said yes.”

If you watch the series, you really don’t find out about the identity of the killer until the sixth and final episode. But did Sota and his coactors know who the killer was when they started the shoot, or did they get the script in increments?

“I had read the whole script by the time we started filming—so yeah, I knew who the killer was,” disclosed Sota, laughing. “But Jorge pointed out to us the importance of sustaining the element of tension and surprise. So, we really needed to look tense all the time (laughs)!”

In what way is he similar to his character Yuto?

“Yuto is very logical and rational,” Sota stated. “Like him, I’m a mathematical person—we’re both thinkers who rely on science to make assertions. Other than that, Yuto makes everything fun. I’m also like that.” INQ