Dialogue on ULTRAMAN with actor, Bin Furuya.

Tokusatsu—the Japanese genre of effects-heavy live-action—owes much of its success to the TV shows Ultra Q and Ultraman. Thanks to the passions of the creators and actors involved, the genre continues to be popular with kids and adults alike. We were fortunate enought to meet the actor, Bin Furuya, the first actor to wear the Ultraman costume.

A hero who isn’t afraid of having weakness

While Ultraman changed views of Kaiju, the show also changed views of heroes as well. “Ultraman never throws the first punch,” says Bin Furuya, the first actor to wear the Ultraman costume. “The Kaiju always attacks first, and Ultraman either blocks or dodges. That was my interpretation of the character.” Furuya attended an acting school run by Toho Studios, after which he passed the Toho “New Face” auditions. Following roles in a number of Toho movies, Furuya was asked if was interested in starring in Ultra Q.

Furuya still retains his Ultraman-like figure. He says he came up with all of Ultraman’s moves by talking with the directors and trying them out on set. “The Spacium Beam,” Furuya says, “was inspired by Rikidozan, a popular wrestler at the time whose special move was a karate chop.”

“I was hesitant because wearing a costume means covering up your face,” says Furuya. “But they’d already somehow made a suit in my size. I ended up accepting the role.” Furuya played Kemur, an alien and one of the finest creations by the show’s art director, Tohl Narita. Inspired by ancient Egyptian art, Narita created a Kaiju whose patchwork head gave the illusion of being in profile from every angle. The Kaiju needed to be long-legged to fit the image of an alien from the year 2020, and the1.81-meter (six-foot) Furuya fit the bill perfectly.

“I was hot and miserable in that costume,” says Furuya. “I told myself I’d never do this again. But Narita loved my Kemur so much, he insisted that I play the hero in the next series.” And so, Furuya became the first Ultraman. The popularity of Ultra Q helped the new series earn a 34.4% rating in just the first episode. Although he never said a word, the tall, lean Ultraman captured the hearts of children around Japan. “It was tough at first,” recalls Furuya. “While in costume, I couldn’t breathe, I would sweat a ton, and I couldn’t eat because I felt so constricted. One day, I decided to quit. As I got on the bus to work, I noticed a group of children chattering excitedly about Ultraman. I didn’t want to let them down, so I decided to stick with the role.”

As Furuya began to embrace the role, he started imbuing it with his own interpretations. “Ultraman is an alien who comes to Earth in pursuit of a Kaiju but ends up accidentally stuck on Earth. He doesn’t want to beat the Kaiju; he just wants it to peacefully surrender. In a pinch, he’ll fire a Spacium Beam, but he will never get into a fighting stance. That’s not who Ultraman is.” This is why when Ultraman confronts a Kaiju, he stands slightly hunched, looking more like a nervous teenager than a fighter. Furuya picked up this pitiable pose from one of his favorite actors: James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause.

“A hero can’t be strong all the time. He needs to have weakness, too, so children will care and want to cheer him on even more. Ultraman is a gentle, melancholic soul, and I’m proud of that portrayal.” If the long, enduring saga of Ultraman continues to resonate with viewers in spite of the constantly changing creative team, it is because it rests on a strong foundation.

To learn more about Ultraman, check out the 55th anniversary video! (Japanese only.)

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