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

English is a very expressive language.

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?'

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

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 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.

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

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

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.

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