Thursday, February 18

Your Questions For Hiroyuki Sanada

It looks as though I may be interviewing Hiroyuki Sanada (Dogen the Temple Master on Lost) for Chud.com in the near future. I have no real business doing this, but I'm very happy to pretend to be a journalist for a few minutes, and to speak with a respected actor on a show that I similarly respect.

Despite said-happiness, I'm also a slacker, which means that I'm looking to you, my appreciated reading audience, to provide suggestions on what questions you'd like me to ask. I'm not a total slacker - I'll be asking my own, and I've got one or two I'm looking forward to posing - but you folks are intelligent, and you're likely to have some good ideas.

So, whaddyawant asked? I won't be trying to sneak any spoilers out of him, and he can't talk about what hasn't already aired, so please keep that in mind. My sincere thanks first and foremost to Devin Faraci of Chud, who asked if I'd like to conduct the interview. And thanks in advance to you, for any help you can provide.

Best,

M

7 comments:

  1. Morse,

    Presuming he was as in the dark about to-be-filmed episodes as the main cast claims to be, I'd like to know if Mr. Sanada finds it difficult to play such a mysterious character when their is so much he doesn't know about him until he is handed a script.

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  2. I'd love to know how he got the job. Here's what I would ask.

    "What was the casting process like? I've loved watching you in The Last Samurai and Danny Boyle's Sunshine. I was just wondering how you were approached to do the show and if you were a fan of LOST before getting the role of Dogen?"

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  3. Does he have an action figure of himself yet from any other roles? Since they are surely going to make a Dogen figure, what special "action feature" and props would he like his character to have? (e.g., "DOGEN Doll with 'poison pill', 'hot tub hour glass' and "heimlich maneuver').

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  4. It is rather an "insider joke" "fun" question, if you want to throw a curve ball. "Did it rain much when he was filming in Hawaii?" The background is that he is known for "rain jinx" in Japan - wherever he goes it rains. I myself interviewed him once in L.A. a few years ago, and it was pouring rain in L.A., so the jinx survives in the U.S.

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  5. Here are a few to help you fill your list Morse, though I don't feel any have any real insight or context like some of the above. But i know if I was interviewing him, I'd be hoping for some volume to choose from:

    1) Are the spoken Japanese lines actually written in Japanese in the script or do he translate them? Assuming they are Japanese, are they correct or are there errors?

    i have to run, more this evening.

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  6. 1) How much input does he have into his character or is it largely as scripted/ directed? How much does he know about his character? How many scripts does he get ahead of time? Are the scripts fairly fixed by the time he gets them or does he often receive changes/notes? How many episodes is he scheduled for?

    2) Has the character changed since he has been cast him in it to more fit him as the actor playing Dogen?

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  7. Thanks for the questions, everybody. I managed to pose most of them in one form or another. Sanada-San was gracious, grounded, and interesting to listen to. I was hackneyed, nervous, and prone to taking awkward pauses. It went well despite my unconscious efforts at self-sabotage, and I hope to have something for you to read soon.

    -M

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