Ken Watanabe is beginning to make a career out of quietly stealing scenes. With his natural charisma and air of dignified grace, the veteran actor was the perfect choice to embody The Chairman, the handsome and kind stranger who unknowingly shapes the destiny of a young peasant girl in Memoirs of a Geisha. In Rob Marshall's film adaptation of Arthur Golden's book, The Chairman is one of the few characters who exhibits a tenderness and caring for the girl who will eventually become Sayuri, one of the most renowned geisha of Japan. Their love story is the linchpin of the tale, and Watanabe plays the role as a full-fledged romantic lead, worthy of Sayuri's pining and affection. So perfect is he in the role that it almost seems written with him in mind.
Director Marshall (Chicago) first saw Watanabe in The Last Samurai, the actor's first American feature. The film was to be a vehicle for star Tom Cruise, but Watanabe shone as Katsumoto, a proud warrior and leader of the samurai. The role earned Watanabe glowing reviews, along with SAG, Golden Globe, and Academy Award nominations. Two days after the New York premiere of the film in 2003, Marshall met with the actor. "I'm expecting a samurai wielding a sword," Marshall recalls. "But he's actually a gentle, lovely, funny, kind man, and I thought, 'That's The Chairman.' He was excited to play the role because, he said, 'This is closer to who I am than pretty much anything I've ever played.'"
At the meeting, Watanabe expressed reservations about turning the popular novel into a film. "Of course I had read the book," he notes. "I knew the story, and I knew the geisha role was so difficult. The customs, the culture, the secrets…I was worried we couldn't do it." It was only when Marshall told Watanabe he wanted to make a "beautiful love story" that the actor was sold. "I trust Rob," says Watanabe. "I knew he could do it."
He adds that he used the book for background on his character and the character's relationship with best friend Nobu but wasn't beholden to the novel. "The script has more humor in the character," he says. "And The Chairman has a more contemporary feeling. Even though it's set in 1930, audiences will see the movie in a theatre today, and I think it's important to make it feel contemporary. If I spoke the dialogue really slowly, as they did then, it would be boring."
Having appeared in such films as the acclaimed 1985 comedy Tampopo, Watanabe was already a household name in his native Japan before Samurai placed him in the international spotlight. He admits to not having a strong motivation to become an actor; he originally planned to pursue music. "I played the trumpet for seven years in middle school and high school," he explains. "I wanted to play as a professional musician, but I had no talent. And I realized it." Next door to the music room was a drama class. "I met some good friends, good coaches, good directors, and got some good pieces," he says. "I realized the actor's life was very good." And he excelled at it: His role in the 1987 Japan series Dokugan-ryu Masamune (One-Eyed Dragon, Masamune) made him a star in Japan, and he eventually earned three nominations for Awards of the Japanese Academy, the equivalent of the Oscar. He had flirted with the idea of making an English-language film but hadn't pursued it. "I didn't think I could go over the fence of the customs and the language," he says. "Language is such a tool; it's a skill of acting." Nevertheless, Watanabe found himself on his first American film set, handpicked by Samurai director Ed Zwick, who viewed a tape of one of Watanabe's films. "I noticed it was a totally different industry in terms of market and budget than Japan," Watanabe says of his experience. "But I realize now it's not so different. I play the character the same way. I try to get the same feel for a role, wherever I am."
He admits that the Geisha shoot provided unusual challenges, although they had nothing to do with the exotic customs or designs of the period piece. Rather, a lengthy shoot in a hot spring proved to be what he dubs "the worst experience of my career." He says, groaning, "Six hours in the night in that bath. Sometimes the water was freezing cold, and they'd turn on the switch, and it would get so hot. We were shooting and shooting and shooting. Somebody even passed out."