If you are a fan of Hiroyuki Sanada, you know he's taken on some pretty powerful characters. Recently, he opened up to CinemaBlend about his latest dramatic role, Toranaga, in the new FX series, Shōgun, and why he decided to play him. After hearing his answer, I have even more respect for the character.
Shōgun is the latest show to join the ranks of FX's elite programming on the 2024 TV schedule. It's a new miniseries adapted from the James Clavell novel of the same name. Hiroyuki Sanada portrays one of the main characters, Lord Yoshi Toranaga, a powerful daimyo (a feudal lord). While we follow mainly three people throughout the show, Toranaga is one of the most memorable, and all roads lead back to him.
Sanada – who also acts as a producer on Shōgun – has portrayed many dramatic roles throughout his career. Still, the actor revealed to CinemaBlend during a junket for the FX series why he decided to not only take on the role of Toranaga but work on the show as a whole. Basically, he said it was all about calling Toranaga "a hero" at a time when people -- and viewers -- need someone like him the most:
Yeah, he is a very mysterious guy, powerful, but also patient. I know…the historical things since I was a kid. And then the model of Toranaga – Tokugawa — was my hero because he created the peaceful era after the war period and then for about 260 years until Japan opened the country to the world – that's why he became a hero. And I thought "we need that kind of hero, especially for now." That was a big motivation to play that role.
For those who don't know, Shōgun's main characters – Lord Yoshi Toranaga, Pilot Major John Blackthorne, and Todo Mariko – are all based on actual historical figures. Toragana is based on Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Shōgun of the Tokugawa Shōgunate, and he is considered one of the "Great Unifiers" of Japan.
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Hearing that backstory from Sanada makes me enjoy the character even more. This is because knowing his background and how much he admired the real historical figure on which the character is based adds an immense amount of meaning to his performance.
The actor has appeared in many famous movies from which you might recognize him – such as his role in the Bullet Train cast or maybe a Scorpion in Mortal Kombat, a film that is getting a sequel. Several of his other action roles include Zack Snyder's zombie action film, Army of the Dead, Avengers: Endgame, The Wolverine, the psychological horror film Ring, and many, many others.
Sanada did say that playing Toranaga was also "difficult" in a way because he had to try and portray humanity but also not use emotion in his expressions – i.e. keep a "poker face:"
And of course I needed to poker face, but also keep humanity. That was an interesting and difficult point to me.
Already, I'm even more interested in the character – and have a lot more respect for all the political moves he makes throughout the series.
Toranaga's story will continue as Shōgun releases new episodes weekly on FX (you can also watch it with a Hulu subscription) until its finale on April 23, 2024 – and you'll get to witness the rise of the Shōgun as the battles begin.
