Hiroyuki Sanada, currently the star of FX's highly acclaimed show Shōgun, has finally gotten the Hollywood title he should have had since the beginning: producer, according to USA Today.
Sanada, one of Japan's most respected actors, first appeared in a Hollywood movie in 2003's The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. On set, he had to swing his samurai sword right up to the Hollywood movie star's neck. Cruise being Cruise, insisted that Sanada use the katana instead of the wakizashi, which is shorter. The Japanese actor also taught Cruise how to tie the obi (belt) and properly hold a sword.
Hiroyuki Sanada: Not just a Hollywood samurai
“I took a full swing and then stopped just touching his skin, but no injury,” Sanada said.
“He never blinked. So he believed in me. And I believed in him. That was a great moment,” he added.
That role kickstarted Sanada's mission to work in Hollywood, and in a way be the Japanese cultural expert on sets. At 63, that mission has been fulfilled with playing Lord Yoshii Toranaga in the epic remake Shōgun. He's not just the cultural expert; he's also a first-time producer.
“When I came to Hollywood, my mission was to show our culture correctly. If there was a wall between East and West, I want to break it down,” the actor said.
“So yes, dreams come true,” he added.
The show is based on the 1980 miniseries, which in turn was based on James Clavell's 1975 novel of the same title. Richard Chamberlain played John Blackthorne, the English navigator. Legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune played Toranaga. Sanada said this “was big news for Japan.
The actor has had a long and successful career in his home country playing ninjas and samurai. Of course, he watched the show, but he said he wasn't interested in making a Japanese story in Hollywood.
He moved to Los Angeles in 2005 and continued to provide his expertise in projects including the android samurai Musashi in HBO's Westworld and Scorpion in 2021's Mortal Kombat. Most recently, he played Shimazu Koji in the 2023 film John Wick 4: Chapter 4.
Then Shōgun executive producers Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo came knocking and wanted Sanada not just as Toranaga but as, officially this time, a producer.
“For the first time I have the title,” the actor said.
“For the first time, I'm not consulting as an actor. After 20 years in Hollywood, I'm a producer. It means I can say anything, anytime,” he continued.
Sanada made it his mission to make sure than the 10-episode series was as authentic as it could be made. As it should be since this remake expand's the story's point of view. Unlike the 1980 version, this tells the story through multiple lenses, including those of the Japanese characters.
Marks said that the actor made sure to hire Japanese consultants for the costumes, props, stunt coordinators and movement advisers.
“I had a team for the first time, ever,” Sanada stated.
“I carried the pressure of being a producer on my shoulder. But more than that, I had happiness,” he said.
As a producer, the actor had to make sure that every detail or screen movement had to ring true to even the Japanese viewers.
“If something is incorrect, people cannot focus on the drama. They don't want to see that kind of show. We needed to be authentic,” Sana insisted.
While it may have been taxing as the actor had pay double duty, even as he moved from filming a major battle scene to checking it on the monitor — all in full armor, as Marks recalled — Sanada said it made playing Toranaga almost effortless.
“After I had prepared everything in the scene, from the props to the other actors, I was so relaxed in front of the camera, I felt freedom,” he said.
“I could be there and breathe as my character, and react like him,” he added.
The show is the Disney-owned network's most expensive project to date. And Sanada wants the world, including Japan where it is available on Disney+, to see it.
“I'm both very confident and a little nervous; a mixture,” the actor said about what his countrymen would say about the show.
“We've done our best and people are always going to have their opinions. However, I think they will enjoy this very authentic samurai drama made in Hollywood,” he added.
And they just might. The drama currently has a 100% average critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 95% audience rating.