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From 1999 to 2000, I played the part, "The Fool" in "King Lear" for the Royal Shakespeare Company as the first Japanese actor to perform for them. This was the beginning of a challenging career in the foreign countries. If I should fail, I will not be able to go back to Japan nor could I remain in England.
In the beginning, everything was a cultural shock. As the unknown actor from Asia to appear before the English audiences, I was not sure if we would receive the curtain calls because it depended on the performance of that day. I started to get the feel of the play but faced some difficult situations because of the differences in the two cultures, yet I felt a great satisfaction and joy. Also I had a premonition that I am hooked for life.
<In 2003, he received the Best Actor's award from the Mainichi Cinema Concourse (contest) for his "Twilight Samurai." In fact he swept all the major awards that year. And with every film, he is perfecting his art.>
I wanted to seize the moment. Because of the "Twilight Samurai" came the "Last Samurai" and because of those two, the right party helped me get the parts in three movies last year. Everything came together and my job now is to do the best, and onto the next auditions.
<Ah, next the world!>
No, not yet, I barely tapped into Hollywood, China and Europe.
There were no rehearsals for the "White Countess." They mark the positions for the actors to stand on, then go right into shooting. We had to act impromptu. In one scene, I had to finish a long dialogue while an automobile moved from one place to the other. And there were to be no retakes because of the approaching dusk. To make the matters worse, they made 3 changes in the dialogue right before shooting of this scene. I started to see spots!! And Ralph Fiennes would ad-lib and change the lines!! The tension was beyond description for me. But in spite of this madness, it was a wonderful experience. Any frustration I might have felt, left me with a desire to utilize my time better. I feel that the cold sweat I shed is the power behind my driving force and a legacy.
The End
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