Paramount Pictures Japan recently held an online poll to find which celebrity people wanted to see dressed up as Ironman. Beating out singer-actor Fukuyama Masaharu and actor Karasawa Toshiaki was kabuki star Nakamura Shido (37), who donned the costume this week for a promotional event in Tokyo for the Hollywood superhero sequel “Ironman 2.” Echoing Robert Downey Jr.’s dual roles of businessman and suited hero, Nakamura presented reporters with a meishi (business card) that said, “Main Job: Kabuki Actor. Side Job: Ironman.”
Nakamura needed the help of three staff to put on the powered suit, which was home-made by a fan and won him a recent cosplay contest. The suit is said to have cost more than the ¥1 million prize money. “I got a bit carried away and put it on too early. Now I need to go to the toilet!” Asked to compare himself to the character of Tony Stark, the recently married Nakamura said, “I’m a playboy, too!”
Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie opens in Japanese theaters on June 11.