COLLIDER: I would love to hear about your journey toShogun.
How didyou hear about the role, and what was the audition process like?
TAKEHIRO HIRA: If I go back even beforeShogun, I moved to Hawaii about four years ago.
Image by Jefferson Chacon
Then I heard about this project calledShogun.
I knew about the show from the 80s.
It was going to be with FX, so Ihadto get it.
When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, Lord Yoshii Toranaga discovers secrets that could tip the scales of power and devastate his enemies.
[Laughs] This is the reason I came to the U.S.
So I auditioned from Hawaii the first time, and then I did two or three callbacks after that.
So, I was ecstatic.
I was very happy.
Now you’re shooting another show [Monarch: Legacy of MonstersSeason 2].
You just stay busy.
Image via FX
HIRA: I’ve been very lucky.
I’ve been really, really fortunate.
HIRA: I’m pretty much the opposite of him.
But Ishido was, in terms of upbringing, really opposite of who I was.
I was born into an actor’s family and I only started acting when I was 27.
I did a lot of other things along the way.
In a way,I was [closer to] Toranagas upbringing.
The actors, yourself included, were wearing authentic clothing and had to adopt the mannerisms of the era.
But I was always conscious aboutShogunbeing a non-English show, a foreign language show.
I was really worried about what we do being conveyed to the Western audience.
[Laughs] Less is more in that case, in situations like that.
So,all I could do is throw looks here, there, there.
That’s all I could do.
I was always asking myself, Am I doing enough, or am I doing too little?
But at the end of the day, you had to trust yourself and be true to your feelings.
And I was like, Oh, yes.
I never thought about that.
I just did it by default.
What did you find rewarding about those big scenes, where everyone’s in a room together?
But what he’s really feeling is so small.
So it was really a contrast.
What has it been like to portray these very different dynamics alongside her?
HIRA:Monarchstarted, like, a week afterShogunin Vancouver.
We just did it on the day, we just pulled it.
It’s a great relationship with her.
You’re also facing off with Hiroyuki Sanada inShogun, sinceIshido and Toranaga are always at odds.
He did tell me that on set, actually.
We have to have that head-on collision in Episode 10.
As an actor who made it to Hollywood from Japan, I’m just following in his footsteps.
It was great for me to be working with him.
Hes an incredible role model for me.
I was like, just don’t do this.
I’m not gonna be able to act.
He would fix the backgrounds, kimonos, hair incredible.
HIRA: I dont think Ishido thinks of himself as a villain.
So, from Ishidos perspective,Toranaga is the villain.
Where were you when you found out you’d been nominated?
I never thought that I would get nominated.
I couldn’t believe it.
Shogunis available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
Watch on Hulu
