Skip to content
What's After the Movie?
Romantic drama

By Player (2000): Cast & Plot

By Player (2000) movie poster

By Player is a 2000 romantic drama starring Naoto Takenaka as Taiji Tonoyama, Nobuko Otowa and Keiko Oginome. It runs 2 hours 6 minutes.

By Player (2000) movie poster
Released
Runtime
2h 6m (126 min)
Genres
Romance , Drama
Original language
Japanese
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is By Player About?

The premise of By Player without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

The documentary weaves together vignettes from Taiji Tonoyama’s personal life with excerpts from his own films, punctuated by Nobuko Otowa’s direct‑to‑camera monologue that addresses Tonoyama as if speaking to him personally. Through intimate recollections it examines his chronic alcoholism, a series of sexual relationships, and foregrounds his collaborations with director Shindo.

By Player Themes & Keywords

· 6 tags
  • clothed male naked female scene
  • female frontal nudity
  • female nudity
  • female rear nudity
  • female full frontal nudity
  • based on book
Cast & crew

By Player Cast & Characters

Naoto Takenaka leads the cast as Taiji Tonoyama, with Nobuko Otowa as Okaji and Keiko Oginome as Kimie.

Plot

By Player Plot Summary

What happens in By Player from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 14 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 1-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

In the opening scene, Tonoyama chats with Kimie in a quiet coffee shop, a moment that sets in motion a tangled path of love, duty, and deception. He asks her father for permission to marry [Kimie], but the father demands a divorce from his current wife, Asako. In a surprising turn, Asako later registers them as married to block the match.

The narrative then shifts to a semi-autobiographical arc, following Tonoyama through a series of episodes tied to his work with director Kaneto Shindō who appears as himself. At the point of filming The Naked Island, Tonoyama is shown teetering on the brink of alcohol poisoning, a danger walked back by the simple fact that there is nowhere to buy drinkable spirits.

Full summary

The whole story of By Player, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Details

By Player Also Known As

7 alternative titles, including “Sanmon yakusha” and “Актер (На вторых ролях)”.

Also known as
  • Sanmon yakusha
  • Актер (На вторых ролях)
  • El actor secundario
  • Подыгрывающий
  • 配角演员
  • 삼류 배우
  • Epizodní herec

Seen By Player?

FAQ

By Player FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date

Runtime, release date, cast, post-credit scenes and language of By Player, each answered in a sentence.

How long is By Player?

By Player runs 2 hours 6 minutes (126 minutes).

When was By Player released?

By Player was released on December 2, 2000.

Who is in the cast of By Player?

By Player stars Naoto Takenaka as Taiji Tonoyama, Nobuko Otowa as Okaji and Keiko Oginome as Kimie, among 23 credited actors.

Does By Player have a post-credit scene?

No. By Player has no extra scene during or after the credits.

What language is By Player in?

The original language of By Player is Japanese.

Coming soon to your phone

The Plot Explained Movie Summary App

From blockbusters to hidden gems: plot summaries, endings explained and timelines on your phone. Save your favorites and never miss a twist again.

Be the first to know when it launches. Your email stays private, always. Learn more about the app