Hayato Sano look.1

In 2021, Hayato Sano appeared in TV dramas and films in quick succession. He has played characters with a little individuality as well as realistic young men which have surely left an impression on viewers. He takes on gigs across a wide range, and at 23 he is the oldest member of the dance vocal unit M!LK and serves as the band’s mediator. I asked him about his favorite fashion, interests, his per-sonality, and the real you.

In LOOK1, he wears a two-piece set with thick silhouette pants. This simple en-semble accords an adult, cool-headed impression. “This is a style that I like. I normally like to coordinate thick pants with other simple garb. I like the com-fortable feeling of my body swimming inside the loose fitting garb. The sneakers to match were cushioned and comfortable to wear. These shoes are also suited for the hard style of a two-piece set.” As he heads into his mid-20’s, his sense of fash-ion is becoming more adult. He used to like colorful items, but he now goes for primarily chic, black items. He talks animatedly about how he chose black for an outer garment that he recently bought.

“If a clothing item exceeds a certain price that I have set for myself, I don’t buy it and go home retaining only the impulse to buy it. If I still want it after a week or so, it means that I really must want it, so I buy it.” This is his own rule when shopping for clothes. He just loves fashion and would buy whatever caught his fancy in the past, but this resulted in many clothes idly hanging in his closet. And since he started living on his own, he has become more thrifty so as not to buy on impulse, choosing rather to buy that one cherished item to wear.

He speaks his mind openly and brightens up the mood in the room. I asked him about his strengths and weaknesses as a person. “My weak point is that I am grumpy in the morning. I become more upbeat in the evening, so I may have a noctural constitution. That said, I have many early-morning film shoots so I must fix this habit. My strong point is that I speak my mind using my words. But as I sometimes say too much, it may also be a weakness.” He believes in the im-portance of speaking your mind and asking questions if you don’t understand something, whether it is at a film site or among M!LK band members. His hones-ty and his straightforward disposition to undertake all things in earnest are his greatest strengths.

An activity that he has been continuing everyday is keeping a diary. “During the coronavirus self-restraint period, I thought of taking up some regular activity. When I thought about a period in my life when I worked hard at something, it was when I studied for my university entrance exams. During that time, an ac-tivity that I continued everyday was to keep a diary. I would decide what to do each day and organize my days. I recalled how keeping a diary to help me work hard at something suited me. I have been keeping one for the past year. Reading what I wrote when I was feeling down sustains me because I managed to pull through that difficult time. Writing down what I am thinking allows me to gath-er my thoughts.”

Hayato is always thinking about his lifestyle and other matters centered around work. While it may seem that he can turn himself ‘on’ at work and ‘off’ during his down time, this isn’t the case with Hayato; he is satisfied being on all the time. “These past few years, I have always been on. Even on my days off, I am always thinking about work and often catch myself thinking, ‘maybe I can use this in my work.’ I don’t turn off when I am not working. I worry that I will regret it if I am not on.” There are times when he regrets what he has done, but it is worse if he regrets what he doesn’t do. He converts failure into experience and leaves his mark. He is soaring non-stop through his 20’s.

In LOOK2, I will ask him about his activities with M!LK, what motivates him as an actor, and his future aspirations.

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Direction : Shinsuke Nozaka
Photo, Movie : Masato Moriyama (TRIVAL)
Stylist : Kosei Matsuda (SIGNO)
Hair & Make-up : Hikaru Mochizuki
Text : Mai Okuhara