How difficult is it for Japanese actors to survive in New York?
It’s very hard. One of the major factors is English. I’ve been living here for a long time and my English has improved, but I still have an accent. So the criteria I can fulfill is limited. If I acted with my own accent, the audience wouldn’t believe I am an Asian American. Playing other Asians, I think I am good at foreign accents, but I need to be careful because adding another accent to my accent would probably be very confusing. In general, legal status can also be very difficult – I know many talented actors who have had to go back to their country for visa issues. It’s very heart breaking to watch. What advantages do you have as a Japanese actor? I don’t know what other actors think about this, but I don’t think there’s an advantage. At the same time, I don’t think ANY actor has an advantage just for being a certain ethnicity. When they have a casting call for a Caucasian male in his 30’s, there’s probably more competition in those situations, for example. I don’t think there’s a
