In January 1998, an aspiring Japanese comedian named Tomoaki Hamatsu but better known as Nasubi — or "eggplant," because of his long face — was chosen to star in "Susunu! Denpa Shōnen," a hit variety show.

The brainchild of producer Toshio Tsuchiya, "Denpa Shōnen" featured young people competing in extreme challenges — think "Saturday Night Live" meets "Jackass." Nasubi was selected to take part in a segment called "A Life in Prizes," which was inspired by the magazine sweepstakes that were all the rage in Japan in the '90s.

But what should have been a triumphant breakthrough for the 22-year-old from Fukushima instead unfolded into one of the most bizarre and disturbing sagas in TV history — and is now the subject of a documentary, "The Contestant," directed by Clair Titley and premiering this week on Hulu.

Instead of being whisked off on a foreign adventure like other "Denpa Shōnen" contestants, Nasubi was taken to a tiny apartment furnished with a small table, a rack of magazines and a stack of blank postcards. There, he was forced to remove his clothes, and he used a strategically placed pillow to preserve his modesty on camera.

According to the rules of the challenge, devised by Tsuchiya, Nasubi could sustain himself only with prizes from magazine sweepstakes, which he entered by filling out thousands of postcards. Once he'd earned prizes worth a million yen — or about $8,000 — he would be free. Until then, Nasubi would be alone, with no human contact except for an occasional check-in from Tsuchiya.

To everyone's surprise, Nasubi endured the challenge for more than a year, surviving on half-cooked rice and dog food but suffering emotionally as Tsuchiya concocted brutal new twists in what amounted to a televised psychological experiment. The feat turned Nasubi into one of the biggest stars on Japanese TV — but he had no clue.

Although Nasubi knew he was being filmed, he was told that the footage would air at a later date, and most of it would not be used. In reality, his grueling experience was being broadcast in weekly segments on "Denpa Shōnen," complete with wacky graphics (including an eggplant emoji over his groin) and cartoonish sound effects. Thanks to then-cutting-edge technology, viewers could even access a 24-7 livestream online.

Much like the title character in "The Truman Show" — released in June 1998 — Nasubi was entirely oblivious to his own fame until the ordeal was over.

Using extensive footage from "Denpa Shōnen" as well as interviews with Nasubi, his family and Tsuchiya, "The Contestant" is an unsettling look at one man's unwitting brush with fame — and the surprising second act he pursued decades after becoming a national sensation.

Titley was working on another project several years ago when she found herself down an internet rabbit hole reading about Nasubi.

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