Koji was never pursuing action.
But now that it’s his main niche these days, he’s taking full advantage.
Andrew Koji found a unique way to cope with the grueling shoot onSnake Eyes: G.I.
Andrew Koji in ‘Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins’ and ‘Warrior’.Credit: Niko Tavernise/Paramount Pictures; Christopher Jue/Getty Images; David Bloomer/Cinemax
One take, he mentions, was him “going crazy.”
the catchphrase of Justin Roiland’s Rick Sanchez in the adult animated comedyRick and Morty.
Koji discovered the show while filmingSnake Eyes.
Andrew Koji as Storm Shadow in ‘Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins’.Ed Araquel/Paramount Pictures
“I think I’m a bit of a Rick.
Suffice it to say, Koji was a little red in the face.
“That’s myRick and Mortystory for you,” he says in a fit of laughter.
Andrew Koji in ‘Warrior’.David Bloomer/Cinemax
Koji is a bit of a geek in that way.
He wasn’t the kind of kid to play with G.I.
Instead, Sonic was his guy.
He even named his blue Hyundai Coupe after the speedster hedgehog.
It’s why he fits right in with the stunt community, which he says is filled with geeks.
“It’s so funny,” he remarks.
“There are these badass stunt guys and they’re just geeks.
There’s so many geeks in the film industry.”
He calls them “unsung heroes.”
It’s a physically demanding role that required him to cozy up to the stunt performers.
So, forWarrior, yeah, most of it you end up doing yourself,” he explains.
InSnake Eyes, he stars as Tommy, a.k.a.
Storm Shadow, a familiar figure from the world of G.I.
Here, Koji trades close-corner brawls with katana swordplay oppositeHenry Goldingas the titular character.
“I just remember going, ‘Wow!
He’s done it.
“Everything I was doing before has always just been the idiot,” he says.
He clarifies that he wasn’t technically a stuntman, which would require accreditation in specific disciplines.
He was just an actor who needed some cash.
“Back in the day, I was training [in martial arts],” he recalls.
“I wanted to make films; direct, produce.
So, I thought maybe that’s how you do good roles.”
“Let’s do it, I need the money,” he thought at the time.
That was just fun, man, for me at the time.
The younger 20-, 22-, 23-[something] was like, ‘Yeah!
I can do it.'”
The experience gave him an appreciation for stunts and the people who can pull them off.
“My doubles, honestly, have inspired me,” he says.
“They have supported and helped me, and gave me so much advice.”
He just wanted to act, which was why he had some uncertainties about whatWarriorwould be.
“It’s part of the character expression.”
“I do enjoy it, but I want to do all sorts.
I want to produce, direct.
I want to do comedy.
Koji is still navigating the space that he’s currently in.
His friend circle has naturally changed as he becomes more successful in the industry.
Schedules don’t line up or lifestyles change.
“What’s a real connection and what’s not?”
The pandemic changed his relationships even more, though there are those he still makes short films with.
One he helped produce with a pal in Los Angeles as an homage to London gangster films.
Career-wise, he’s in a kind of holding pattern at the moment.
(“You’ve got a Snake Eyes film, then you’ve got a Storm Shadow film.
He surmises the studio wants to wait and see how this first one performs.
The same goes for the industry in general.
“I’ve been in a lucky position where I’ve managed to turn a few things down.
It’s gotta be right.”
A couple things are already certain.
It’s “an independent, really edgy dark comedy,” he says.
Then Koji got a call while in L.A. during production ofBullet Trainabout the surprise renewal.
“I thought some of it was my fault,” he mentions of the cancelation.
“I’m not a social media guy.
I thought maybe I didn’t promote it enough.”
(Koji believes too much social media isn’t “good for our brains.”
Maybe he’s onto something there.)
If there’s anything Koji is sure of, it’s the unpredictability of Hollywood.
“I started developing a TV show that I really want to make.
Koji has now presumptions about how this process is going to go.
He recognizes the whole thing could fall apart at any moment.
It’s happened to just about everyone who’s pitched a project in Hollywood.
But he’s learned that success can help move things along.
“I’m going to try.
I’m going to at least try,” he says with hope.
For those who haven’t watched Interdimensional Cable, that’s another allusion toRick and Morty.
