Before I started studying martial arts, I had temper problems. I could definitely fly off the handle. Being raised in the south in 1956 definitely gave me some memories to latch onto for negative emotions.

Americans really don't understand the Japanese nature, but it's not an easy thing to understand.

There were times when I purposely didn't go to school because of Pearl Harbor Day, because certainly there was enough media about it every year to remind everybody. So when I heard they were going to make the movie, I thought, "Oh, no, please not another Pearl Harbor mention!"

I was excited about working with Richard Gere. Oh, and Joan Allen! Oh, my God, she is such a force of nature, it's mind boggling.

Kids keep getting wiser younger, which is dangerous, and adults need to stop taking themselves too seriously.

People say, "How come you play bad guys so much?" And I say, "Well, have you seen many Asian good-guy roles?"

That's the worst thing for an actor: when you say to someone, "Yeah, I was in that movie," and they say, "You were?"