TOKYO (TR) – Former adult video (AV) actress and gravure idol Sasa Handa, 41, has opened up about her career in the entertainment industry, revealing that her 2010 retirement from adult films was entirely against her will — and that she cried on the set of her final shoot, reports Spa! (June 22).
Debuting as a bikini model at the age of 17 in 2002, Handa transitioned to the adult industry in 2006. In a recent interview, she admitted she originally treated the entertainment industry like a part-time job, simply “going with the flow” because she had no other ambitions.
Her leap into adult cinema was orchestrated by production giant Soft On Demand (SOD). Handa recalled being initially unenthusiastic about the move, assuming adult videos only featured women “rolling their eyes to the back of their heads looking high,” based on DVDs owned by her ex-boyfriend.
However, after viewing the polished works of then-top star Nana Natsume, she changed her mind. “It looked like a normal couple having sex. I thought, ‘This is different from what I know! I can do this!'” she said.
“I didn’t want to quit”
Despite finding immense enjoyment in her work as an exclusive SOD actress, her adult career was abruptly cut short in July 2010 at the height of her popularity. Handa revealed the decision was forced upon her by management.
“I didn’t want to quit at all,” she confessed. “Suddenly, they told me, ‘Let’s quit after eight more shoots.’ That meant retiring at my 50th film as a milestone.”
The former star said she sobbed during her final scene, yelling, “I don’t want to!”
“I never imagined during my idol days there could be such a fun job,” Handa said. “During every shoot, I was thrilled, thinking, ‘I’m about to do something illegal, legally!’ To have that end…”
According to Handa, SOD management pushed for the retirement because they wanted her to serve as a role model for actresses finding mainstream success after leaving the adult industry.
Dated her high school homeroom teacher
Handa, who currently works in mainstream movies, stage plays and radio, also dropped bombshells about her private life. When asked about her first boyfriend, she nonchalantly revealed she dated her high school homeroom teacher during her sophomore year.
“He was a teacher with quite the sexual fetishes. Almost everything I experienced later as a sexy actress, I had already experienced with him,” she laughed. The illicit relationship ended when the teacher opposed her debut as a bikini model.
Looking ahead to her 25th anniversary in show business next year, Handa admitted she still doesn’t quite understand the feeling of being in love, claiming she simply agrees whenever a man asks her out. As for her immediate goals?
“To forget my roots,” she joked. “Because my ‘roots’ were just a terrible, lazy part-time job mentality.”
