The stars of 'Sumo Do Sumo Don't' on wardrobe malfunctions and female wrestlers

Rikka Ihara (pic) and Shono Hayama star in new Disney Hotstar Japanese series 'Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t'. – Photo: Disney Hotstar

You would think that the biggest challenge for an actor to play a sumo wrestler would be the actual wrestling. But for Shono Hayama, star of new Disney+ Hotstar Japanese series Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t, his main concern during the shoot was making sure he did not have any wardrobe malfunctions while donning the traditional mawashi that sumo wrestlers wear.

“It was the first time I was wearing the mawashi. It was very painful, and I had to be careful all the time to make sure I didn’t expose anything!” he said with a laugh during a virtual interview from Japan alongside co-star Rikka Ihara.