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AWFJ Women On Film - White on Rice=E2=80=99s Hiroshi =
Watanabe, On The Verge=20
- Jen Yamato Interviews
Though he turned in memorable supporting roles in Ed Zwick=E2=80=99s = The Last Samurai=20 and Clint Eastwood=E2=80=99s Letters from Iwo Jima, Japanese actor = Hiroshi Watanabe=20 scored his biggest role to date thanks to a appearance in a = seen=20 independent film, Big Dreams Little Tokyo. Impressed by = Watanabe=E2=80=99s comedic=20 skills, that film=E2=80=99s director, Dave Boyle, wrote his next film = specifically with=20 the Japanese actor in mind. The result is this week=E2=80=99s White on = Rice, an indie=20 comedy that is steadily winning over audiences and earning Watanabe = fervent=20 kudos.=20
Watanabe stars as Jimmy, a =
40-year-old recent=20
divorcee who shares a bunk bed with his nerdy nephew Bob (Justin Kwong) =
while=20
living with his doting sister Aiko (Nae) and her disapproving husband, =
Tak (Mio=20
Takada). When Jimmy=E2=80=99s romantic obsessions settle on =
Tak=E2=80=99s visiting niece (Lynn=20
Chen), the entire family is thrown into chaos and Jimmy must finally =
learn to=20
grow up. The Japanese-American flavored take on the =
=E2=80=9Cman-child=E2=80=9D coming-of-age=20
tale allowed Watanabe to flex his comedy chops, something Watanabe hopes =
to=20
pursue further in the future; his ultimate goal, he tells us, is to land =
an=20
American sitcom.=20
How did you go from acting in Japan to starring in an = American indie=20 film?=20
Hiroshi Watanabe: I came from Tokyo, Japan about ten = years=20 ago. And I acted in Japan. I worked for some films and in theater. I = came to the=20 United States because I wanted to study acting; I=E2=80=99d heard they = had really good=20 acting programs. After I finished studying acting, I joined an agency = and I=20 started as an actor. But my English was not so good, so I did a lot of = Japanese=20 voice-overs and narration in Japanese films. Five years ago I was cast = for The=20 Last Samurai and worked with Tom Cruise and Timothy Spall. And after = that, I got=20 cast in Letters from Iwo Jima as one of the main characters. But before = Letters=20 from Iwo Jima, I worked with Dave Boyle on his first film, Big Dreams = Little=20 Tokyo, and he remembered me. Going to his next project, he asked me to = do the=20 lead part, which is comedy; it=E2=80=99s much different from the other = parts I=E2=80=99d done=20 before.=20
In addition to your roles in The Last Samurai and Letters = from Iwo=20 Jima, have most of your roles been dramatic?=20
Hiroshi Watanabe: Yes, but I=E2=80=99ve done = comedies in some=20 theater productions in Japan. In Japan, I did samurai history films = =E2=80=93 jidaigeki=20 =E2=80=93 and also many improvisational comedies. We don=E2=80=99t have = a script, but the=20 director has something of an idea of a story, and he gives the = situation; actors=20 do improvisation and write it. That=E2=80=99s how we make theater. Here, = I=E2=80=99ve done many=20 dramas.=20
Dave Boyle has said he tailored the script for White on Rice=20 specifically for you to play the lead, based on a previous version in = which the=20 lead character wasn=E2=80=99t specifically Japanese. Did you give him = any input on how=20 to make it more authentically Japanese?
Hiroshi Watanabe: I think he knows many Japanese = people=20 because he did missionary work for a region in Australia, in a Japanese=20 community. So I was really surprised at his knowledge of Japanese = [culture]. One=20 time I asked him, =E2=80=9CWhat did you read?=E2=80=9D He said, = =E2=80=9CKinkakujin,=E2=80=9D a very difficult=20 Japanese novel, and I was really surprised. So I think he knows Japanese = culture=20 pretty well. Also, the script is comedic, so when I read the script, = first of=20 all I thought it was like American sitcoms. I really like American = sitcoms,=20 they=E2=80=99re really different from realistic [stories]. But I just = used my acting=20 techniques that I learned from my acting teacher here in drama school; I = find a=20 strong objective as an actor, what the character really wants in a scene = from=20 the other characters. And I used a lot of those kinds of acting = techniques that=20 I learned from American teachers. It really helps me. Maybe I work = really hard=20 as an actor, but I don=E2=80=99t think I=E2=80=99m such a talented = actor. But I had confidence=20 about the acting techniques and I really appreciate the acting teachers = here.=20
Your character, Jimmy, is what many American audiences would = call a=20 =E2=80=9Cman-child,=E2=80=9D which has become a popular comic character = type in Hollywood=20 culture, as evidenced by the films of Judd Apatow. Do you think that = character=20 type is uniquely American in popularity, since it=E2=80=99s so closely = associated with=20 American pop culture?
Hiroshi Watanabe: In Japan, the man-child character = in=20 Japanese film or drama is not as popular as it is here. We can see many = =E2=80=9Clovable=20 losers=E2=80=9D in American sitcoms and film comedies, but in Japan = they=E2=80=99re not so=20 popular. But I really love American comedies, and American sitcoms. = Also, many=20 Japanese people in Japan see American comedians, like Steve Martin or = Jack=20 Black, so I think they have an idea [of the style]. I get some ideas = from=20 Japanese comedy and Japanese drama, so to me it=E2=80=99s kind of mixed; = Japanese comedy=20 and American sitcoms.=20
How would you describe Japanese-style comedy?
Hiroshi Watanabe: I think we have more lovable = losers in=20 Japan, but they=E2=80=99re a little more polite. Not really exciting, = like American=20 sitcoms. There is a film called Tora-San, it=E2=80=99s a really famous = Japanese movie=20 series that has 48 [installments]. Many people love Tora-San, and when I = read=20 the script for White on Rice, I thought it was an American-flavored = Tora-San=20 film. I think series number one is really funny. He=E2=80=99s a kind of = loser, but=20 lovable.
How do you think Japanese audiences will react to White on = Rice?=20
Hiroshi Watanabe: I don=E2=80=99t know. It=E2=80=99s = kind of scary. I=E2=80=99m=20 playing a kind of loser in a foreign country. But I think Japanese = people who=20 live here for a long time, they know about American humor and also they = have=20 many American friends, so I think they will enjoy watching it.
White on Rice is a comedy, but its characters have many = serious=20 problems: deep depression, stalking, neglected children. Were those = things that=20 you found you could relate to?
Hiroshi Watanabe: I had experienced depression = before with a=20 break-up. I think some people - many people - have it. So I used that = kind of=20 feeling. When I had a break-up I was really depressed, and I had really = sad=20 feelings and I wanted to find another girlfriend to get over that sad = feeling.=20 About the kids, I have a little personality that is kind of like a kid. = I was a=20 little like Jimmy, but I magnified it to play the part of Jimmy.
This is a Japanese-American story told by a Caucasian = director with a=20 Japanese-transplant for a lead character. Was the cultural aspect = something you=20 focused on while playing the part?
Hiroshi Watanabe: I think Dave told me that the = story could=20 be universal. And I didn=E2=80=99t think about Japanese culture when I = played this=20 character, I just focused on Jimmy=E2=80=99s situation; his wife left = him, so he got=20 really depressed, and he=E2=80=99s kind of like a kid.
When you moved to America, did you live in Los Angeles right = away?=20
Hiroshi Watanabe: First, I lived in a very small = town in New=20 York. I thought I should go to a small town, because I thought people in = small=20 towns were really kind. I studied English and I worked as a carpenter in = theater=20 production, because at that time I couldn=E2=80=99t speak English, but I = really wanted=20 to act. So I thought, first I should find friends who act or who are = related to=20 theater, so they can cast me.
Is that how it happened?
Hiroshi Watanabe: Yes, I worked on some productions = in some=20 small towns in New York.
Compared to that entry into acting, what was it like to = audition for=20 directors like Ed Zwick and Clint Eastwood in your Hollywood debuts?=20
Hiroshi Watanabe: For The Last Samurai, I missed the = first=20 audition because at that time I was in a theater production. I have an = accent,=20 but I know some really nice theater directors, and they kept using me in = theater=20 productions. Anyway, I was in theater productions so I couldn=E2=80=99t = go to the=20 auditions and I got really sad. But they had another audition, and I = went, and I=20 got cast for one part in a scene with Tom Cruise. [Watanabe appears with = Cruise=20 and actor Timothy Spall in a comedic scene as a Japanese guard who = reluctantly=20 lets Cruise through his gate.]
I was also working as a horseback rider on The Last Samurai, and I = fell while=20 horseback riding and got seriously injured =E2=80=93 before my scene. I = broke my ribs,=20 my lung was punctured, three discs moved, and I got muscle spasms, so I = was in=20 the hospital for ten days. When I shot that scene, I was using a = painkiller; my=20 doctor said it was a cousin of morphine. It=E2=80=99s really strong! So = I became really=20 sleepy, and I kept drinking Red Bull while I was acting. But I had a = really good=20 experience with Tom Cruise and Timothy Spall.
On Clint Eastwood=E2=80=99s movie, Letters from Iwo Jima, most of the = actors were=20 from Japan and were really famous. Really famous, like Mr. Ken Watanabe = and a=20 young guy who=E2=80=99s one of the top Japanese idols. I got really = nervous at the=20 beginning, but I enjoyed it and had a really good experience.
Do audiences recognize you on the street from those roles?=20
Hiroshi Watanabe: Some people in Tokyo recognize me. = When I=20 finished Letters from Iwo Jima, they recognized me and said hello and = showed me=20 a really respectful attitude. White on Rice is different. They watch me = and when=20 they find me, they point at me and sometimes laugh =E2=80=94 but not in = a mean way.
Do you plan on staying to work exclusively in Hollywood, or = do you=20 think you might return to Japan to do film or theater again? =
Hiroshi Watanabe: I=E2=80=99d like to stay here and = work in American=20 films. But I also like working on Japanese films in Japan. But I really = don=E2=80=99t=20 know about my future, it=E2=80=99s really difficult to say right now. = I=E2=80=99d like to do=20 both, films in Japan and in the United States, but in the United States, = I know=20 my parts are limited.
Would you prefer to do comedy or drama?
Hiroshi Watanabe: My dream is to do comedy. = I=E2=80=99d like to do a=20 sitcom! That=E2=80=99s my dream.
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