When I was eight or nine years old, I saw the TV version of 47 Ronin, played by Toshiro Mifune. He played Oishi. That was my first experience. I watched every week with my brother. "Who plays Oishi tonight? Who will play Kira tonight?" And we fought every week.

I am glad to be here to create a new history in our industry. I'm very proud of this.

Keanu Reeves learned a lot, respecting the culture. I was surprised when I first met him. He knew a lot already and he learned a lot. And also he learned Japanese. It's incredible. On the set, switching between the Japanese and English, even for us, is very hard. It's complicated. But the first time Keanu spoke in Japanese it was a very important scene between us, and more than the dialogue's meaning, I was moved. His energy for the film, completely perfect Japanese pronunciation. It was moving, surprising, respecting.

I've done Last Samurai in Japan, in LA, in New Zealand. Even in Japan it is very hard to shoot, because there's been so many changes. Only around a temple can we shoot.

Carl Rinsch has a good balance between the visual and the drama and action, so I thought if he's going to direct, we can make a new, epic film. My fear was gone when I met him.

I was very comfortable on the set of Lost. I was so nervous when I went on to the set because I had just watched all the Lost episodes. I was, like, a fan. A big fan.

I've done a lot of Samurai film in Japan, and sometimes done the choreography by myself.