A Day In Cary’s World
June 2, 2006 admin 0 Comments
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The movie, which features an acclaimed international cast including stars Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai), is the re-creation of the No. 1 international bestselling novel by Arthur Golden. The book spent two years on the
New York Times best-seller list, sold more than 4 million copies in English, and has been translated into 32 languages.
“I play the baron who, physically, doesn’t look like me,” says Tagawa. “In the book, he was described as sort of an overweight guy and very drunk all the time, so I was surprised when I was chosen to play that part.
“What I immediately got was that the director was changing the visual for the film, in that it changes the nature of the male energy considering who the chairman is, which is the male lead played by Watanabe, and Nobu which is the second male lead played by Yakusho Koji, and then the baron, which is probably the third male lead.
“The role is typical to the kind of other movies that I’ve done where I don’t have a lot of scenes but they are sort of critical to the story. And they’re actually harder to play because you don’t have
a long time, and you don’t have a lot of lines, so to get the emotional content you have to make it more focused.”
The story takes place in the years before World War II and follows the life of a Japanese girl who is torn from her penniless family to work as a servant in a geisha house. Despite a treacherous rival who nearly breaks her spirit, the girl blossoms into the legendary geisha Sayuri. Beautiful and accomplished, Sayuri captivates the most powerful men of her day, but is haunted by her secret love for the one man beyond her reach.
“I think the movie will reveal the beauty of the Japanese culture, the grace tempered with harshness, and the oppression of women, as well as the triumph of women and the female spirit within that experience,” notes Tagawa.
“I think there’s a big misunderstanding people have of the Japanese culture – that women are weak, and that subservience is weak. This is definitely the movie that represents the cultural structure of subservience, and shows the strength of women and their inner power.”
Geisha have long been figures of fascination in Japan and throughout the world. Neither wife nor prostitute, a geisha is an artist who earns her living entertaining powerful men. She is a trained dancer, singer and musician, as well as a witty conversationalist. She laughs at her client’s jokes and never tells his secrets.
“I have some critically emotional scenes with Sayuri (Ziyi Zhang),” admits Tagawa. “One thing about this film, working with these actors, I’ve never been on a set with so little ego. Everybody was focused on their work and acting as art rather than just business.
“(Zhang) I think represents the most powerful female energy on the planet. I’ve done many action films, but after seeing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, you know she can kick my butt.”
Tagawa resides on Kauai with children Calen, 17, Brynne, 14, Cana, 5, and wife Sally, but spends most of his time on Oahu. He also plans to move to Japan early next year.
“I know inside I’m going to move, I just haven’t worked out the details,” he explains. “Right now, home is definitely Hawaii. Although I wasn’t born here, I always felt like this was my home. Japan is the place that I was born and it holds a deep spiritual kind of energy and I feel like I’m going there to be part of a spiritual change, yet it’s very hard to live in Japan. It’s the total opposite of Hawaii.
“My family, they’re not moving because of school. I’m going there basically to pursue the second half of my career. I liken my first half as Last Emperor to Planet of the Apes. And really the first half was about serving Hollywood.
Memoirs of a Geisha starts my second half, and my second half is about having Hollywood serve me. All these films that I’ve been in, I’m going to use that power to pursue my own independence in film.”
Tagawa’s long list of credits include American Me, Last Emperor, License to Kill, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Rising Sun, Mortal Kombat, Picture Bride, The Phantom, John Carpenter’s Vampires, Snow Falling On Cedars, The Art,
Pearl Harbor and Planet of the Apes.
As for his favorite on-screen experience, it’s playing the surfing grandfather in Disney Channel’s Johnny Tsunami.
“I didn’t have to carry a gun and kill anybody,” laughs Tagawa. “And it’s really closest to my own nature.”
His latest project was Faith of My Fathers for A&E Television, which follows the life and Vietnam experience of Sen. John McCain. And he’s currently in Toronto filming a Russian action movie where he plays the lead “bad guy,” and shares the screen with fellow local actor Mark Dacoscos, who plays the lead “good guy.”
“It’s a low-budget action movie, but I was very anxious to be in this movie,” says Tagawa. “It’s the first time you have both lead roles with local ties.”
Next will be The King and I for the Hawaii Opera Theatre in which he will play the king, of course. (With his current shaved head look, Tagawa is ready for the role made famous by Yul Brenner.) And if he gets his way, his two daughters will be on stage as well. “My daughters both want to go into acting,” he explains.
Tagawa’s local roots stem from his father, Mitsuo, who was born on Molokai and lived in Kalihi. A career U.S. Army soldier, he eventually left the Islands for Japan, where he met his wife, and then in 1955 moved with his wife and two sons to his first Mainland post in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Tagawa’s mother, Ayako, was an accomplished stage actress in Tokyo’s Takarazuka Theatre during World War II. And although she inspired him to act, she was not supportive of his choice. “After telling her I wanted to be an actor, she asked me not to mainly because of the lack of good roles for Asians,” recalls Tagawa.
Tagawa would go on to pursue his dream, but not immediately. For 19 years, he held various jobs including being a celery farmer, limo driver, pizza supply truck driver and photo journalist.
“I got my years of life experiences, studied acting, and then at 36 started my acting career,” says Tagawa, who is now 55. “The good news for Asian actors and Hollywood is that it’s better than it’s ever been, but the bad news is that it hasn’t changed that much. The opportunities haven’t increased that much, but commercially there’s more exposure.”
After an unusually successful start in Hollywood, Tagawa decided to move his family to Hawaii.
“It was after the Rodney King riots in 1992 when I realized that L.A. was no place to raise a family,” explains Tagawa. “Even if it meant the end of my career, I was willing to take that chance. Luckily, Rising Sun did well and I was able to continue acting even living in Hawaii.”
Aside from his acting career, Tagawa has his plate full with what seem like endless other projects – athletic training, education, health care, broadband and water with healing powers.
“For the Japanese I want to develop a new style of learning English,” he says. “Japanese are very much focused on structure, and I think what they’re lacking is an understanding of what the American culture is about. So, what I would like to teach before you start the words is get them thinking like Americans and getting them to feel American.
“The other thing I’m very interested and concerned about is health care. Also, I’m concerned about the quality of our water which is so important to the metabolism of our body. I’m working very closely with a Japanese company that has this water called Kangen Water that scientifically has been proven to minimize and fight diseases.
“Also, I think broadband will be the key to the 21st century that will help us to realize sort of the human dream. The 20th century was the technological dream, it really wasn’t such a great time for human beings. We had so many wars. But broadband will connect us to people in a much greater way. The Internet is just scratching the surface. My ultimate fantasy in the broadband field is to have my own network.”
Tagawa has also been busy training various athletes through his training program known as Ninjah Sportz. In the past he’s worked with the UH football players, as well as NFL player Marcus Allen. (For more information, visit ninjahsportz.com)
“It’s cross- training based on martial arts principles,” explains Tagawa. “In martial arts the first thing you learn is balance, proper stance and how to fall, where for athletes the first thing they do is lift weights and run.”
Tagawa also worked with one of the elite runners during the recent Honolulu Marathon.
“One of the top runners got injured, so I helped him with his injury,” explains Tagawa, who signed autographs at the Honolulu Marathon Expo and made an early morning appearance at the start line of the race. “I was there as a celebrity face and I’d like to continue that with them. The only thing I liken the Honolulu Marathon to is standing on the street corner in Beijing when we did The Last Emperor. The number of people standing there at the start line was just mind boggling.”
So is Tagawa: “I’m not what you would expect from an actor. I place much more emphasis on the art of acting rather than on the business and celebrity status. I’m much more interested in using celebrity to promote those personal interests I have in education and health care and promoting the idea of service to others. It’s about how can we leave this place a better place than when we came. At the core this is definitely who I am.
“This has to do with my life having grown up in America and the conflicts and lessons that have arisen from the clash of the soldier culture vs. a warrior culture.”