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Japanese star defends casting in 'Geisha'
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-29 09:33
Ken Watanabe, the Japanese star of "Memoirs of a Geisha," is defending the
casting of Chinese actresses for the film's main roles, saying talent is the
most important consideration.
Japanese actor Ken
Watanabe poses at the premiere of 'Memoirs of a Geisha' in Los Angeles in
this Sunday, Dec. 4, 2005 file photo. Watanabe is defending the casting of
Chinese actresses for the film's main roles.
[AP] |
The English-language movie has inflamed historical tensions between Japan and
China, with critics saying a movie about Japanese culture should have a Japanese
actress in the lead.
But Watanabe, who plays a businessman in "Memoirs," likened the casting
choices to using non-Italian singers in an Italian opera.
"Talent is the most important thing. A beautiful soprano. A wonderful tenor.
Not your nationality," Watanabe says in the February edition of the magazine
Prestige Hong Kong.
The film is set in Japan and adapted from the American novel. It stars
Chinese actresses Ziyi Zhang and Gong Li, and Chinese-Malaysian actress Michelle
Yeoh. They join several Japanese performers.
The filmmakers have said casting was an exhaustive, meticulous process that
considered acting ability, star power and physical traits.
Watanabe received an Oscar nomination in 2004 for his role in "The Last
Samurai" opposite Tom Cruise.
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