Actor and idol Tomohisa Yamashita on nerves, intimacy and the reality of recreating the Antarctic in intense summer heat
For his role in HBO Asia’s thriller The Head, the Japanese star joins a diverse cast whose quest is to discover who – or what – caused their colleagues to disappear
As the sun goes down and interminable night engulfs the South Pole, the summer team of scientists at the Polaris VI Antarctic Research Station hand the keys to the skeleton winter crew of 10, who have signed up to keep the facility operational for the next six months. Three weeks before the “winterers” are due to be relieved, however, all contact with the installation ceases.
When the summer scientists finally return, evidence of ghastly goings-on emerges: the station is in darkness, blood stains the corridor walls, almost all of the winter team is missing … and soon the bodies begin to pile high.
Eventually, traumatised doctor Maggie Mitchell (Katharine O’Donnelly) is discovered in hiding and appears to be the sole survivor of some unspeakable calamity, but is she really alone, and is she victim or perpetrator?
The crew’s stories unfold through flashbacks and follow various timelines. What takes shape is a picture of violent disintegration in which the prey are easy targets, imprisoned alongside some sort of lethal force. It’s a whodunit, or a whatdunit, in a closed environment, where everyone is a suspect and everyone, it seems, has something to hide.
This cursed polar outpost is where we find Japanese microbiologist Aki Kobayashi (Tomohisa Yamashita) in HBO Asia’s six-part mystery-thriller The Head, in conjunction with Hulu Japan.
For 35-year-old Yamashita, playing a character he describes as “talented, smart, considerate, sharp-tongued”, meant a new way of working.