In Japan, Yuichi Ishii runs Family Romance, a unique company where people can hire professional actors to play important roles in their personal lives—like a friend, spouse, coworker, or even a parent. One of his most emotional and controversial assignments came when a single mother hired him to act as her daughter’s missing father.
For over eight years, Ishii met with the little girl regularly, going on outings, celebrating birthdays, and even taking trips to Disneyland—all while she truly believed he was her real dad. He followed detailed instructions from the mother about how to act, what to say, and how to respond to her daughter’s questions. He earned about \$50 per hour for this role, but the emotional cost was far greater. Ishii himself admitted it was incredibly difficult, knowing the child had no idea it was all a carefully maintained lie.
His story, which inspired Werner Herzog’s film *Family Romance, LLC*, raises profound and unsettling questions about loneliness, identity, and the ethical limits of pretending. Can filling an emotional void with acting ever really heal it? Or does it risk making the pain even deeper when the truth comes out?
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