How do Japanese actors do it? I don't mean the stars of mainstream films — those "multi-talents" that are busy 24/7 with TV, stage and advertising gigs — I'm talking about the legions of supporting actors who may have only a single scene or line in a film, or play a body floating in a river. How do they pay their rent and also keep plugging away despite their slim-to-zero chances of landing a big role?

One persuasive answer is found in Satoko Yokohama's "The Actor" ("Haiyu Kameoka Takuji"), based on a novel by actor and stage troupe director Akito Inui. Premiering at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival, "The Actor" is something of an industry in-joke, but made with the quirky style and offbeat perspective of Yokohama's earlier films, including her 2009 international breakout "Bare Essence of Life" ("Urutora Mirakuru Rabu Sutori").

In "The Actor," veteran stage, TV and film actor Ken Yasuda — who is hardly a household name himself — plays Kameoka, a 37-year-old journeyman hustling from role to minor role in local films. We first see him playing a homeless guy who is shot by a stray bullet — that is, he is a glorified extra.