Who Plays Niragi In Alice In Borderland?

Netflix's "Alice in Borderland" has a surprisingly accurate title, in that the sci-fi drama is a post-apocalyptic survival story with an "Alice in Wonderland" theme. "Alice in Borderland" is based on a manga by Haro Aso, and follows people who have been mysteriously ripped from their lives into an eerie, abandoned version of Tokyo, where they have to compete in a series of deadly games for the right to remain alive. This would be daunting in and of itself, but the fact that the very nature of the world they're stuck in pits the people stranded in this strange Borderland against each other. 

As life-threatening as the mysterious situation is, a certain type of person thrives in this frightening place. One such person is Suguru Niragi, a member of The Beach who has seemingly given in to all his worst impulses and acts accordingly. Niragi is a pretty wicked guy, and the actor playing the role, Dori Sakurada, does a skillful job portraying this. Let's take a look at the career that has led Sakurada to play "Alice in Borderland's" Niragi.

Suguru Niragi is a former bullying victim who's become a very dangerous, bully-type person himself. Despite his ominous surface, he has a measure of hidden insecurity, while his monstrous nature reflects itself on his increasingly tormented appearance as the series progresses. Because of this complexity, the role can be quite challenging, but there's no denying that Dori Sakurada does a great job.

Despite his youthfulness, Sakurada certainly has the experience to pull off a role like Niragi. He's acted in well over 50 projects and rose to prominence early in his career as "Kamen Rider Den-0" protagonist Kotaro Nogami, aka Kamen Rider New Den-0. Apart from his heroics in that franchise, Sakurada's arguably best-known works include the teen drama film "Orange," and a live-action TV show based on the romance manga "Coffee & Vanilla." 

In an interview with Taiker Magazine, Sakurada shared some thoughts about his acting philosophy that he's used to great effect in projects like "Alice in Borderland." "An actor isn't just a person who is acting," he said. "Being an actor is supplying the feeling that I've not experienced through my own life experience and emotion. Then people can evaluate my value."