reiko chilcott's blog

hollywood history....a quick look BACK, at "yellowface"

since i took a fork in the road, i want to put together a brief 'VIEW' of the way 'ASIANS' (or 'orientals'...the more
common expression back then) were portrayed.    what a GIFT youtube is to help create this visual montage...

it didn't matter, whether it was chinese or japanese characters...the way that asians were portrayed in western culture and cinema was not only stereotyped.....but to add to this 'LIMITED' way of viewing and projecting asian images....
the use of NON asian actors was common.   (for the few asian roles that were even written).

this was why sessue hayakawa was such a surprise to me.   i had no idea that there was a japanese actor of merit during hollywoods early days of silent screen.    since sessue sans lack of (english) verbal skills were a hinderance to his career in the 30's...(along with a growing anti japanese sentiment) what follows is a small example of what the predominant 'FACE' of asians in hollywood looked like from the 1930's to the 1960's.
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CHARLIE CHAN DETECTIVE

earl derr biggers wrote the CHARLIE CHAN books and WARNER OLAND was one of a few NON asian actors to play this role.  (sidney toler played him in the 1940's)   this is a clip from a 1931 film called THE BLACK CAMEL with warner.  

of interesting note is that in a 1981 film, (charlie chan and the curse of the dragon queen)  PETER USTINOV was cast  in the lead, rather than an asian actor.  

Chan interrogates (TheBlack Camel 1931)

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MR. MOTO

from imdb:
Mr. I. A. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. Moto's name is apparently an alias, and he is better known simply as "Mr. Moto". Marquand originally created Moto for the Saturday Evening Post, which encouraged him to write Asian-flavored mystery stories after the death of Charlie Chan's creator, Earl Derr Biggers.   apparently, they gave the character the first name of kentaro in the movies.

PETER LORRE. a hungarian actor known for mostly character parts played the diminutive mr. moto seen here in 1939.

Peter Lorre -Benny's lesson (Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation-1939)

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MR. YUNIOSHI

...speaking of diminutive.....in 1961, MICKEY ROONEY played mr. yunioshi in the film classic, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S.    it is possibly the most reviled portrayal of a japanese character  (among asian american groups) and is held up as one of the most insulting examples of stereotyping asian mannerisms and accent.     while i do understand their 'IRE'  it was SUCH an "over the top" piece of acting,  and he played it as such a 'CARICATURE' that i thought of it more like a  'jerry lewis' performance, and therefore found it somewhat funny, when i watched it.  (altho i don't personally care for jerry lewis films)  

mickey rooney

there are more examples, but i'll stop here....because by this time, a few asian males are beginning to make an impression (albeit small) in hollywood....(james shigeta, mifune san, mako, etc), so the look of hollywood and 'THE ORIENT' begins to shift....it's a small shift...but a welcome one.   

if you are at all interested, here is a link to an article addressing this issue  http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/18/18_yellow.html

written by robert b. ito, it covers a MUCH broader scope of films, and the a deeper analysis of the  'ISSUE' itself, (and mentions the mickey rooney portrayal specifically...) but the list of some of the actors who played 'yellowface' is quite amazing.... 

from the robert ito article:

The list of actors appearing in yellowface is disturbingly long: Katharine Hepburn; Fred Astaire; Myrna Loy; Ricardo Montalban; Ingrid Bergman; John Wayne as Genghis Khan; Marlon Brando as a comical Okinawan; Mickey Rooney, complete with "slanted eyes," thick glasses, and buck teeth, doing the "Jap thing" in Breakfast at Tiffany's; Peter Sellers; Helen Hayes; Peter Lorre; Lon Chaney; Anthony Quinn; and that perennial, "probably still believes he's an Asian" David Carradine.

the slanted screen....the challenges...H in H fork in the road....

okay, i'm beginning to feel like this part 2 will never END.  (for any of your reading this...you probably do too)  
i still have many other actors i'd like to (and WILL) highlight, but i'm realizing i'll NEVER be able to make my point at
this rate,  so i'm going to take a little 'detour' and direct you to this AWESOME clip, about a documentary made by
jeff adachi.

it is called the slanted screen, AND AVAILABLE AT NETFLIX!!!  

here is the clip which features mako and another actor that i will profile later (i call him, the OTHER hiroyuki)
cary 'hiroyuki' tagawa.  this clip also HIGHLIGHTS sessue hayakawa, and you can see him in the SILENT films that i mentioned earlier in sessue san's blog.

Jeff Adachi - Medium Rare TV

again, this marvelous documentary illustrates the challenges asian actors face in hollywood....it's CHANGING, without a doubt, and our guy is helping to shift this 'image'.    but understanding how hollywood has presented the asian
male from movies in the past, is important in realizing what our hiro is likely dealing with.

kawaii .... little hiro chan!

mutti on shin forum posted that there is a clip of our guy when he was a LITTLE BOY.

he was SO CUTE.   oh MY!   what a treasure.

thanks so much to muttie and to aminon1 for posting this, and SEVERAL other amazing clips of our guy.
skiing (JAC days) and COOKING (JAC days) as well as some of the 'making of' on onmyoji, a snippet of
NHK interview (i think) and a few other interviews.   

here's the young hiro clip.   and i THINK he's singing at the end!   (it's a little child's voice).
what a DARLING child...and WHAT A TREAT to be able to view this!  WOW.

子役時代

silent screen idol...sessue hayakawa (H in H pt 2e)

this was a COMPLETE surprise to me.   i never knew his name, but i DID recognize his face from the classic film, BRIDGE (there's that word again....) ON THE RIVER KWAI.    here is a short clip.   sessue san does not speak, but his PRESENCE is STRONG and very 'MIFUNE LIKE'.   

River Kwai March by British P.O.W.s

while i knew his face ....i had NO IDEA of the REMARKABLE background he had in HOLLYWOOD!!!!

during HOLLYWOOD'S SILENT SCREEN era, japanese star sessue hayakawa rivaled douglas fairbanks, john barrymore, and charles chaplin in popularity!   he was one of the highest paid stars of his time, making over  $5,000 a week in 1915.

handsome and flamboyant, he gave some of hollywoods legendary parties.   hayakawa was paramount studio's first choice for the role of THE SHEIK, that launched rudolph valentino's career in 1918.   (sessue san turned it down,
to form his own production company...and the (then) relatively 'unknown' valentino's career was forever changed).

there is SO MUCH to know about this actor, that there is no way i could give it proper depth in this blog, but if you are interested, there is a great article at this link:   
http://goldsea.com/Personalities/Hayakawas/hayakawas.html

also, his imdb profile:  http://imdb.com/name/nm0370564/bio

i'll mentions some key points here, and the BOLD points are my funny HIRO LINKS that i always see.

he was known as the JAPANESE heartthrob in hollywoods's silent era!   appealing to woman of ANY race.  (that qualifies, yes?)

he was born into a samurai class family and his father had been the governor of CHIBA prefecture.  (TLS and SONNY)

he was a martial artist and in his later years, a zen buddhist priest.   yet in his younger days, he was QUITE the
party boy, in hollywood and france!    (our guy LOVES to party...yes?)

he traveled thru europe and studied the classics, returning to japan, where he presented works of SHAKESPEARE.
he performed in the u.s. and it was during this time that he was discovered by an american producer, thomas ince In
1913!   (hiro's performing shakespeare in ENGLISH deepened his appetite for branching out beyond japan)  (this is what i 'understand' to be the case....please forgive me if this is inaccurate)    but sessue san performing SHAKESPEARE on stage, and launching his HOLLYWOOD career is amazing to me.  

his 'breakthrough' role was a silent film called THE CHEAT, and he played an IVORY MERCHANT who has an affair with a WHITE woman.    (hee hee...okay, maybe that is a stretch....but  merchant ivory...white countess..oh my)
interestingly, THE CHEAT is available on NETFLIX.   cool, eh?   while this clip is not from that movie, it DOES show him in the silent era.   (takes a few seconds to begin...but it does open up the clip) 

THE TONG MAN (1919)

he had several 'career phases'....in the U.S., japan, and france.  i did not get the impression he was very successful in japan....michi or rin rin...did you know of him in japan?    (i just read that in tokyo in 1989 they did a musical based on his life, so maybe you DID know of him).  

anti-japanese sentiments in the U.S. affected his first career phase, as well as his second.  but his second phase seems to have been equally affected by his heavy accent, and lack of english skills.  
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i loved this part, from his imdb bio:

After the Second World War, he took a third shot at Hollywood. In 1949, he relaunched  himself as a character actor with "Tokyo Joe" (1949) in support of Humphrey Bogart and "Three Came Home" (1950) with Claudette Colbert. Hayakawa reached the apex of this, his third career, with his role as the martinet prisoner-of-war camp commandant in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), which brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Suporting Actor. His performance as Colonel Saito was essential to the success of David Lean's film, built as it was around the battle of wills between Hayakawa's commandant and Alec Guinness's Colonel Nicholson, head of the Allied POWs. The film won the Best Picture Academy Award while Lean and Guiness also were rewarded with Oscars.

*sessue san was one of only six Asian actors nominated for an Academy Award. The others are Miyoshi Umeki, Haing S. Ngor (for The Killing Fields), Rinko Kikuchi for Babel, Mako for The Sand Pebbles and Ken Watanabe for The Last Samurai.
*this is inaccurate, as pat noriyuki morita was also nominated.    he lost the oscar to haing s.ngor.   so it is really 7.

he retired in 1966 and died in japan in the 1973.   Ninety years after achieving stardom, he remains one of the few Asians to assume superstar status in American motion pictures

since 1998 his starmeter has ranged from 6000 to 15,000.   almost 40 years after he left hollywood, his starmeter still remains at a respectable 15,561 as of today.

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an article about him wrote this:

"My one ambition is to play a hero." Sound like a sentiment echoing in the hearts of today's Asian American actors?. Sessue Hayakawa said it back in 1949.

i'll close with his own words, which sounds very much like OUR hiro.

In his autobiography, Zen Showed Me The Way, Hayakawa observes, "All my life has been a journey. But my journey differs from the journeys of most men...."  

'turning japanese'...pat 'noriyuki' morita (H in H pt 2d)

pat morita will long be remembered as MR. MIYAGI...his beloved role in the film, THE KARATE KID.  

a JAPANESE AMERICAN, he was born in california, spent time in the internment camp during the war, and originally made his career in the aeronautics field, before taking a 'leap of faith' and becoming a stand up comic.    only 5'3", he became known as the 'HIP NIP' in the club circuits and PLAYED UP the 'stereotype' of asian men. 

pat is equally known for his role as ARNOLD, the restaurant owner in HAPPY DAYS the hugely popular 70's  T.V. sitcom, speaking in 'MOCK' asian accent.   (his normal speaking voice was very americanized, as it was his native tongue)                           

he had a vocal coach on karate kid to teach him to 'sound'  authentically japanese.

he was one of the busiest asian actors in hollywood, ranging from t.v. to movies, voiceovers, etc...a resume as long as mako's...but their 'casting images' were worlds apart.  
 
most of his career he was known as PAT, but during karate kid, (mid 80's)  producer jerry weintraub suggested he change his name to NORIYUKI (his true birth name) because it sounded more 'ethnic'.    i read somewhere long ago that he developed a deeper sense of 'being japanese'...FINDING his own heritage through the role of miyagi san.  
it's quite lovely that in this character, he found the 'dignity' in his ethnicity.  

he was the first ASIAN AMERICAN nominated for an acting oscar.   (for mr. miyagi)    having played minor, character 'oddball' comedic parts most of his career...this was quite a significant 'benchmark' in his career, and achievement in his personal and professional life.   

his starmeter always hovered in the 1-2000 range.   (currently 1579).   (he died in 2005)

Karate Kid (trailer)

 

i'm 'waxing on'.   i'll 'wax off' for now.  

note:   things are quickly changing on youtube, and many of the clips that were once available are being disabled, so i am uncertain if, or how long, any of these clips wil remain active.  

the magnificent mako ...the east/west player (H in H pt 2c)

mako was born in japan, but came to new york at 15, schooled here, and became citizen at 23.  the founder of EAST WEST PLAYERS, an asian american theatre in l.a.    he was nominated for a Tony in his Broadway debut in 1976 in "Pacific Overtures."   

altho he was born and raised for a time in japan, he spoke fluent english.....but it was distinctively accented.  
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from his IMDB bio:

Mako was not only a great actor, he was determined to let people know that Asian-American actors are just as good as the traditional "White" actors we have today. He made his whole life about acting...

"Of course we've been fighting against stereotypes from day one at East West Players.   That's the reason we formed it....to combat that, and to show we are capable of more than just fulfilling the stereotypes -- waiter, laundryman, gardener, martial artist, villain."

He passed away on July 21, 2006 at the age of 72 ...He continued acting until a few months before his death, and was probably one of the best-known Asian-American actors to grace movies and TVs.

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MAKO worked STEADILY from the 1960's on t.v shows (mcHales navy, big valley, you name the t.v. show...he had the "asian role"....up to 2005 series, monk and the west wing).   he had an equally broad mix in movies, from conan the barbarian, to robocop to seven years in tibet and more recently, memoirs of a geisha.  from stage, to voice overs...there was little that mako did NOT do.   however, ironically, his roles were almost always 'token'....the very thing he worked to fight against.  

(he usually had the fierce, powerful, type of role)  

while james shigeta was the 'go to' MOVIE STAR image for an asian male in the 60's,  (james had a VERY different
image in casting)  mako was THE 'go to' GUY in general, for asian males.  the contrast is actually quite stark, between the two actors, as evidenced by their imdb resume (AND STARMETERS).  

(the 'industry' barometer of each actor is truly best calculated by this ranking.)

mako and shigeta would be an interesting 'study' to illustrate the points.

the starmeter only goes back to 1998, but shigeta's starmeter has always hovered in the 9-10,000 range.  james is still alive, but has not really worked actively since the late 90's early 2000.   (was in BROTHERS with "beat" takeshi).   yet his starmeter ranking is quite low.   11,063 today.

mako, on the other hand, worked non stop up until his death (he actually was going to do a role, but died before filming).   HIS starmeter averaged in the 2-3000 range.   altho he died almost a year ago,  his current ranking is
1531.  

this clip is from one of his movies from the 1970's (with james caan)....he does not appear until the 3 minute mark, (black turtleneck, beard, moustache) but you will get a feel for the type of characters he played.   and michi san...i thought of you when i found this....so funny....(hint:  "i'm a ninja").   :)     (mako is NOT the ninja).

i'll end this with one of mako's own quotes:

One of  the barriers that Asian-American actors have to face in Hollywood: "I go into a young film director's office these days and he says, 'Hey man, I know who you are. I grew up watching McHale's Navy'. And I think, 'Oh boy, here we go again'...."

japanese american james shigeta (H in H pt 2b)

there was only ONE japanese actor that was considered a ROMANTIC leading man in my youth.

JAMES SHIGETA.

a japanese american (nisei) born in hawaii, and schooled in new york (majored in english) james was actually
'discovered' on the TED MACK amateur hour (equivalent of 'american idol' or 'star search' of the time) and
with his gorgeous good looks, was probably THE undisputed  'go to' japanese actor of his time.   

unlike mifune san, who was so often cast in "samurai" style roles in hollywood....james was fluent in english (likely considered it his 'native tongue', as most nisei did) .... (he is also fluent in japanese, french and italian) was exotic, extremely handsome, tall, and elegant.   james was able to play romantic leads (VERY uncommon in hollywood)
and often starred in vehicles featuring inter-racial romance.     (only in the classic film, SAYONARA with marlon brando,  do i recall another movie (1960's) with such a major inter racial storyline....this one taking place in japan, with caucasian military men in 'forbidden' romantic relationships with japanese women).  

while he was in a 'light comedy' called CRY FOR HAPPY (also WWII japan/america military film starring glenn ford)
the movie that was the one of the most memorable, for the east/west ROMANCE is a film called BRIDGE TO THE SUN.  

(okay, you know how i love all 'LINKS' to our hiro)....BRIDGE - to- the- SUN  (sunshine)   tee hee. 

anyway, this is also a book of the same name (author: gwen terasaki) and can be found on amazon.com.  it is based on her own autobiography. ...and it is a movie WORTH trying to find.  TOTAL TEARJERKER.   (it will only be on VHS, IF you can find it).  shigeta plays a japanese diplomat.

he often played chinese men (FLOWER DRUM SONG), often did feature parts on t.v shows, and in 1988 had a role in the original DIE HARD.   he truly had a career that was quite amazing (especially considering the time) for a japanese actor. 

i was SO EXCITED to find this clip on youtube....which was part of a TRIBUTE to james shigeta.

James Shigeta Tribute

last tidbit:    it was RUMORED that james was offered the role in the HEROES t.v. show (likey the father of little  'hiro', played by masi oka....the role is being played by star trek's george takei) but james turned it down.     as some of you know, i am  'dreaming' that when HEROES comes back next season....and the samurai  warriors take off their helmets...that OUR HIRO will be sitting on the horse.  (however,  i'm sure MANY fans don't agree with me on this, idea, tho...)

BRIDGE to the SUN...
if anyone is interested in watching this film, (it was never released on vhs or dvd, officially) i did find a resource.
i can't post this info, as it is an industry resource.    but if you would like to purchase it, PM me, and i can share
the info with you.  

made in japan...(well, china really) toshiro mifune (H in H part 2a)

well, there is just NO WAY i can illustrate what i am trying to depict in ONE (PART 2) post. 

hence, PART 2 of HIRO IN HOLLYWOOD will be a series of SEVERAL different posts...focusing on various asian actors in 'HOLLYWOOD'.     it's really the best way for me to try and present a glimpse of what our guy is up against, as he works to 'break through the walls that exist' and go BEYOND the LIMITATIONS set on asian actors in hollywood.

my focus will be on japanese actors first.

and of those, we have the ones that are from japan, and ones that are born in america, who's parents immigrated from japan. (called nisei).    (one of the few japanese words i DO know, as i am sansei...grandparents from japan)

BTW, for those that DON'T know this...mifune, while both his parents were japanese, was born in china (and fluent in MANDARIN!) and amazingly did not go to japan until aprox. 20 years old. 

until recently, if you ask anyone to name a japanese actor, TOSHIRO MIFUNE would have been the likely name to come up.   (today, it is likely ken).   this is evidenced by the IMDB STARMETER.   mifune died in 1997, and in 1998, his starmeter ranking was in the 1200 range...and it hovered in the 1-2000 range until early 2005.  from then, he dropped to the 3000 range (after TLS) and it has remained in the 3-4000 range since then.   (remember, 1 is the TOP).

MIFUNE achieved mild success in hollywood, but became BEST KNOWN from the TV mini series, SHOGUN.
from the imdb bio:

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A dynamic and ferocious actor, he excelled in action roles, but had as well the depth to plumb intricate and subtle dramatic parts. A personal rift during the filming of 'Akahige' (1965) ended the Mifune-Kurosawa collaboration, but Mifune continued to perform leading roles in major films both in Japan and in foreign countries. He was twice named Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival (for 'Yojimbo' (1961) and 'Akahige' (1965)). In 1963, he formed his own production company and directed one film and produced several others. In his later years, he gained new fame in the title role of the American TV miniseries "Shogun" (1980), and appeared infrequently in cameo roles after that.
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since his collaboration with kurosawa is widely known, and those movies are the CLASSICS of japanese film and samurai depiction....i am ONLY focusing on his career outside of japan.  (hollywood).   sadly, there were only a couple of clips i could find....but they give a 'flavor' of how ASIANS were portrayed in the U.S.   

SHOGUN was the first widely seen portrayal of (edo period) JAPAN to U.S. audiences....and it's interesting to see some of the images reminiscent of TLS and what MIGHT be shown in scorsese's SILENCE....
this first clip is an overview....

My Shogun trailer

this second clip shows mifune and richard chamberlain....it illustrates what a powerful presence toshiro san had.

Shogun miniseries (1980) Sailors Dance Anjin-San & Toranaga

this last clip is fro 1982, and it was a john frankenheimer film called THE CHALLENGE

Jerry Goldsmith - The Challenge - Forced Entry

while these are clips from only 2 of many films he made in hollywood,....they were very 'japanese' or 'asian' specific.  

death of a tea master, the demon comes in spring, journey of honor, shadow of the wolf, picture bride are some of the titles from his last films.  

to read more on him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mifune_Toshiro

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a few more ironic tidbits:

Even though Mifune worked hard to learn his English-speaking roles phonetically, his voice was always dubbed in the American films in which he appeared. This was one of the things that disappointed him up until the day he died.

BUT THE ONE THAT JUST BLEW ME AWAY.....
FROM IMDB TRIVIA PAGE:

In the Japanese animated series Maha Go Go Go (known in the U. S. as Speed Racer), the hero was named Go Mifune; the name was chosen in tribute to Toshiro Mifune.

SPEED RACER!!!!!!!!     like sanada san says....IT'S ALL LINKED....

our hiro in HOLLYWOOD....part 1

i wanted to explain some thoughts i have regarding the concerns that some fans have expressed about our sanada san's career direction.

please understand that this is ONLY my personal opinion.   but it IS based on FACT, research and a small bit
of understanding about some of the intricacies of the industry.  

i want to preface these comments with the statement that i would LOVE to see our hiro in a STARRING role, and quite honestly, in a JAPANESE role, because i love his voice....and it is so wonderful to hear the ease of his articulation and expression, when he has an opportunity to speak in his native tongue.  

altho i like his contemporary japanese roles, the edo period roles are my FAVORITE, as his grace and strength are a sight to behold!  :) and of course, ANY film where sanada san has more "screen time", would ALWAYS be welcomed!   
~~~~~~~~~~~~

it completely breaks my heart when i know that had hiro been 10 years younger, the options for his exposure would
have been COMPLETELY different (and easier),  and MUCH broader, in this time of technology.  also, quite frankly, with the ASIAN factor being more of a "trend", as we develop a more global awareness....the industry is 'opening'....but still, LARGE barriers exist. 

but what is SO IMPORTANT to understand about our guy is that HE is SUCH a TRAIL BLAZER in his efforts to BREAK DOWN those BARRIERS.   (or as he calls it...build bridges)    it is BEYOND courageous of him....i cannot imagine the strength of character it has taken for him to PERSEVERE with such earnestness, and steadfastness.  TRULY remarkable.   and to know that  a big part of his INTENT is to OPEN those doors for actors who are 10 years or more YOUNGER than he is, so that it will be EASIER for THEM....i mean, the dude really IS a hero.

i know that many fans are concerned about the direction hiro's career is taking, and while i recognize how it may be PERCEIVED....i personally, am ABSOLUTELY AMAZED by what our guy has been able to accomplish, in such a short period of time!  AND the TRULY astounding  thing is that he is doing this, in a variety of roles....AND in FOREIGN (to him) languages!   not just ONE, (english) but TWO! (mandarin chinese)   (i believe it was jane, from michelle yeoh, who told me that michelle, chow yun fat and tony leung chu wai are/were OFTEN dubbed in mandarin!) 

hiro tackling the language barrier  is such a feat, as this is being accomplished WITHOUT HIRO HAVING HAD THE BENEFIT OF HAVING EVER LIVED ('grown up' or 'schooled')  IN THE UNITED STATES OR BRITAIN!!!   the asian actors who are proficient in english skills ALL were either born in hong kong - (british rule) - AND/OR spent several years of their youth LIVING in england!  (maggie cheung born hong kong, moved to britain at age 8 , michelle yeoh born malaysia, spoke english and malasian prior to speaking chinese, tony leung chu wai, born hong kong, chow yun fat, born hong kong)

it makes me so sad when i hear people worrying that his career is on the decline, because that is not how i view it.
(and certainly, i am no expert)  

but sometimes  i feel that we need to remember that what he did (by CHOICE) was to move OUT of his COMFORT zone and take on the challenge of carving out a 'NEW' path.    (hiro is libra, but i believe he has many planets in scorpio, and part of their nature is to 'transform' and 'regenerate'....so this urge in him has ALWAYS been present).

remember the LEAP of faith he took, when, he was already an established ACTION STAR.... and he changed directions, and took on the serious acting roles? (was it mahjong movie?).  

back then, he was willing to work from the ground up.  and he took a WIDE variety of roles, (NOT all of them STARRING roles)....for the experience of learning, etc. 

his 'second' phase of acting in japan took him to t.v. roles as well....and if i can recall misty's breakdown of hiro's career, he even had a 'stalled' phase...and was it the t.v. series a story of love, that led to  RINGU, and brought him BACK to the public eye, and a NEW resurgence?  

his japan career is NOT what i know, except thru the generous amounts of information and analysis that michi san has shared with us.    i just feel that if we can think back on the journey he took with THAT phase of his career....we can trust more of what THIS next incarnation of hiro's career will lead to.    and remember...THAT phase, was in JAPAN (so he already had the recognition factor in place) ...AND IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE.    hiro was NOT KNOWN here in hollywood!

so altho it might NOT SEEM like it...when i began to 'study' this subject...it's really unbelievable what he is steadily accomplishing....(IMO)

this is a 3 part blog...in honor of hiro's 3rd phase of his career.   (not counting his 'child year's....) 

so stay tuned as i share with you next,  the 'backdrop' of asian actors in hollywood.    thanks to you tube....it will be so fascinating to get the 'true picture'.    so....until part deux....adieu...

oh no....joe....

okay, michi san...this one is for you.

your "OTHER GUY"....odagiri san.    so i tried to find him speaking ENGLISH, cuz i just GOTTA be able to hear/compare hiro's english skills...and i found THIS cool interview, which i'm sure you've seen.

HOWEVER, it is in japanese....and of course, i have NO IDEA what he is saying.      so what i found very interesting is how THOUGHTFUL, and substantive he SEEMS.   so, DOES he also speak about 'life' views, or philosophy of 'being' as our hiro does?   (BTW, NOT asking you for a translation of what he's saying....just the 'general' tone of expression)

gotta say, while definitely good looking...i was MORE impressed that he could pull off that HAT and red SCOOP NECK shirt.... and had enough 'innate style' to be able to 'wear it well'.    (BOTH hat and 'shirt')    THAT was a feat in and of itself.   hee hee

now, could you please explain why it says yureru, instead of odagiri?  (or is this NOT the guy!?)   it sure LOOKS like him!

i meant to write in my comments in your 'joe/two timing' post...hee hee....that it would have been SO GROOVY if hiro san had been able to enjoy the freedom to pursue his artistic inclinations throughout his entire career, and also, had the technological 'mediums' available to him as well.    my admiration for hiro deepens BECAUSE he has achieved so much in spite of the 'limitations' he had in his early career, AND the fact that he had to pretty much PAVE the WAY on his own.  the dude...and i'm speaking of HIRO here....ROCKS.   :)   

thx again...learning SO much about SO many different things from ALL of our group.   loving it.