Actors are always looking for ways to build a character.
My major intention for coming to Hollywood - besides the fact that I was just enamored with acting from a very young age - was that I was tired of seeing wimpy Asian actors.
People say, "How come you play bad guys so much?" And I say, "Well, have you seen many Asian good-guy roles?"
In fact, I think new media is going to make a big difference with injecting more people of color into Hollywood and non-Hollywood.
There are a lot of wannabe men in Hollywood. But when you have that Hollywood mentality, there aren't a lot of real, grounded people.
To suddenly be working with one of the top-10 directors in the world, plus the film was in China, I almost blurted out, "How much do I have to pay?" It was just like a dream come true. That was an amazing experience.
There's one thing about weights with action movies: Once your muscles get that tight, it's sometimes hard to stop your movement, especially if you're trying to move with some strength, and with the swords in the film.
Half my family was from the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the other half was U.S. Army, and I was raised on Army posts during my childhood, so I pretty much began my life with a split-brain sort of thing.
When you start working on a series, it's almost too much work. It's like a movie a week.
The worst thing that can happen is that the effect that they create behind you is bigger than the performance you're putting out.
