Hideo Kojima cameos in Japanese drama – CGI used because he looked too young

Full text

Hideo Kojima is no stranger to a cameo or two, having appeared in everything from the Japanese dub of Zootopia 2 to the streets of Night City in Cyberpunk 2077. And that's without mentioning the several times he's broken the fourth wall by appearing in one of his own titles.

But good luck trying to recognize the Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding developer in his latest on-screen outing.

Kojima turned up in the latest episode of Vivant, a Japanese crime drama, as the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency.

As you can see below, however, Kojima – sans glasses and beard – isn't exactly noticeable at first glance.

見つけました！これは気付かないですねw pic.twitter.com/c2MWUPax1r July 27, 2026

Explaining why he looks so different, Kojima took to Twitter to explain that CGI was used to tweak his appearance, mostly because he looked too young for such a senior role (despite being 62 years old), as well as the ongoing stigma around members of authority having facial hair in Japanese society.

Kojima wrote, "I took off my glasses, slicked my hair back, put on the costume, and gave it a shot, but as the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, it was deemed 'too young' and 'no precedent for a [beard],' so it was adjusted with CG."

TBS日曜劇場「VIVANT」の11話にカメオ出演しています。眼鏡を取り、オールバックにして、衣装を着て、挑みましたが、警視総監としては“若すぎる”、“髭は実例がない”ということで、CGで調整されました。探してみてください。 https://t.co/D6BcCclH3G pic.twitter.com/D6jTj7Megu July 27, 2026

Away from lighting up the screen, Kojima – one year on from the release of Death Stranding 2 – is hard at work at multiple new games.

The upcoming Hideo Kojima games include O.D., which stars Sophia Lillis and Hunter Schafer, and PS5 title Physint.

For more, check out the new TV shows on the way, as well as all the upcoming PS5 games currently in the works.