Wednesday December 12, 2007
Rising to the occasion
TAKESHI Kaneshiro grew a real beard for the first time during the filming of The Warlords.
“Director Chan requested that I try not shaving for a few days, and see how my facial hair would turn out. He was satisfied with the results and I was glad to sport a real beard too, for it meant not having to spend hours in the makeup chair, unlike the others.”
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Takeshi Kaneshiro: ‘I found it all so painful and emotional that I ended up crying like the others.’ |
“I learnt from director Chan that he wanted to make a movie along the vein of director Chang Cheh’s Ci Ma. So, I watched it and asked him which aspect of the film he wanted to highlight.
“At that time, he came to me with his scripts and storyboards, but he hadn’t decided on the other actors, or which part he wanted me to play. He had done a lot of research and his material was very comprehensive, with a very intense storyline, realistic battle scenes and a cast of thousands.
“I felt that this particular production was already such a huge challenge to a director like Peter, so I wasn’t confident that I could deliver. I was indeed happy that he approached me to work with him. But, at the same time, as a good friend, I didn’t want to disappoint him. And the long stretch I had to spend filming in China meant I’d probably be very homesick.
“I liked the realism portrayed in this movie. And, those Qing dynasty costumes were new to me. I’d only seen them in movies and never actually put them on before. I asked Jet Li and he replied that he too was wearing them for the first time.”
Kaneshiro felt that portraying any character in the movie was a challenge in itself.
“Mine was in having to choose or perhaps switch loyalties between a sworn brother I’ve known for a long time and another whom I met not too long ago.”
To him, every scene was deeply moving and painful to film. “Since I was not involved in the love affair (involving Zhao, Pang and Lian), I thought it wouldn’t be as complex for me. However, I found it all so painful and emotional that I ended up crying like the others.”
Kaneshiro's schedule is packed with several movies in various stages of production. He has just completed for John Woo’s Chi Bi (Red Cliff) (2008), in which he plays Zhuge Liang, the legendary Chinese military strategist and advisor to warlord Liu Bei.
He also plays Chiba, a music-loving shinigami (Death God, in Japanese) in Japanese movie Sweet Rain (2008) adapted from Isaka Kotaro’s novel titled Shinigami no Seido (Accuracy of Death).
He will start filming another Japanese movie for which the title has not been confirmed. Chan has also cast him as the male lead in his other production Waiting (2009), adapted from a novel of the same name.
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