VIVANT Villain Rinrin Jokes Face Too Famous To Stay An Operative
The exchange shows the drama's own cast running the post-broadcast conversation in character, with the villain's on-screen boss answering his off-screen complaint as if the fiction still applied.
Key Facts
- Episode 19 of VIVANT Season 2 aired on TBS on October 4, 2026.
- Rinrin is 43 years old and plays Shinshii operative Zhou Haoran in VIVANT.
- In Episode 19, Zhou stabs Mitsugu Wada, played by Yusuke Hirayama, after Wada is abducted and tortured by Shinshii.
- Kyoko Miyashita plays Shinshii boss Han Linxin, and Shungo Takasaki plays operative Shen Junyu.
- Rinrin posted the shaved-head photo on X at midnight on October 9, 2026.
Reporting from 1 source: Magmix.
Rinrin, the 43-year-old actor who plays Shinshii operative Zhou Haoran in TBS's Sunday Theater drama VIVANT, drew a wave of reactions with a series of X posts after Episode 19 of Season 2 aired on October 4. In that episode, Zhou stabs Bessatsu unit member Mitsugu Wada, played by Yusuke Hirayama, after Wada is abducted by the Chinese intelligence organization Shinshii and tortured. On October 6, Rinrin shared screenshots of abusive messages on Instagram and thanked viewers, calling the reaction the height of an actor's good fortune. On the afternoon of October 8, Rinrin quote-posted a news item on X and wrote that the face is too well known to work as a Shinshii operative anymore, then asked whether the boss is angry. Kyoko Miyashita, who plays Shinshii boss Han Linxin, quote-posted that reply and wrote that long-haired Zhou is already unrecognizable, so it does not matter, and asked Rinrin to continue public relations as before.
Rinrin has run an X account since June 2016 but kept to watching for about ten years before posting. The first post came on July 29, before Zhou's role name was revealed, when Rinrin wrote: "I've only ever watched until now, but I'm tweeting for the first time. Watch VIVANT."
After the episode aired, Rinrin kept answering news items and posts by director Yohei Miyazaki in Zhou's frame of mind. At midnight on October 9, Rinrin posted a photo showing the top of a shaved head, taken inside a location bus, with the note: "It seems like some people are worried about whether this account is real, so I'll put up a photo that hasn't been posted anywhere else that definitely shows it's me." Producer Kazutaka Iida quoted the post: "So it was real. The person behind this is incredibly kind and a nice guy."
Rinrin also added that hair and eyebrows have grown out, and that a visit to the VIVANT monument in front of TBS went unnoticed. Shungo Takasaki, who plays operative Shen Junyu, answered a reply about the messy room with "Well, well." Viewer replies included "The Shinshii exchanges are way too cute" and "Han-san really is kind after all."
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.