Interview: Tadanobu Asano is the Brutal, Sneaky Character You Can’t Help But Love on ‘Shōgun’

It only takes one episode of FX’s epic series Shōgun for longtime Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano to make a huge impact on screen. His character, Lord Kashigi Yabushige, boils a man to death—not only as a punishment but also to observe the suffering of a man on the brink of death. He then begins his battle of egos with John Blackthorne “Anjin” (Cosmo Jarvis), which leads to a near-death experience of his own after a heart-pounding fall from a cliff followed by a near-drowning.

Yabushige is sneaky, allegiance-shifting, brutal, cunning, and cruel—and yet, he possesses such charisma that you can’t help but like him. After speaking with Tadanobu Asano for Awards Radar, it is easy to see why the actor was chosen for the role. He shares that charisma and provided some great insights into bringing the memorable, multifaceted character to the screen.

Below is my conversation with Asano, where we cover topics such as how he views the relationship between Yabushige and Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) as similar to that of a CEO and employee, and even imagine a Yabushige/Anjin buddy-cop movie. He also shares how he envisions the character as a jeans-and-t-shirt “normal guy,” and much more.

Watch or read the full conversation with Tadanobu Asano below, and be sure to witness his infectious work as Lord Yabushige in the 10-episode, groundbreaking series Shōgun, now streaming exclusively on FX..

Steven Prusakowski: I’m a  huge fan of the series. I loved it from minute one to the final credits. It’s unlike anything I’ve watched in many many years. 

Tadanobu Asano: Thank you very much.

Steven Prusakowski: You’ve had such a long career. What first drew you to acting? 

Tadanobu Asano:  I had always wanted to stand out as a child. And my father happened to be a manager. He used to be a talent agent. He’s a talent agent and he gave me a chance to audition for a television series for children. So that’s how it all happened. 

Steven Prusakowski: And then decades later, here you are. Very, very lucky when you get that chance to grab the opportunity and run with it.

Tadanobu Asano:  Yeah, I probably wouldn’t be here without my father.

Steven Prusakowski: So when this role was offered to you, what did it mean to you to have this opportunity to take on this great character?

Tadanobu Asano: I mean, of course, we all understand the production process. It was years in pre-production before this finally got rolling. During those years, I had heard rumors about this project going on.

I had also met a couple of people, some of the people who were involved in the development stage. So watching all that, I thought, indeed, it is very difficult to get a huge project off the ground. And then when they came to me, or when the production finally was ready to go, and then they came to me with the role of Yabushige, I saw that Mr. Sanada’s name was in there as well.

And of course, I’ve been working with him in Japan and also on international productions as well. And having had that relationship with him, I instantly was very encouraged and also knew that this was going to be, this was going to go well, because Sanada-san was in the mix. And so I cannot imagine having taken part in this project without Mr. Sanada involved.

Steven Prusakowski:  Your character is a tough man to figure out. How did your understanding of him change as you read each script?

Tadanobu Asano:  I really went in not knowing anything because I hadn’t read the original novel, nor had I seen the 1980s television series either.

So I kind of went in blindfolded, not knowing the character of Yabushige at all. So it wasn’t like there was a new realization or my perception towards the character shifted midway. It was just a process of just getting to know him.

Steven Prusakowski:  When you got to know him, who was Yabushige to you? 

Tadanobu Asano: Yabushige is a character where basically you get what you see. But as I was reading this of course, they don’t hand you all 10 episodes from the very beginning. They give you the script for each episode piecemeal.

As I was reading episode one and two, I understood, of course, that Yabushige I see that he’s a villain. But I didn’t want to. I knew that it would be very boring if I only played him as a gimmick that would carry the narrative. So it really came down to, okay, what kind of facial expressions does he show? How do I deliver each dialogue that he says? So I wanted to bring my own creativity to what was written in that respect.

Steven Prusakowski:  It’s a very physical role. He has swagger, he has a sense of humor, he’s strong, he’s strategic. Can you dig in a little deeper into the preparation process to play a character like this, especially when you have to wear, in addition to your acting, you have to wear this heavy costume and such. You don’t get the luxury of walking around in jeans and a t-shirt.

Tadanobu Asano: It’s really interesting the way you mentioned jeans and t-shirts, because mentally that’s exactly what I did, actually.

I had to imagine how he would say these lines, or how his narrative, how he would say these lines, and how he would perform in these sequences with jeans and t-shirts on, because he’s quite a contemporary character, this Yabushige. And so, of course, he works under Toranaga, and he has this allegiance, supposedly, to Toranaga. But it’s kind of the same thing as, for example, playing a corporate employee who works under the CEO that is Toranaga.

And so, of course, he uses feudal Japanese when he’s interacting with Toranaga, but essentially he’s saying the same thing as, for example, when he tries to refute or does not agree with Toranaga, he says he refutes in a very feudal Japanese and feudal manners. But what he’s doing, in essence, is the same thing as, for example, if he were a corporate employee, he would say something like, oh, come on, boss, that’s, yeah, that’s not possible. You have to go through that process in order to play this character in feudal Japan.

Steven Prusakowski:  Do you have a favorite aspect of Yabushige, and a least favorite?

Tadanobu Asano: Of course, this wasn’t allowed back in feudal Japan, but Yabushige is a character who is not shy about posing questions to things when he’s in doubt. But on the other hand, this is what I like about the character, and on the other hand, he has no sense of responsibility or accountability, and he won’t keep his promises, which I’m always like, oh, come on, Yabushige, please. 

Steven Prusakowski: And as a viewer, I wavered on him from despising him to somehow liking him, even though he boiled the man to death and you can’t trust him for a second, yet I like him.  I’m not alone, a lot of viewers online have said the same exact thing. Besides your wonderful acting, what do you attribute to viewers liking this character?

Tadanobu Asano: I think it’s because Yabushige, he’s such a normal guy that we can kind of identify with him.

Of course, he’s a villain, but if you just play him as a villain and only that, it would be very hard to sympathize with or identify with the character. However, in the way that he’s depicted, it’s very easy for us to say, oh, I think there’s a bit of Yabushige in me as well, or there are possibilities of me doing that as well, and so forth. It’s because he’s so kind of common and ordinary in that respect that he’s probably so popular, I think.

Steven Prusakowski: And he’s got this very competitive energy with him and Blackthorn, and neither are willing to back down, this kind of power struggle. Do they ultimately like each other, respect each other, or see themselves in each other? What is going on there?

Tadanobu Asano: Yes, I think these two people, these two men are very much alike, and they also have this commonality in that they have this very strong animalistic instinct about them, which is what is different, which is what pulls them apart from the other characters. And it’s just the situation of the times and that era that pits them in a rivalry kind of relationship.

But I think if times were different, and these were characters, for example, in a detective or buddy cop movie.

Steven Prusakowski: I think they would be quite the duo. Yeah, I agree. I never thought of that. Yeah, throw them in a convertible and put some shades on, they can go and solve some crimes. 

Tadanobu Asano:  (Laughs)

Steven Prusakowski: And did you have a favorite scene, either how it turned out, or just the work that you had to put into it? Something that stands out that will always stick with you?

Tadanobu Asano: I suppose my favorite scenes would be the scenes that I did in Episode 8 and 9, for example, where he brings Anjin to Ishiro and says, this is a gift for you. Or when he kind of bursts out in anger towards Mariko, when she says a few things, and he’s just furious, infuriated. These were the scenes that I liked.

Steven Prusakowski: Why? What is it about those scenes? 

Tadanobu Asano: I think his character arc takes quite a turn towards the end of the series, because I think by this point, as you know, Anjin has kind of approached Yabushige, so suggesting that perhaps they should team up together in some way. So number one, by this point, he doesn’t see much meaning in his allegiance to Toranaga.

So that’s kind of the big turn or change in his character arc. And then, although he kind of presents Anjin to Ishiro as a gift, he’s already quite tight with Anjin by this point. And also, he has this sense of trust in Mariko as well, which actually allows him to kind of burst out in anger towards her.

Up until then, he had too much of Toranaga in mind that he wouldn’t be able to say the things that were on his mind, but his sense of relationship between Toranaga and then Mariko or Anjin on the other side, started to change. That’s what’s interesting, I think, about episode 8, 9, and 10.

Steven Prusakowski: There’s nothing simple about Yabushige. His final moments are no exception. Can you tell me about shooting the final scene and as a character, what you were thinking?

Tadanobu Asano: So because, as I was mentioning, his kind of feelings or his relationship with Anjin had taken a different turn by this point, and he feels much closer to him than he feels to Toranaga. I think, and although this would be a very unpolite thing to say, but he feels that there is no value for him in Toranaga’s world.

So it’s not worth it anymore for him. I think if he were allowed to, he’d probably actually follow Anjin back to England. Of course, that’s not possible.

So the situation being that, he’s like, well, I guess I have nothing left to do but die. And so he’s leaving a world in which he is no longer interested in, which is why, still however curious as to what Toranaga is planning to do from there on, and therefore that’s why he has no qualms about asking all of these questions to Toranaga. But that is why he has no qualms about leaving this world.

He’s not really attentive to form, even when he commits this harakiri, this seppuku, he just like stabs himself in the gut.

Steven Prusakowski: And to close out with a really quick one, three words to describe Yabushige.

Tadanobu Asano: Words that immediately come to mind when I think of the character of Yabushige is like, the sky is blue and he’s smiling.

Blue skies and smiles.

Steven Prusakowski:  All right, I’ll take it. That’s not what I expected at all, but I’ll take it. Thank you so much for your time.

Tadanobu Asano: Arigato gozaimasu.

Shōgun is now airing in its entirety exclusively on Hulu