Anna Sawai explained why her initial audition for Shōgun left her feeling less than optimistic about the project.
Anna’s performance as Toda Mariko in the FX limited series has been critically acclaimed. The actor previously had roles in F9, the Apple TV+ series Pachinko, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, as well as a five-year stint in the J-pop girl group Faky.
As part of the Hollywood Reporter’s drama actresses’ roundtable, Anna was asked about her fears that Shōgun would be another example of media sexualizing Japanese women with white men. Anna replied, “It wasn’t just Japanese women being sexualized. It was that they were defined by the relationship that they had with the male character, or we didn’t really understand their story enough, they were always just like the sub-character.”
“And oftentimes when you hear Japanese women, you think, ‘Oh, they’re obedient, they’re sexy or they can do just action somehow.’ And that’s not who we are — we’re so much more complex. And even if we appear obedient, it’s because society has made us that way and there’s so much that’s bottled inside. And in Western media, I’d never seen a complex woman who had their own story,” she continued.
Indeed, Anna’s initial thoughts on the Shōgun script meant that she initially gave a lackluster audition. She explained, “When I first read the sides, it was my character going into a bath with the white pilot. I was like, ‘OK, this is going to be the same thing.’ I played it in that way and they didn’t call me back.”
A conversation with showrunner Justin Marks changed things. She recalled, “He explained it wasn’t that kind of scene. He wanted it to be just a conversation. So, I taped again and played it like she wasn’t really taking off her kimono and they were just [equals].”
“They liked me. So, once that happened, I was like, ‘OK, this is the type of women that we haven’t been able to see, that I’m sure Japanese women when they watch it will see themselves reflected in,'” Anna added.
What we saw on screen was subsequently different to what was in the original script. “With that bath scene, we actually had Blackthorne in the hot spring, but my character just walked in and sat down and gazed outwards. And it’s even more intimate because you know that there’s nothing physical about it. I’m lucky that we’re finally being able to give a portrayal of real Japanese women,” she concluded.
You can read the full interview here.
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