{"id":2578,"date":"2016-12-21T00:00:17","date_gmt":"2016-12-21T00:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/?p=2578"},"modified":"2016-12-27T15:46:02","modified_gmt":"2016-12-27T15:46:02","slug":"david-sakurai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/david-sakurai\/","title":{"rendered":"David Sakurai"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Born in Copenhagen, Denmark to a Danish mother and Japanese father, David Sakurai&#8217;s life has never followed a\u00a0linear path nor has it been confined to a single place. \u00a0After reaching his 18th birthday he set off for Japan where he had a number of formative experiences including learning his father&#8217;s\u00a0native tongue, cutting his teeth in the\u00a0acting community\u00a0and learning about the martial\u00a0arts. \u00a0Upon returning to his native Denmark he began to find jobs in the acting community cementing his reputation as a versatile actor capable of scenes ranging form intense drama to light-hearted comedy. \u00a0His reputation hasn&#8217;t been confined\u00a0to the Asian and European communities however, earning recognition from the Los Angeles crowd after receiving the &#8220;Breakout Action Star Award&#8221; at The 2010 AOF International Film Festival. \u00a0This is in addition to the\u00a0\u00a0Best Actor award he had received at the Danish Movie Battle Festival in 2010.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>His talents as an actor have allowed him to rub shoulders with internationally recognized talents like actor Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd (<em>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo<\/em>) director\u00a0Hans Petter Moland (<em>A Somewhat Gentle Man<\/em>) and producer Lene B\u00f8rglum (<em>The Neon Demon<\/em>). \u00a0Filming in locations such as LA, Budapest and\u00a0Istanbul along with Denmark and Japan David is truly a member of the\u00a0global acting community. \u00a0He&#8217;s not so much interested in borders or ethnic identities but rather\u00a0with originality, a diverse cast and unique and surprising stories. \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9rOoTwLip90?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hi, David, It is such a\u00a0pleasure to speak with you!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I was looking for someone with a very special aura and I found you through our mutual friends.\u00a0 The first thing in my mind was like I was brainwashed!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Your existence itself was so sensational and had a big impact to me!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I am so honored to do an interview with you here on my interview website Ninjagirl.\u00a0 When I talked to you in person, I thought, \u201cThis is the guy that I was looking for!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I can feel that your acting is so great and the movies you acted in are so great and interesting! \u00a0It is especially to \u00a0me that you are half Japanese and a half Danish.\u00a0 I really am happy to have you here on Ninjagirl. \u00a0The words comes up in my mind are,\u00a0\u201cYou are a sensational actor and I want to do the interview with you!\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>1. \u00a0Can you tell us about your life growing up in Copenhagen?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2595 size-medium\" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/FullSizeRender-4-copy-4-223x300.jpg\" alt=\"fullsizerender-4-copy-4\" width=\"223\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/FullSizeRender-4-copy-4-223x300.jpg 223w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/FullSizeRender-4-copy-4.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px\" \/>I was born and raised in Copenhagen.\u00a0 My father\u2019s Japanese and my mother\u2019s Danish.\u00a0 I left here when I was eighteen.\u00a0 But I had a very normal childhood here.\u00a0 My mom is an artist and my dad was one of the few Japanese who came here in the late 60\u2019s.\u00a0 It was rare to be from a mixed race here at that time.\u00a0 I took most of my genetics from my father so I guess I stood out growing up.<\/p>\n<p>Denmark is a very small country and it was a very safe place to grow up.\u00a0 I always had a dream to live outside of Denmark.\u00a0 I was always inspired by movies &#8211; even from a young age.\u00a0 Japanese movies were a requirement growing up in my home.\u00a0 They inspired me to consider what life was like outside of Denmark.<\/p>\n<p>I have family in Japan and Denmark.\u00a0 There was a variety of languages in the home growing up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. \u00a0How did your father end up in Copenhagen?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He left Japan at an early age.\u00a0 He also had a passion for different cultures and loved to travel as well.\u00a0 He travelled all over the world for a number of years.\u00a0 One of the last places he stopped before going back to Japan was Copenhagen.\u00a0 He ended up settling here and eventually met my mother.\u00a0 He studied biology at one of the universities here.<\/p>\n<p>He returned to Japan when I was about 6.\u00a0 At the time I was born he was already speaking fluent Danish.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. \u00a0Did you learn Japanese while in Copenhagen?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Very basic stuff.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have many opportunities growing up.\u00a0 Now it is very different.\u00a0 There are many places where you can take Japanese lessons.\u00a0 And actually there are high schools where you can take Japanese courses. \u00a0 So I didn\u2019t learn Japanese until later when I moved to\u00a0Japan.<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2601 size-medium alignright\" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Head-Shot-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"David Sakurai 5\/2013\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Head-Shot-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Head-Shot-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Head-Shot-683x1024.jpg 683w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>4. What inspired you to get into acting?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As far back as I remember I always had an interest in acting.\u00a0 Of course at first it was movies in general &#8211; since I was a little kid.\u00a0 My mom didn\u2019t have a filter concerning my movie upbringing so I grew up watching a lot of movies I was way to young to see.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t effect me in a negative way at all.\u00a0 I grew up watching <em>The Godfather<\/em> and <em>Saturday Night Fever<\/em> and a ton of Westerns.\u00a0 I was a huge Western fan when I was a kid.\u00a0 It was always so exotic for me as a kid seeing other cultures.\u00a0 It was eye opening for me to experience other parts of the world through movies.\u00a0 The best movies can be very up-lifting.\u00a0 In many ways sometimes movies can bring out positive things and make people feel positive things &#8211; bring out a positive energy.\u00a0 For me I think I was just really sensitive as a kid.\u00a0 Movies were just that thing that really appealed to me.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until later on that I learned this was really work for an actor.\u00a0 Being an actor was part of the process of putting together a movie. \u00a0It was the acting that I gravitated to.\u00a0 The creative process of creating the character and playing different characters. \u00a0 Versatile actors always fascinated me. \u00a0They could play one part here and then play a completely different part.\u00a0 I was a very shy kid and I still am to this day I think.\u00a0 But watching that process was a big help.<\/p>\n<p>As a kid growing up here there weren\u2019t many actors with who I could identify.\u00a0 So I was always looking around me to actors on the international scene.\u00a0 Actors who looked like me.\u00a0 That is when Asian movies grabbed me and even American movies.\u00a0 Even back in the day they were much more multi-cultural than native movies here in Denmark.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. \u00a0Was that part of your decision to move to Tokyo?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That was definitely part of the decision for me to move to Tokyo.\u00a0 Coming from a mixed background you\u2019re not always completely one thing or another.\u00a0 You\u2019re always between.\u00a0 It took the chance to live in both cultures to really experience and be comfortable with that &#8211; that you\u2019re\u00a0 not always one thing or another.\u00a0 That was definitely one if my initial motivations to move to Tokyo.\u00a0 But it was also, growing up here there weren\u2019t many actors with who I could identify.\u00a0 So growing up I was trying to follow actors on the international scene and see one actor go this route or another route.\u00a0 Always looking overseas for inspiration.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.\u00a0 I read that you worked as a bartender when you were living in Tokyo.\u00a0 What was that experience like?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2572 \" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sakurai-Shoot-Japan-1-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"sakurai-shoot-japan-1\" width=\"226\" height=\"334\" \/>My older brother was my inspiration to move to Tokyo because he also moved to Tokyo after high school and ended up living there until now.\u00a0 He\u2019s six years older than me so I followed him there.\u00a0 Initially just to live over there and learn the language and get a better understanding of our Japanese culture.\u00a0 Just to be closer with my Japanese family.\u00a0 Half of my family are in Japan &#8211; everyone on my father\u2019s side.\u00a0 And of course my older brother as well.\u00a0 I only planned to stay there two years.\u00a0 But I ended up loving Tokyo so much I ended up living there for a longer time.<\/p>\n<p>My first job over there was at a preschool.\u00a0 They needed someone with some international experience who could speak some English but also some Japanese.\u00a0 So that was my first job over there.\u00a0 I got a job as a bartender right after that because it made a lot of sense at the time because then I had the day to pursue a lot of other opportunities, to study and things like that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.\u00a0 Were you able to make any connections or friends who work in the film industry in Japan?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It took me a couple of years to really actually pursue my acting goals in Japan.\u00a0 Because first of all the language barrier.\u00a0 The fist two years I didn\u2019t speak much Japanese.\u00a0 So after I got comfortable and could have a conversation I thought well maybe I\u2019ll try and pursue it in Japan.<\/p>\n<p>Originally my plan was to go to the States and try some of the schools there.\u00a0 But I had the chance to meet some people who were making independent films and started taking random courses.\u00a0 Things like that.\u00a0 So that\u2019s when I started to make some connections.\u00a0 I had the opportunity to take screen fighting classes under Japanese stunt-man Sanshiro Wada<b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2566 size-medium\" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/1929564_10200632493_6137_n-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"1929564_10200632493_6137_n\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/1929564_10200632493_6137_n-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/1929564_10200632493_6137_n.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>He was doing a lot of those action TV series like <em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/4x7_DBzBetM\" target=\"_blank\">Ultra Man<\/a><\/em> and things like that and I have a background in martial arts myself so through him I got inspired that maybe that\u2019s a tool I could\u00a0take with me in my acting journey and take some of that martial arts background as part of my acting roles.\u00a0 It was something that I love and suddenly I have some skills that I can use and try to be better at.\u00a0 I made some connections.\u00a0 But I found out that my opportunities were still limited because of my background and it was constantly being explained to me about my mixed background.\u00a0 After awhile I decided that I wanted to grow as an artist.\u00a0 At that point I had been in Japan for a number of years.<\/p>\n<p>I moved back to Denmark to see if I could find other ways to pursue my acting goals and also to have the chance to work in my native tongue. A group of very radical filmmakers from Denmark were suddenly making waves internationally and also a number of ethnic actors had emerged onto the Danish film scene. Suddenly there was a hope. That was back in the early and mid 00\u2019s<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.\u00a0 You have mentioned that in your country, in Denmark, people don\u2019t pay attention to movies stars like you.\u00a0 How does that make you feel?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I definitely don\u2019t consider myself a movie star but I have been lucky enough to be in a few films that are doing well internationally.\u00a0 So I guess I have gained some recognition in places like Japan and Hungary which I&#8217;m very grateful for. But here in Denmark I get to be more anonymous \u2013 which is a very good thing<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.\u00a0 What kind of movie would you like to make if you were to film in Japan or Denmark?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m always looking to grow as an artist.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve started producing my own projects in the past few years and I\u2019ve also begun writing a lot.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been working closely with Danish producer Lene B\u00f8rglum &#8211; who recently produced <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0862467\/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\">Valhalla Rising<\/a><\/em>, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1602613\/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\">Only God Forgives<\/a><\/em> and the <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1974419\/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\">The Neon Demon<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 I have some projects in development with her.\u00a0 They are of various genre.\u00a0 One of the projects we&#8217;re hoping to do is an action drama \u2013 something very, very dark. I have a very wide range of taste in film and genre that I&#8217;d like to explore &#8211; so I try with each type of project I do to make the characters very different.\u00a0 I really don\u2019t want to repeat myself.\u00a0 I strongly believe in creating your own opportunities. \u00a0So learning the ropes of putting a film together has been a strong focus of mine over the past years.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2600 alignright\" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Head-Shot-2-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"David Sakurai 5\/2013\" width=\"300\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Head-Shot-2-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Head-Shot-2-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Head-Shot-2-683x1024.jpg 683w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>10.\u00a0 I can see from your work that you are not the stereotypical Japanese actor.\u00a0 I know that you are mixed with Danish and Japanese ancestry but your Japanese accent is almost perfect. I was so surprised when i talked with you!\u00a0 Given your experience and background, what kind of role would you want to play in Japanese movies?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I have to keep my Japanese up because I do plan to make more work in Japan.\u00a0 Hopefully more opportunities will come up.\u00a0 If not then I have some projects that are Japan based that can happen in the near future.\u00a0 And those are the projects that I have been involved with in writing and producing.\u00a0 For me, right now I am in Denmark.\u00a0 The past year I have been working all over the place. I\u2019ve been working in Los Angeles, New York, Bulgaria and I\u2019m going to Istanbul, Turkey next month.\u00a0 I see the world as my workplace and I&#8217;m really not bound to a certain area.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019m trying to see if I can still keep myself relevant in the Japanese arena and hopefully do more work in all of Asia in the future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.\u00a0 We\u2019ve already seen you in Japanese magazines and Japanese films.\u00a0 Are you planning to move back to Tokyo?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d love to return to Japan but it is really dependent on what comes up.\u00a0 I\u2019d love to return to Tokyo especially and I can definitely see it happening in the near future.\u00a0 But right now I enjoy being able to take opportunities all over the world.\u00a0 I like to keep myself open to all kinds of opportunities.\u00a0 I have a heart in Copenhagen and I have a heart in Tokyo.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.\u00a0 I have never experienced being a celebrity in Japan but I think you are already a superstar there anyway!\u00a0 If you go back to Tokyo, I think you will be chased around by your adoring fans!\u00a0 Would you be happy about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was so humbled to meet the Japanese audience.\u00a0 I was over there in January to do a screening of <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2210769\/\" target=\"_blank\">Liza and the Fox-Fairy<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 It just reached a great number of people in Japan and played in theaters all over Japan.\u00a0 When I arrived there was a line going and I had no idea it was for my film but it was going out the theater and down the block.\u00a0 I was like, &#8220;is there a sale going on?&#8221; \u00a0And they said no they\u2019re here to see your movie.\u00a0 I was overwhelmed with the positive response and I was overjoyed to be there.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad I had the opportunity to meet some of the fans over there.\u00a0 It definitely inspired me to kickstart some of the passion projects I had been working on that are based in Japan.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.\u00a0 I\u2019d like you to talk about your martial arts training.\u00a0 How did you get involved?\u00a0 What style of martial arts do you do<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-2568 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Action-Still.jpg\" alt=\"action-still\" width=\"351\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Action-Still.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Action-Still-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 351px) 100vw, 351px\" \/>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Initially inspired by my older brother I started in Shotokan Karate.\u00a0 I was seven years old.\u00a0 After a while I started to look at other styles of martial arts. I was always a huge Bruce Lee fan. Bruce Lee\u00a0was the first role model on screen who I could truly identify with.\u00a0 He was always very, very inspiring to me with all of his work, his philosophy and his strong persona.\u00a0 He had a huge influence on me.\u00a0 So I started to look up his background in the martial arts and I learned it was Wing Chun Kung Fu.\u00a0 I took up Wing Chun when I was twelve and I\u2019d say that has been my main base of marital arts.\u00a0 Over the years I&#8217;ve learned that there were many gifts in cross training in other arts.\u00a0 As an actor you\u2019re using a mix of martial arts in stunt choreography.\u00a0 The last couple of years I have been training in Muay Thai.\u00a0 I have done some training in MMA \u2013 just the movement of it I find to very inspiring.\u00a0 Recently I have been doing a lot of training in screen fighting &#8211; fighting for movies.\u00a0 That\u2019s basically my main thing right now.\u00a0 Being able to defend myself was one of the main motivations to begin with initially &#8211; that\u2019s when I found Wing Chun to be very helpful. These days it&#8217;s only film fighting.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/169615860?portrait=0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/169615860\">David Sakurai \/ \u30c7\u30f4\u30a3\u30c3\u30c9\u30fb\u30b5\u30af\u30e9\u30a4 \/ Action-Demo<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/davidsakurai\">\u30b5\u30af\u30e9\u30a4<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\">Vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.\u00a0 Were there some martial arts movies that inspired you to become a marital arts student?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are so many.\u00a0 I&#8217;m a huge film fan in general and I love watching all kinds of film &#8211; some I won\u2019t mention out of embarrassment, but<em> The Godfather<\/em> especially parts <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/sY1S34973zA\" target=\"_blank\">one<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/OA1ij0alE0w\" target=\"_blank\">two<\/a> are films I watch at least once a year purely out of inspiration.\u00a0 And of course Bruce Lee \u2013 <em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/w_4RjSbSIFY\" target=\"_blank\">Fist of Fury<\/a><\/em> was the first Bruce Lee film that I ever watched.\u00a0 I remember when we had rented it on video.\u00a0 I immediately rewinded\u00a0it and watched it again.\u00a0 The tape\u00a0was of course quickly ruined!\u00a0 <em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/N5uPZ7ocsqA\" target=\"_blank\">The Crow<\/a><\/em> \u2013 Brandon Lee was a huge inspiration and still is to this day.\u00a0 He had to do the whole action route to do the projects where his passion really lay.\u00a0 <em>The Crow<\/em>, his last movie is where his\u00a0gift as an actor really came into play.\u00a0 It is also one of those projects that I go back to often just to study his skills and acting choices. I think he would&#8217;ve truly changed the game for Asian &amp; mixed actors had he had more time.<br \/>\nI\u2019m also a sucker for more dramatic films, romantic comedies or epic love stories like <em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/oEr4rhfDKcQ\" target=\"_blank\">Legends of the Fall<\/a><\/em> \u2013 you name it.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2663 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/David-Ocean.jpg\" alt=\"david-ocean\" width=\"630\" height=\"263\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/David-Ocean.jpg 630w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/David-Ocean-300x125.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/>15. \u00a0Which is your preferred medium for acting: TV dramas, movies or stage?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It all started with stage acting.\u00a0 As a kid I always participated in the school stage performances.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t realistic as a kid growing up thinking \u201cI\u2019m gonna be in the movies\u201d but theater seemed like a more real possibility.\u00a0 But as soon as I got a chance to be in the movies it is where I laid my focus and like I said movies have been my passion since I was a little kid.\u00a0 Its something throughout\u00a0the years that I have tried to get a better knowledge of \u2013 all the processes that go into producing a movie so that I can produce my own projects.\u00a0 TV series\u00a0are just as relevant as movies these days and I feel they go hand in hand.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had the opportunity to be involved with a few TV productions and hope to do more in the future.\u00a0 All of the good writers and directors seem to gravitate towards TV production these days.\u00a0 I\u2019m very, very interested in that as well.\u00a0 You probably know that Japan has a great history of TV dramas so that is also something I would also be interested in pursuing some day.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/120030396?portrait=0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"5\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>16.\u00a0 Do you feel uncomfortable playing a role as a Chinese or Korean in a film even though you are not Chinese or Korean?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I feel a little bit uncomfortable in a way that say I\u2019m cast to play a Chinese that really calls for Chinese origin, there are many great Chinese actors out there.\u00a0 I feel that the part should then go to a Chinese actor if the script really called for it.\u00a0 I also think it is time for the world to wake up and realize that not all Asians are alike. \u00a0I come from a mixed background so I have never been able to go for the Danish part because I don\u2019t look Danish, even though my mother is full Danish.\u00a0 And I have never been able to go for the Japanese part because my first name is David.\u00a0 They think \u201cwell he\u2019s not fully Japanese\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Its a hard topic.\u00a0 I mean, I hope in the future that parts will be relevant for people of any ethnicity.\u00a0 But like you said it is a topic that is just now beginning to change.\u00a0 It is beginning from the process of casting. \u00a0Like the diverse casting in big blockbuster movies &#8211; I&#8217;ve heard some people think it is being too politically correct trying to do that. I really don&#8217;t believe that. I think it is very refreshing to see a multicultural cast in films like the Fast and Furious series or the Magnificent Seven remake.\u00a0 I think it is great.<\/p>\n<p>For me as a small kid growing up I couldn&#8217;t truly identify with the all Asian characters and I was unable to play that role because of my mixed ethnicity.\u00a0 And of course I also wanted to identify with the non-Asian roles but I was always like, \u201cI can\u2019t get that part\u201d because I don&#8217;t at all look like that either. \u00a0Confusing. \u00a0Yes.\u00a0 But now things have changed and we are starting to see those multicultural roles. That&#8217;s my world &#8211; that&#8217;s what I see everyday around me! For example<em> Star Wars<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt3748528\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Rogue One<\/em><\/a> when you look at that poster and see the cast list. \u00a0We got all kinds of ethnicity and gender representation there. It really is amazing and refreshing to me! Not only that I was also a huge fan of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0947447\/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\" target=\"_blank\">Donnie Yen<\/a> as a kid &#8211; I still am! So it&#8217;s so nice to see actors of various backgrounds and they are not divided anymore. \u00a0There is Donnie Yen starring along another favorite actor of mine <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0586568\/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\" target=\"_blank\">Mads Mikkelsen<\/a>! I\u2019m just like, wow Donnie Yen and Mads Mikkelsen in the same film!<\/p>\n<p>I think it&#8217;s time for a change and I do believe that things are truly changing.\u00a0 And I hope to not play the stereotypical Asian hitmen in the future.\u00a0 I did play that role in <em>In Order of Appearance<\/em>.\u00a0 But when I got cast for it the director Hans Petter Moland and Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd suggested that they change it because of my background.\u00a0 They found out my background and quickly saw the irony in it so they changed it.\u00a0 And of course his codename is \u201cThe Chinese\u201d so its even more ironic.\u00a0 I was very fortunate that they changed it up.\u00a0 Actually there were some more scenes being filmed that gave more of a background motivation for the character but they didn\u2019t make the final cut.\u00a0 But I was very honored to be a part of that and see that change also.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2574 size-medium\" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sakurai-Shoot-Japan-7-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"sakurai-shoot-japan-7\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sakurai-Shoot-Japan-7-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sakurai-Shoot-Japan-7-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sakurai-Shoot-Japan-7-1-1024x684.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>17.\u00a0 Have you taken acting classes?\u00a0 Specifically in LA, have you taken courses on acting?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah I have.\u00a0 These days I don\u2019t have much time to do regular acting\u00a0lessons.\u00a0 But the first couple of years when I lived in Japan I just took all the courses I could over a period of two years. In recent years I&#8217;ve tried to find time to study with coaches privately and every time there\u2019s a seminar, either in Denmark or when I\u2019m in LA, I try to go as much as possible.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been lucky to be kind of busy for the past couple of years.\u00a0 Also because of the languages I try to portray I had to seek out the kind of classes in\u00a0LA where I could\u00a0learn how to\u00a0work in the language with accents etc.\u00a0 But I think acting schools are great.<\/p>\n<p>At some point though you have to put all the things that you&#8217;ve learned to the test.\u00a0 For me this happened very early on in my career.\u00a0 It&#8217;s different when you\u2019re on an actual film set, creating a scene, sparring with your scene partners on camera, working 12-15 hour days, pushing the stamina and trying to maintain the energy on screen.\u00a0 That is something you have to learn by doing. \u00a0It&#8217;s discipline but not hard work &#8211; cause I love doing it!<\/p>\n<p><strong>18. \u00a0We talked a little bit about the movie \u2018<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0169929\/?ref_=nv_sr_2\" target=\"_blank\">Sleepless in Town<\/a><\/em>\u2019, Japanese title \u2018<em>Fuyaj\u00f4<\/em>\u2019 costarring Takeshi Kaneshiro, and I really think that you perfectly fit in that character Kenichi Ryuu which was played by Mr. Kaneshiro. There was a rumor that we will get to see the sequel of that movie, but\u00a0it\u00a0never came out.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Can you talk about what you liked about this film?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s also one of my favorite movies.\u00a0 <em>Fuyaj\u00f4<\/em>, love that movie.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0437580\/?ref_=tt_cl_t1\" target=\"_blank\">Takeshi Kaneshiro<\/a> is an actor I have been looking up to since way back. \u00a0Ironically he\u2019s also half Japanese and that might be part of the reason.\u00a0 Also the way he has been able to handle his career and work in multiple languages and work all over Asia and America.\u00a0 But also the way that movie uses his mixed background. It had all the elements I like: beautiful writing, great camera work, and just a great love story &#8211; a tragic love story.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t actually aware there had been a sequel planned\u00a0for it.\u00a0 It actually came out just about the time when I had initially moved to Japan.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s also why it had made a huge impression on me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.\u00a0 I know that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0619938\/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\" target=\"_blank\">Tatsuya Nakadai<\/a> is one of your favorite actors. \u00a0<\/strong><strong>Do you see him as a role model and part of your inspiration?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes.\u00a0 Nakadai is one of the first actors where I realized an actor can be\u00a0truly versatile. Of course he is very well known for his portrayal of roles as samurai characters.\u00a0 One of his most famous movies is <em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Mnxb1sUQ428\" target=\"_blank\">Harakiri<\/a><\/em> (Seppuku).\u00a0 In that movie he actually plays a character that was twice his age when it was filmed.\u00a0 He did it very impressively! His intensity made the character \u00a0jump out of the screen. He could invoke so much feeling without saying anything.\u00a0 So for me when I was looking at screen acting, when I was just trying to get a grasp on it early on he was an actor\u00a0I could always go back to because he always knew how to play it for the camera.\u00a0 I find all of his work very inspiring.\u00a0 He played in spaghetti westerns, you know, he played so many different types of characters. \u00a0 He used the opportunities that came by him to play roles from many different cultures.\u00a0 He\u2019s truly one of my great role models, very unique and I hope to eventually be able to pursue career choices like he did.<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.\u00a0 Speaking of <em>In Order of Disappearance<\/em>, what was it like getting to share the screen with Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2570 size-medium\" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Fighting-Daddy-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"fighting-daddy\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Fighting-Daddy-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Fighting-Daddy.jpg 389w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/>Of the Scandinavian actors where I come from he was the first who broke down many of the barriers for the rest of us.\u00a0 Even in Hollywood when you think of the Scandinavian actors he\u2019s still number one.\u00a0 And also his choice of work.\u00a0 I have been following the\u00a0work he has done with director Hans Petter Moland.\u00a0 They have done a couple of movies together now.\u00a0 So for me it was a huge opportunity to work with the two of them.\u00a0 I had seen all of the previous films that they had done together.\u00a0 Of course I have been a fan of Stellan&#8217;s\u00a0work for a long time but especially his Hollywood films.\u00a0 He has such a strong screen persona.<\/p>\n<p>That project was for me very exciting.\u00a0 I was happy to come onboard.\u00a0 It was an ensemble film but I was excited to work with Stellan.\u00a0 He\u2019s one of those actors that can do so much with so little.\u00a0 It was a great learning experience to see him working.\u00a0 Then to see the whole movie I was impressed to see the choices that were made.\u00a0 He was very welcoming to me.\u00a0 But it is always hard to come in as a side character, one of the supporting roles because you\u2019re not there from the initiation like you are when you are there for\u00a0the lead.<\/p>\n<p>You come in and you have to figure out \u201cthis is the kind of movie\u201d, &#8211; it was a comedy movie.\u00a0 How do we play the tone, is he a real hitman or what kind of tone should we do.\u00a0 We just tried to make the character very mellow.\u00a0 But also Stellan\u2019s character is very underplayed.\u00a0 But he is an amazing actor.\u00a0 I think every time there is a new Stellan project I just have to see it.\u00a0 There\u2019s a TV show on Netflix right now called <em>River<\/em> and I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.\u00a0 Do you have a favorite movie that\u00a0Stellan is in?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Wr1l48Pd-m8\" target=\"_blank\">Den Enfaldige M\u00f6rdaren<\/a><\/em> or \u201c<em>The Simple-Minded Murder<\/em>\u201d by director <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0019247\/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2\" target=\"_blank\">Hans Alfredson<\/a>.\u00a0 <em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/EkJq5RPu-EY\" target=\"_blank\">Ronin<\/a><\/em> was a great one he did with Robert De Niro.\u00a0 <em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/JOddp-nlNvQ\" target=\"_blank\">Thor<\/a><\/em>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ozk0-RHXtFw\" target=\"_blank\">Pirates of the Caribbean<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 He started out really young.\u00a0 So it is interesting the way he has managed to stay relevant.\u00a0 Everything from small Danish films to Hollywood blockbusters.<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.\u00a0 Can you talk to us about the film <em>Dark Samurai<\/em>?\u00a0 Who wrote the script?\u00a0 What is the story about?\u00a0 Can you describe your character, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.musashi-miyamoto.com\" target=\"_blank\">Miyamoto Musashi<\/a>?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2577 size-medium\" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/David-Sakurai-action-pic-2-216x300.jpg\" alt=\"david-sakurai-action-pic-2\" width=\"216\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/David-Sakurai-action-pic-2-216x300.jpg 216w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/David-Sakurai-action-pic-2.jpg 418w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 216px) 100vw, 216px\" \/>The director is a very dear friend of mine, Sidney Lexy Plaut and we had always been talking about doing something together.\u00a0 He is a big fan of Japanese cinema in general.\u00a0 To be honest it all started out as an experiment.\u00a0 We had initially intended a shorter version. I haven\u2019t seen the finished product myself, just because it was such an intense experience making the film.\u00a0 Not that I don\u2019t want to but the experience of making the film is something I\u2019d like to take with me and I haven\u2019t been able to watch it myself \u2013 yet.\u00a0 But we very much talked about what we wanted to bring to the screen.\u00a0 We were both very much interested in creating feelings and mood to the screen.\u00a0 And also bringing in the warrior\u2019s philosophy and also a love story \u2013 all of this into this piece of work.\u00a0 That is why, in hind sight it may have been a radical choice to use Miyamoto Musashi.\u00a0 And its not that its supposed to actually be Miyamoto Musashi but just the name of it stands for so much.\u00a0 The warrior code, the philosophy of The Book of Five Rings.\u00a0 That was something that helped me as a character to create the frame of mind to create this persona and this kind of character.<\/p>\n<p>To have this type of character that has such a strong code of conduct being conflicted by love and the general emotions that we deal with be it hate, anger, frustration, lust and love \u2013 that was all something we all had to play around with.\u00a0 But in a philosophical way.\u00a0 The process for me was more of an experience and I haven\u2019t seen the final product.\u00a0 I look forward to seeing it soon, I guess its just taken me a while to get to the point where I want to see it.\u00a0 I guess mostly because it is mainly just me.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have a lot of patience to watch myself I guess.\u00a0 I hope you enjoyed it.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2571\" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/poster227x227.jpeg\" alt=\"poster227x227\" width=\"151\" height=\"227\" \/>Watching it myself I can tell you that the film succeeded in stirring up a set of emotions and viewing the film was really an intense experience.\u00a0 I\u2019d say you succeeded in your attempts to create a unique cinematic experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s great, I\u2019ll have to tell Sidney that.\u00a0 The goal was to create this kind of emotion, you know, what kind of emotion comes up?\u00a0 I heard the audience experience has been very different.\u00a0 They\u2019ve come out feeling very frustrated but then a few days later they\u2019re thinking, \u201coh my god I can\u2019t even stop thinking about it!\u201d.\u00a0 Credit must go to Sydney. It was a very extreme choice to do this kind of work and we spent two &#8211; almost three years working on this.\u00a0 My hats off to him, it was dear to him.\u00a0 It was a hard-sell.\u00a0 We grew up in a time when movies like this used to exist, movies that have more of a philosophical undertone.\u00a0 But it is a hard sell to get this kind of movie produced.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/111628614?portrait=0\" width=\"640\" height=\"269\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>23.\u00a0 <em>Echoes of a Ronin<\/em> is an intense short film about greed, betrayal and retribution. \u00a0<\/strong><strong>Can you talk a little bit about that film?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That was one of the first projects that I wrote and produced myself.\u00a0 I got the funding to do it and they had been experimenting with a new form of funding at the Danish Film Institute where you had to come up with an idea very fast and then from idea to script to filming was a very short\u00a0process.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2569 \" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Echoes-of-a-Ronin-Poster-217x300.png\" alt=\"echoes-of-a-ronin-poster\" width=\"297\" height=\"411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Echoes-of-a-Ronin-Poster-217x300.png 217w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Echoes-of-a-Ronin-Poster.png 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 297px) 100vw, 297px\" \/>So I cowrote this project with a director Shaky Gonz\u00e1lez and he\u2019s known to do more genre work.\u00a0 I had an idea to do something that could be something of a throwback to Asian action movies but at the same time something new to what was produced in Scandinavia.\u00a0 You don\u2019t see many action movies filmed here &#8211; especially films containing screen fighting.\u00a0 So they funded that for us. \u00a0 We were both big fans of <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0068815\/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3\" target=\"_blank\">Lone Wolf and Cub<\/a><\/em> (Kenji Misumi).\u00a0 A movie was released in the States called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0081506\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Shogun Assassin<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 Which is about a ronin samurai that goes on a lone quest with his young son.\u00a0 So we changed the son to a daughter and changed the setting to Copenhagen.\u00a0 We wanted to see if we could get the few Asian-Scandinavian artists involved. \u00a0And we did that both in front and behind the camera.\u00a0 We got a great fight choreographer named\u00a0Tim Man, he came over to train me for the film and did all the action direction.\u00a0 It was huge to get him involved.\u00a0 It is very different than what is generally being produced here.\u00a0 But I\u2019m very proud of that project.\u00a0 Because I see it as a tribute to the Chambara movies, the sword play movies I grew up watching.\u00a0 And it was in Danish.\u00a0 It had a TV premiere here a few years ago then was in the festivals and then we decided to make it available online.\u00a0 That\u2019s where I created a passion for creating more projects and decided to be involved with the creative process.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dTIlbWw6R5M?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>24.\u00a0 There is a parallel between <em>Echoes of a Ronin<\/em> and <em>L\u00e9on: The Professional<\/em>, the film with Jean Reno and a very young Natalie Portman.\u00a0 Was this film in your mind as <em>Echoes of a Ronin<\/em> was being written and produced? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I know that film and I definitely see the resemblance but it was <em>Shogun Assassin<\/em> that provided the inspiration.\u00a0 I am sure that without thinking about it <em>L\u00e9on: The Professional<\/em> probably had an influence because that film sits well within me.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t have it any other way.\u00a0 There are only so many stories you can tell about a warrior and a young daughter or son going on an adventure.\u00a0 But it was a fun movie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.\u00a0 The actor Thomas Chaanhing plays your adversary in the film, \u201cKen\u201d.\u00a0 He had some impressive martial arts moves himself.\u00a0 Can you tell us a little about his background? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Thomas is a trained actor here in Scandinavia.\u00a0 He\u2019s a good friend of mine.\u00a0 We had always talked about getting together to work on a project together. \u00a0In Denmark there are only like a handful of Asian actors.\u00a0 That\u2019s it and I think most of us know of each other.\u00a0 But Thomas is one I really wanted to work with.\u00a0 I think he has great charisma and is a fantastic actor.\u00a0 It was an opportunity to do something with him as well.\u00a0 We both got trained by Tim\u00a0Man for the martial arts sequences.\u00a0 So that was fun as well.\u00a0 Thomas has since gone on to do a bunch of international projects, he\u2019s in Marco Polo that\u2019s on Netflix right now.\u00a0 Hopefully we\u2019ll get the chance to get together and do more projects in the future as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>26.\u00a0 In <em>Liza the Fox-Fairy<\/em> you play a unique role &#8211; the role of a singing ghost.\u00a0 This presented a unique challenge, playing a supernatural character with the ability to sing.\u00a0 Can you talk to us a little about preparing for this role?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was such a great opportunity to be involved with that projec<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2598 \" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/DavidSakurai-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"davidsakurai\" width=\"451\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/DavidSakurai-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/DavidSakurai-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/DavidSakurai-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 451px) 100vw, 451px\" \/>t.\u00a0 It was so random to be called up to come audition for that role because who creates a world where this kind of character exists?\u00a0 It was truly a gift to have the chance to work with the director K\u00e1roly Ujj M\u00e9sz\u00e1ros.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have a background at all in singing or performing.\u00a0 I think I played one of the dancers in our high school production of Chicago.\u00a0 And then after that I was like, \u201cnever do that again!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When I had the opportunity to come out and participate in a casting call they had been trying to cast it for a long time, apparently and it may have been hard to cast it.\u00a0 They had tried to cast it in Japan, they had tried to cast it in the States, they were trying to cast it in Europe.\u00a0 They were trying to find the person closest to production which was going to be in Hungary.\u00a0 But then they learned that I actually had a Japanese background and I was flown in to meet with the director.\u00a0 He had seen some of my previous works &#8211; he had actually seen an early trailer for Dark Samurai.\u00a0 He said \u201cthis is great\u201d because the character has to be somewhat vengeful.\u00a0 So I said this was great because I had just come off of Dark Samurai.\u00a0 But it was so different a type of vengeful.\u00a0 The next thing I knew I was in Budapest taking dancing lessons and singing my heart out.<\/p>\n<p>I was a bit lucky because the actual songs had been pre-recorded by a Hungarian artist named\u00a0Ambrus T\u00f6vish\u00e1zi (aka Erik Sumo).\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have to do the final singing.\u00a0 But I had to sing on the set live.\u00a0 I am so proud to be a part of this film.\u00a0 I think it is so unique.\u00a0 Even at the time of filming it was\u00a0so hard to understand what kind of movie it was going to be because its really creative.\u00a0 Through this very weird world where my character exists.<\/p>\n<p>I told the director I think we can make a really big impact with this more in Japan I think it fits the taste of the Japanese audience.\u00a0 I was just so happy when if finally came out.\u00a0 First it was playing at the Japanese film festivals and then it got picked up and they did a whole theatrical run of it.\u00a0 I was so happy.\u00a0 Because what a rare project where it has a mix of Europe and a mix of Asia.\u00a0 It just blends.\u00a0 I hope to be involved with more of those projects in the future.\u00a0 Because it does build a bridge.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4gupmu_dfPs?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\n27.\u00a0 What kind of Japanese music do you like personally?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I lik<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2604 size-medium\" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/TomyTani_DavidSakurai-300x175.jpg\" alt=\"tomytani_davidsakurai\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/TomyTani_DavidSakurai-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/TomyTani_DavidSakurai-768x448.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/TomyTani_DavidSakurai-1024x598.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>e all kinds of music, it really depends on the mood.\u00a0 Actually, as part of my preparations for my character Tomy Tani in <em>Liza the Fox-Fairy<\/em> I had to keep music in my ears at all times while I was on set.\u00a0 The character needs so much energy &#8211; happy energy &#8211; that I was listening to very happy pop songs all day.\u00a0 But I like all kinds of music. I grew up with mostly American music in my home.\u00a0 With my parents I listened to The Doors, Santanta. \u00a0Later on myself, Hip Hop of the 90\u2019s and then Rock; Metallica, Guns and Roses.\u00a0 Whatever was available.\u00a0 Then when I came to Japan I discovered more Japanese artists B&#8217;z for instance who did the soundtrack for Sleepless Town.\u00a0 I\u2019m not that aware of the artists that are out there right now but, Dragon Ash.<\/p>\n<p>I like my J-Pop!<\/p>\n<p><strong>28. \u00a0I would like to know if you are a fan of Japanese animation? Your appearance reminds me of many anime characters whose looks are a mix of Japanese and European features. I think you have a very unique appearance and could easily be a character in an anime film!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, I love Japanese Anime! Some of my favorites are <em>Hokuto no Ken<\/em>, <em>Crying Freeman<\/em>, <em>Saint\u00a0Seiya &amp; City Hunter<\/em>!! There are so many good ones.. I also love Hayao Miyazaki movies!!<\/p>\n<p><strong>29.\u00a0 In your movies, there are many special effects works, do you have a favorite special effect team?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No.\u00a0 There are so many.\u00a0 In <em>Echoes of a Ronin<\/em> everything was done through practical effects. The director has a background in horror and suspense so he likes to do in camera effects.\u00a0 There are some great companies here in Denmark that do that kind of special effects. \u00a0I\u2019m a practical guy and like to leave those things to the director.\u00a0 When the film does involve special effects I like it to be done very subtle &#8211; mixed with practical effects.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019m really looking forward to seeing the new<em> Star Wars<\/em> where they\u2019ve gone back the original kind of effects.\u00a0 For me acting with special effects is a little bit different.\u00a0 We had some green screen because we had a ghost &#8211; people can go through him.\u00a0 It is more of a process to work with special effects.<\/p>\n<p><strong>30.\u00a0 What projects have you been involved with recently?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I recently had the chance to work with Antonio Banderas on his new action movie &#8220;<em>STOIC<\/em>&#8221; by director Isaac Florentine. It was a really great experience and Antonio didn&#8217;t disappoint. \u00a0He&#8217;s the real deal Action Star and an amazing actor!<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m off to Istanbul next month to work with Turkish director <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm3159880\/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\" target=\"_blank\">Can Evrenol <\/a>on his new film <em>The Housewife<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0His last movie &#8220;<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt4935418\/videoplayer\/vi689222937\" target=\"_blank\">BASKIN<\/a><\/em>&#8221; \u00a0had a great run at the festivals.\u00a0 Now he\u2019s following it up with <em>The Housewife<\/em>. I\u2019m lucky to have one of the leading roles.\u00a0 We\u2019re shooting that next month.\u00a0 I\u2019m preparing for that right now.\u00a0 I&#8217;m also in the Japanese produced movie &#8220;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/7-ld0vV7mk4\">Karate Kill<\/a><\/em>&#8221; from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm1562288\/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1\" target=\"_blank\">Kurando Mitsutake<\/a> &#8211; it just had a theater run in Japan and will be coming out on DVD\/BluRay in March.\u00a0 I had fun guest starring role in that one.\u00a0 I think it&#8217;s extra fun for the Japanese audience because they\u2019re fresh off of <em>Liza and the Fox-Fairy<\/em> and well, it&#8217;s a very different character again. \u00a0Had a good time working with Kurando and the amazing action team behind it.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m also involved with a show that I can\u2019t say much about only that its Marvel&#8217;s <em>Ironfist<\/em>!<br \/>\nIt will come out March 17th, world premiere on Netflix.\u00a0 I look forward to share more about that in the near future!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z2AEkQMoeeA?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2602 \" style=\"padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Head-Shot-247x300.jpeg\" alt=\"head-shot\" width=\"315\" height=\"380\" \/>31.\u00a0 What is life like in Los Angeles after living in places like Tokyo and Copenhagen?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I love LA.\u00a0 The mix of cultures.\u00a0 And of course for me its an important place of work.\u00a0 For me its always been a dream to live over there.\u00a0 So much inspiration comes from working with artists there.\u00a0 Every time I\u2019m there I come away inspired.\u00a0 But of course my heart is still in Denmark and still in Japan.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I could ever settle in just one place.<\/p>\n<p><strong>32.\u00a0 Can you tell us the type of girl that you like? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I love honesty, loyalty &#8211; it has to go hand in hand.\u00a0 I\u2019m very lucky to have a person in my life who is very true.\u00a0 Its important for me to find someone who has the same goals for their life as myself &#8211; looks for the same qualities that I look for.\u00a0 It goes both ways.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to have times in your life when you\u2019re super-busy and times when you are not.<\/p>\n<p>To answer the question: Positiveness.\u00a0 Honesty.\u00a0 Being able to show true love is something I find most important.<\/p>\n<p><strong>33.\u00a0 Do you have something you would like to say to your fans at Ninjagirl? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whether you are pursuing something in a creative field or whatever your aspiring goals are, find something that you want to do 100%.\u00a0 Something where you can\u2019t see yourself doing anything else.\u00a0 And if its in the creative arts its going to be a struggle and its going to be a long struggle &#8211; an ongoing struggle.\u00a0 So if it is in the creative arts you\u2019ve got to do it with all your heart and all your passion.\u00a0 Don\u2019t give up.\u00a0 Do it only if you can do it with your own\u00a0heart.\u00a0 And I think that goes with everything.\u00a0 No matter what your future goals are.\u00a0 Find your passion.\u00a0 Because once you find your passion then its not gonna feel like work, no matter what it is.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad to have had the opportunity to find out early on what my true passion is.\u00a0 Through ups and through downs it is always what has brought me the greatest gift, knowing that I have pursued my dream and my passion 100%.\u00a0 So, I hope you make a good choice.\u00a0 Take a long time to think what your goals are and just go for it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank you David Sakurai!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019ll be waiting for the next time you come to Japan.\u00a0 I can&#8217;t wait to see more of your work in the Japanese film industry!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DavidSakurai\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OfficialDavidSakurai\/?__mref=message\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2563\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2563\" class=\"wp-image-2563\" src=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sakurai-Shoot-Japan-5-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"sakurai-shoot-japan-5\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sakurai-Shoot-Japan-5-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sakurai-Shoot-Japan-5-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sakurai-Shoot-Japan-5-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2563\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo (featured and bottom) by: Alexandre Archimbaud<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Edited by <a href=\"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/anthony\/\" target=\"_blank\">Anthony Heller<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Born in Copenhagen, Denmark to a Danish mother and Japanese father, David Sakurai&#8217;s life has never followed a\u00a0linear path nor has it been confined to a single place. \u00a0After reaching his 18th birthday he set off for Japan where he had a number of formative experiences including learning his father&#8217;s\u00a0native tongue, cutting his teeth in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,57],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-2578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actors","category-interviews","tag-featured"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"ja","enabled_languages":["en","ja"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ja":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2578"}],"version-history":[{"count":63,"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2755,"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2578\/revisions\/2755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ninjagirl.net\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}