Hiroe Igeta Enjoys Every Moment as Actor, Model; ‘Oshare Clip’ Co-Emcee Becomes Household Name

By Keisuke Wakabayashi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:15 JST, July 12, 2024

Hiroe Igeta has been active, showing her smile on TV dramas, variety shows, commercials and fashion magazines. Hardly a day goes by without everyone seeing her. The actor and model became a household name by appearing in “Oshare-Clip,” a talk and variety show on the Nippon TV network that airs at 10 a.m. on Sundays. Since 2021, Igeta has been the program’s co-emcee together with actor Ikusaburo Yamazaki.

Igeta and Yamazaki uncover little known aspects of each guest’s personality and views on life. The two also elicit never-seen-before expressions from guests and let them talk about surprising episodes in their lives.

Variety shows are ubiquitous on TV. So, then, what is the appeal of “Oshare-Clip”?

“We never interrupt guests when they’re speaking,” Igeta said. “We’ll wait until they finish. We won’t seek too much [excitement or laughter], and we take enough time for the shoot, so the guests can think about what words to use to describe their lives and their real selves on the spot. Our show has such a thorough and careful approach.”

“There are many emcees who can aggressively make the guests talk and talk, but the significance of having Iku-san [Yamazaki] and me as emcees, who are not specialists in the role, is to keep it casual and let the guests speak about really nice stories. That’s why I try to focus on becoming the best listener I can be,” she said.

A close viewing of the show reveals Igeta’s subtle consideration for others and her ability to correctly read the room. When a guest utters a word that may become a key to the conversation, she quickly repeats the word to impress upon the viewers its significance. When a video clip is shown, she is lively in talking about things that may be on the mind of everyone after viewing it, and she discusses impressions everybody may be having, thereby subtly expanding the circle of empathy with viewers.

Joy of acting, modeling

There were times when Igeta unwittingly made mistakes during the show, such as revealing the name of a surprise guest too early. But now, she helps the show by suggesting to the staff various ideas from the viewpoint of a cast member, such as how to set up shooting arrangements for the guests so they can maintain their excitement. She also comes up with ideas for the cheerful images shown in the countdown before video clips are played.

“The guests are all great people, and yet some of them have told us, ‘I’ve been able to learn about myself [through this show],’” Igeta said. “People in showbiz, in particular, act at certain moments so they won’t show their true selves to others, and there’s also some aspects of themselves they aren’t even aware of. I have a feeling this show allows them talk about such deep parts of themselves.”

Asked which guest she finds most memorable, she mentioned actor Shinnosuke Mitsushima.

“I told him, ‘I have the kind of personality that I tend to think too much about things and always regret and reflect on [doing so] later,’ and he said to me, ‘It’s completely OK if you accept that about yourself. You’ll definitely improve next time.’ Hearing his great affirmation of me, I broke down in tears. Thanks to him, I’ve become able to look at things from a bit of a higher perspective. I still recall [the conversation] when I become stuck in my thoughts,” she said.

Dramas, variety shows, modeling — on which does she place priority?

“I’ve never thought about that,” she said flatly. “I don’t want to leave anything half-baked because I want to become someone of whom people think, ‘She’s doing many things, yet she delivers results with each of them,’ and I also want to think that way myself.”

To achieve that mindset, she makes it a rule to enjoy anything as her own thing.

“Some people switch from on to off right after shooting, but I just turn on the ‘Let’s enjoy’ switch to enjoy the moment, and it turns out I enjoy the whole thing. If I become unable to do that, I will quit with grace!” she said, revealing one side of her determination.

Igeta said “Oshare-Clip” is a place for her to study life.

“It’s also a place where I learn about various people’s lives, which are full of variety, and a place for me to study as an emcee. There’re many things I can learn from Iku-san’s attitude toward work and from the things the staff creates.

“My role is to listen to the guest and nothing more nor less, but I don’t want to end up being a mere listener. I’d like to become an emcee who can ask questions only we can ask and who has an air only we can create,” she said.

Hiroe Igeta

Born on Feb. 3, 1997, Igeta hails from Fukuoka Prefecture. When she was a junior high school student, she was scouted by a show business agency on her way back from an audition in Tokyo. She accidentally ran into the same talent scout the following day and took the opportunity to embark on a career in the entertainment industry. Upon entering Waseda University, she came to Tokyo and started drawing attention for her appearance in TV commercials for wedding information magazine Zexy and in the superhero TV show “Kamen Rider Zero-One.” She currently models for the fashion magazine More and is a regular on the Wednesday edition of the variety show “Hirunandesu!” on the Nippon TV network.