Meanwhile, he launched Chikage AWASHIMA into the film industry with "Tenya Wanya" (Crazy Uproar) and had Chishu RYU play a completely different character in the 1962 film "Yopparai Tengoku" (lit. "Heaven for the Drunk") from those characters in the works of Ozu and Kinoshita and the 'Otoko Wa Tsurai Yo' (It's Tough Being a Man) series, indicating his ability to bring out the latent abilities of actors.
また一方では『てんやわんや』で淡島千景を映画界に送り出したり、笠智衆を1962年の『酔っぱらい天国』などで小津、木下作品や「男はつらいよ」シリーズとは一線を画す役柄を演じさせたり、と俳優の潜在的な能力を引き出す手腕にも長けていた。