On March 4, NHK announced that they have appointed American actress�Charlotte Kate Fox as the heroine for their upcoming morning drama "Massan".

She is the very first non-Japanese female lead in the history of their morning drama's, and it was also announced that the male lead will be played by actor Tamayama Tetsuji.

"Massan"�is modeled after the founder of Nikka Whiskey,�Taketsuru Masataka�who is known as the "father of Japanese whiskey", and his wife�Rita.�

In the drama, Tamayama plays as "Kameyama Masaharu" who devotes himself to�distilling whiskey during the Taisho era, while Fox plays as his Scottish wife "Ellie."



Reportedly, this is Fox' second time visiting Japan, as her first time was when she participated in the audition, and she will take intensive training in Japanese by the time they begin filming in May.�

For the female lead audition, they received over 500 applications (232 people from Japan, and 289 people from overseas).

Regarding the reason of this appointment, NHK's producer Sakurai explained that she's very friendly and has a bright smile. Sakurai also stated that Fox had by far the best acting skills. According to the producer, she also has a great sense of humor.

NHK morning drama "Massan" will begin airing on September 29.

Source & Image(s): Chunichi Sports� & Oricon