Ken Watanabe

“The characters I play are tough, but I love laughing and humor.”

“Actors are always afraid of ending up like overcooked old soup over time. What's risky is that you don't realize this has happened, and you just get thick and boring. Going abroad was like getting a new pot to cook everything again. I was a rookie, a new self. And they were asking me, 'Who are you?'”

“Musicals are written in English, and then we import them to Japan. When we translate them into Japanese, the sounds of the language are completely different. The Japanese language is not the best for singing, in terms of sound.”

“About half the scripts sent to me feature characters I just can't identify with, particularly one-dimensional businessmen or, if it's a comedy, some absurd 10-year-old Japanese stereotype, some role related to IT or business... There's no point in getting mad about it; it's just the way things are.”

“My identity and my background still remain with me when I go to a foreign country. I have kept my nationality.”

“English is like music. The English language is really fit for singing. The notes match the feelings, and it makes sense.”

“I went to a foreign country as a Japanese actor, not a Hollywood actor. This takes courage.”

“I have no sense of myself as a sex symbol at all. But the meaning of sex symbol might be a little different in Japan to elsewhere. The Japanese version seems to come with a stronger emphasis on a sort of grownup or mature male charm. And if that's the case, then I guess I'm happy to hear it.”

“If the script is good, the cast and director good, I'll go anywhere.”

“English is a very expressive language.”

“In 'Letters from Iwo Jima,' there were times when I told Eastwood, 'This is just not believable.'”

“I can't become another person, no matter how much makeup I wear. Something of your own past, your experiences and personality always comes out in the role, and that makes acting very risky. You're exposed. You always wonder if you can pull it off.”

“Each director is different. Clint Eastwood and Chris Nolan are completely different, and I need to adjust to the story and character and the director and just my duty as an actor.”

“All small countries have the same problems and concerns about being protected from larger countries and their influences.”

“I'm not a big star in Japan. I'm an actor. I have a very normal life. Four days a week, I cook at home. A star doesn't do that.”

“Looks aren't important. It's your life and mind.”

“With 'Letters from Iwo Jima,' then 'Memories of Tomorrow,' I reached a sort of turning point in my acting. I had poured so much of myself into those movies that I really had no idea where to go from there.”

“When you're sick, you're not thinking 24 hours a day about your suffering, about dying. You want to talk and laugh and think about other things. In the midst of trying to live your life normally, the fear and dread, the realization that it might all end, rises up inside of you.”

“I try to differentiate between what I need and don't need. I talk to my wife and children before buying things.”

“If I'm in a restaurant, and someone recognizes me and asks for a signature or a photograph after a drink, that's good for me as an actor.”