After watching countless shows I had a thought.... How come there aren't any American actors in shows? I've seen other Asian nationalities, but no actors of Caucasian descent. I'm sure there are plenty of actors that are bilingual. Mira Sorvino has been in a Chinese movies since she's bilingual in Mandarin. I know she was in a movie with Takeshi Kaneshiro (Too Tired to Die), but I haven't seen it yet so I don't know what language it was filmed in. Anyways, I was just curious if anyone had any ideas! Arigatou!!

anduriachan wrote:

After watching countless shows I had a thought.... How come there aren't any American actors in shows?

It really just doesn't happen much at all.

Mark Conden (British) was in Hakoiri Musume.

Dave Spector (noted American gaijin tarento) was in the old movie Ghost Soup.

I can't think of any others right now ...

in the series "the story of one century" they were a bunch of americans (as WWII US Forces occupiers) there as well.
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Is this thread about Americans or simply "Caucasians"?
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I have only seen the occasional Caucasian make a guest appearance when they want to show off an actors English skills like GTO as an example. In Sakura there are several Americans as she is supposed to be a 4th generation Japanese American who had a Caucasian Fiancé.
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what is a bit puzzling is in the series 'home & away" the character nakayama miho played, her japanese finace is in the US for business, but when he returns, he is TOTALLY a caucasian, with a very JPN name. No mention of wheather he was partial JPN or not, I still haven't figured that out yet...
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niko2x wrote:

but when he returns, he is TOTALLY a caucasian, with a very JPN name. No mention of wheather he was partial JPN or not, I still haven't figured that out yet...

I think in the credits the fiance (Hamasaki) is listed as "Alexander Manning". I could be wrong though.

(edit: he did look kind of half Japanese to me)

In the drama "Sakura", there was a caucasian dude playing the role, "Robbie", which is Sakura's fiancee. I guess the story originates that Sakura is from Hawaii, so she should have a fiancee that is not Japanese. But that guy can really speak Japanese quite fluently.
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vibius wrote:

I think in the credits the fiance (Hamasaki) is listed as "Alexander Manning". I could be wrong though. (edit: he did look kind of half Japanese to me)

altho i don't care 1 way or the other, i think at least they shoulda gave him the name of smith rather than hamazaki...(IMHO).

1/2 JPN, really? He looked all caucasian to me.
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There's a caucasian appearing in one of the earlier Shinsengumi! episodes. I didn't get his name -- I'd have to dig up the captures I made. He spoke Japanese with a somewhat British accent... It was quite interesting!

You'd only see white guys IF and ONLY IF it is within context. For example, the caucasion in Shinengumi! appeared because he was from the West, at the period when Commodore Perry came over the second time. Also, in the show Women of the Onsen, they ocassionally have caucasian business guests visiting Kurahara.

Because America is a melting pot of different races and cultures, ANYONE can play ANYBODY, again if it's within context. No one will question the race. For example, if you require a 250-pound UPS delivery guy in your show, it could be played by a person of any race. However, if you have a character running a hole-in-the-wall Chinese laundry shop, you'd better have someone that LOOKS asian (Americans still think all asians look alike).

I think in Japanese entertainment, even having a Korean or Chinese actor playing the role of a Japanese person is not acceptable. So I wouldn't think the Japanese audience would appreciate a regular, steady character being played by any one other than a person of the Japanese race. Not that the Japanese are racists, that's just the way they feel about it.

--- groink

groink wrote:

I think in Japanese entertainment, even having a Korean or Chinese actor playing a Japanese role is not acceptable. So I wouldn't think the Japanese audience would appreciate a regular, steady character being played by any one other than a person of the Japanese race. Not that the Japanese are racists, that's just the way they feel about it. --- groink

I guess it is true. If you don't have any Japanese blood in you, under the Japanese law, you cannot become a citizen.
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DAMN!!.... There goes my home of becoming a citizen in Japan... O wells, I guess I'll become an illegal immigrant living in the countryside...
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anduriachan wrote:

After watching countless shows I had a thought.... How come there aren't any American actors in shows? I've seen other Asian nationalities, but no actors of Caucasian descent.

To make an obvious point, not all Americans are Caucasian. That said, Konishiki, who is of Samoan descent from the state of Hawaii, was, I believe, part of the regular cast of Remote. Bob Sapp, an African-American, was in an episode of You're Under Arrest.

In Faye Wong's J-Dorama "Uso Koi" there is a Caucasian American giving Japanese lessons to all the illegal immigrants in Faye's apartment building.

I don't care whether there are American actors playing roles in Japanese TV shows.

The only thing that bothers me is when they have Caucasians from other countries (usually Dutch actors) playing Americans. They may have "European" faces, but when they open their mouths it's pretty clear that they've never spent any time in an English speaking country.

I dunno 'bout any Americans in J-dorama.

But, none other than STEVEN SEAGAL's featured in a recent Korean film called Clementine.

Really: http://www.yeondvd.com/action.html#clementine

Hmm....

I may be completely off my rocker (especially since I have the memory of a goldfish), but I seem to remember some caucasian guy becoming known for playing Japanese roles in period dramas about 10-15 yrs ago. I think he mostly played characters that were in the elite (ministers or generals of the shogunate or something)....

But he just popped on a wig, put on some make-up and apparently did a pretty good job of it. He learned all his lines phoenetically because he either didn't speak Japanese fluently or at all...something like that...I have no idea how he got started though...

you know, there is that one random caucasian guy that makes random appearances in a few dramas...like in GTO, the guy asking where the ukiyoe exhibit was...and then, in long vacaction that same guy acted as one of the judges in the final two (or one) eps....hes probably come out in a few more..

The recent one "Ningen no Shomei" has Swedish-born U. S. actor Bo Svenson as an investigator aiding in the main plot from the southern U. S.

The only problem: The black American guy whose murder starts the plot is played by HIROYUKI IKEUCHI...

Now that's hilarious

I don't look for American actors in Japanese shows mostly because, as with British shows, the Americans are brought in because they are, or in the case of Japan, they look like their image of an American.

Bo Svenson probably wasn't cast because he's a great actor, or because he's hot right now. The guy's career has been in limbo for a couple of decades. But he's been around, he's got blonde hair, blue eyes, and he's about 6'4". So who cares if he was born and raised in Sweden.

And there's no end to the second and third rate American actors who earn their livings as "professional Americans" in English TV shows. They may not be pretty, and they may not be any great shakes as actors. But they sound right.

The practise doesn't really reflect well on American actors.

But I'll tell you. I'd love to see actors like James Shigeta, or Tamlyn Tomita, or George Takei playing Americans in a Dorama. That would be something a writer could play with. Especially if, like most Americans, their characters only spoke English.