Confession of Pain special Takeshi Kaneshiro Interview - Interviews -  - Articles

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Q: "Warlords", "Red Cliff", "Sweet Rain – The Accuracy of Death" are the recent new movies you appeared in. It is very good for fans but, is it because the attitude that has become different?

Takeshi Kaneshiro (next: TK): Surely, these days I think to myself "ah, I will not do that work"! (laughs). It is good to have a lot of work you like, and I am glad I have it. I think that this amount of work is accidental and I did not even count it. Today, Chinese movie-market is open, the production number increases rapidly, staff and actors are busy with work. Now I hear a lot from people who haven’t been busy up to these days that they are working in the nonstop regime. Everything shifts constantly. Thus the whole world "yearns to join" hands to show example; there are investments and great conditions and therefore big chances. So far it seems I get invited a lot (they call me a lot to work). Because I did not have plans for shooting and I also loved Zhuge Liang - Kongming (learn more), I decided to take part in the shooting of John Woo’s work.

Q: When performing the role in the film have you ever been asked by the director to have a drink together?

TK: Only once, that was like "Would you drink?" (gigles). When I heard it the first time I said "is it OK?" (gigles). Since then, everyday, when I come to the place there is whisky, whisky… When the rehearsals and tests are over director says to everyone "Ah, what we do next" and approaching me "hey, lets drink a bit".
Most of our drinking happened when we were shooting the hospital scene when the director called Tony Leung and me. That time we drank a lot after the shooting but then they told me "let’s go back to work faster". So, because of that I had a strong feeling of pressure. As I recall, this scene became very significant, ‘cause my script speech was long. I suppose I could get really drunk. It was not the first thing to do - getting drunk - as I remember I have been preparing the lines for days. As a result, it turned out, on that day we only were shooting and drinking and then we had to go back to work fast.

Q: Was it hard to act being drunk?

TK: Being drunk and acting was very troublesome as I remember. Still, it’s not easy to say "I will not play". I understand I should remain sober. When you are on the stage, it is good if you exaggerate a bit, but on the screen you gotta act naturally. So, when I am under the influence of alcohol and get used to that kind of feeling inside of me – acting drunk would not be more confident I believe. But, if I did not get into drinking, if I insisted, directors said "why don’t we drink more?"

Q: Though it's been decided that this work is a Hollywood remake, how do you think, can Asian production be considered as a Hollywood one?

TK: Perfectly, I think. The same work done by different staff released in the different country seems to be a very interesting challenge I think. And that is not only about the movie, as far as I can say about the historical films, as for instance about the "Three Kingdoms" where there are also a lot of people, and it is neither good nor bad, and only estimated as the work that is original to my mind. As now the word "Hollywood" itself attracted attention here and film is compared so, I gotta admit that remakes are done in the older days too. And what is a copy? Drawing a line between them is rather vague; all of the sayings would make me nothing but feel sorrow, right? Now I am in the formal "remake" and I am sure that the "Warlords" gives out a good impression.

Q: Do you have some expectations of this Hollywood remake?

TK: I think, what we did should become wonderful. When you watch the remake and you can spot the difference you would say "ah, if it goes this way it is also fun" (goes this way ここはこういう風にふくらます – as if wind carries that here) and watching would be fun too. If what we made is sufficient or from the Western point the filmed material is not really important, it will become a good school for me on the contrary. That is not only about the actor, the director can say something through the camera too. ‘Cause when you shoot the same thing from the different angle you learn. So, isn’t it great to learn something from what you do?

Q: The Hollywood and the Japanese versions of this film have different atmosphere. How does any other Asian made movie differ from a Japanese one?

TK: Now, even though I am not often taking part in the Japanese movies, though they say "it has been the same for a long time" in different places. First of all because the cultures are different, different shooting styles, the process of the film making is different and in general the whole way of thinking is different too. Therefore it becomes very significant for Japan and the shooting style seems to become the rule "and (if everything is this way) as I understand" it has a certain atmosphere. But saying this is nothing to be proud of, right? Therefore, possibly, all movies shooting process resemble each other in style, I guess. Hong Kong and Asian movies are totally different from this point. On the other hand, every director or producer shows it in a different way. In Japan culture shows more than every person's point of view. In Japan individual work of the person differs from the point of major understanding.

Takeshi Kaneshiro’s profile
Was born in 1973 in Taipei
Movies debut: Hog Kong movie of 1993 "Executioners/Heroic Trio 2" And the 1994 "Chungking Express" in which he played one of the main roles, and the next year Japanese great breakthrough.
Knowledge of Mandarin, Taiwanese, Cantonese, Japanese and English makes him nowadays biggest Asian Star. Among the films he was acting in are "Fallen Angels", "Lost and Found", "Sleepless Town", "Lavender", "Turn Left, Turn Right", "House of the Flying Daggers" and "Perhaps Love". He also appeared in the Japanese made movies such as "Space Travellers"and "Returner (リターナー)".