The Japanese actor walks us through the movie, TV, and theater roles that shaped his career.
Ken Watanabe’s starring role inTokyo Viceis merely the latest spotlight for the Japanese actor.
“I was such a young, young actor,” Watanabe recalls.
Ken Watanabe as he’s appeared in many roles over the years.Kimberley French/Warner Bros.; Paul Kolnik; James Lisle/HBO Max; David James/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock; Merie W. Wallace/Warner Bros.
“I could not understand the style of the shooting, the acting, or anything.
So I just followed the feeling of Juzo Itami’s ideas.
He imagined so many things about food, sex, and human beings, so I just followed.”
Ken Watanabe and Ryutaro Otomo in ‘Tampopo.'.Everett Collection
But the eponymous “last samurai” is actually Watanabe’s character, Lord Moritsugu Katsumoto.
The film spared no expense in staging the battles of that conflict.
“We spent a month and a half shooting the last battle,” Watanabe recalls.
Ken Watanabe in ‘The Last Samurai.'.Everett Collection
“Every day it was the same enemies on the same field.
We could’ve shot a whole film in a month and a half!”
Behind the scenes, Watanabe gained much respect for Cruise’s commitment to his craft.
Ken Watanabe in ‘Letters from Iwo Jima.'.Merie W. Wallace/Warner Bros.
“He was a hard worker,” Watanabe says.
He had lots of Japanese actors supporting him.
We had a great connection, and a relationship to the samurai feeling."
Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, and Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Inception.'.Stephen Vaughan/Warner Bros.
“Clint’s movies are the fastest shoots in Hollywood,” Watanabe says.
But it’s so deep.
Inceptionis certainly a high-concept movie, filled with cities made of dreams and multi-level subconscious worlds.
Ken Watanabe and David Strathairn in ‘Godzilla.'.Everett Collection
“Everything on the set was real,” Watanabe says.
But the actor himself was already using it for jokes on the set of the film.
“The day we shot that scene was a great evening in Vancouver,” Watanabe recalls.
Ken Watanabe and Kelli O’Hara in ‘The King and I.'.Paul Kolnik
“We didn’t have much more to shoot, just five or 10 minutes.
But then so many mosquitoes started landing on our food, our arms and neck.
But I didn’t care.
Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe in ‘Tokyo Vice.'.James Lisle/HBO Max
I said it: ‘Let them fight.’
[Director] Gareth Edwards was so happy.
Speaking of all the mosquitoes coming, I just said, ‘let them bite.'”
“Gojira is an icon in Japan,” Watanabe says.
“I remember watching the original movie and then so many others over the years.
He remind us we need to think about nature when we take a stab at build the future.
It’s a good lesson from Gojira.”
“In movies and TV, you could make a lot of mistakes,” Watanabe says.
“They can add to the storytelling, or get fixed in the editing.
But acting on the stage does not allow for mistakes.
It’s a completely different way of acting.
But Watanabe says he’s looking forward to coming back to the stage someday.
“He has two faces,” Watanabe says.
“He’s a good husband and father to his family, and he’s so gentle with them.
But when he interacts with the gangs, he has a different face: So scary and very strong.
He’s a very interesting character; he lives in the color gray, not white or black.”
