Getting to the truth of the Japanese experience on Iwo Jima was a key for actor Ken Watanabe. Clint Eastwood hired the Oscar-nominated star of "The Last Samurai" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" to play the resourceful and courageous general who headed the Japanese troops.
"It was Clint," Watanabe says, when asked why he wanted to make "Letters From Iwo Jima." "Ever since 'Unforgiven,' Clint's movies have gotten to the truth of human behavior.
"And it is most important in Japan that the film be a true history. It is an important history," he adds, pointing out that the story of Iwo Jima isn't well-known in Japan and stressed that it should be known.
Watanabe spoke by telephone from Los Angeles. The handsome 46-year-old actor recently moved his base of operations from Japan to Los Angeles and is still working on his English. For the interview, he tried to speak as much as possible but often relied on a translator when making his points became too much of a struggle.
Was Watanabe concerned about an American filmmaker telling a Japanese story?
"I worried about dialogue, about the accuracy on the Japanese background of the war, about everything," Watanabe admitted. But the actor dove into detailed research about Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the Japanese leader he'd be playing. He read the general's wartime letters, visited his hometown in Japan and placed water on his memorial on Iwo Jima (a traditional Japanese sign of respect).
Watanabe brought his research to the role, and says, "Clint allowed me to make dialogue in Japanese. And sometimes I suggested about a different feeling of Japanese soldiers and customs and different dialogue. He really listened to my suggestions."
Watanabe loved Eastwood's low-key style as a director and was impressed that a 76-year-old man would take on two World War II epics in one year. "But he's not 76," Watanabe joked, "He's 46."
Most of "Letters" was shot in the United States. "We only worked on Iwo Jima for a couple days, because it's a sacred place, and there are still bones there, and unexploded shells," Watanabe says.
He says both films make perfect companion pieces and are much appreciated by Japanese audiences. "'Flags of Our Fathers' is kind of like a twin but with a totally different character. By seeing both films, the truth can be seen."
Watanabe was born in Koide, Japan, in 1959, and got serious about acting when he was 24, studying in England. A director of England's National Theatre Company told him that acting was his special gift.
Known especially for his samurai roles in Japan, Watanabe conveyed that concept to his co-starring role opposite Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai." Now he's looking for good roles in both the United States and Japan, and elsewhere.
"If they invite me," he says, "Why, yes."