This is a good thing, mixing culture to make something new, something no one has ever seen. This is kind of a new history.

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 was a child actor, so when I started filming when I was five years old, it was a long time ago.

Action is just one of my skills.

The difference between working on Asian and American films is in the producer and director; everyone has their own style. But, Hollywood has a lot more money; they can spend a lot on films, and time. In Europe, there's a small budget and thinking about commercial. Only budget and taste is different between there and Hollywood.

Especially for this film [ 47 ronin] there's a nice mixture between western and eastern. So Ronin wearing the boots, like Western style. It's a nice mixture.

It was a black and white film [at first]. And then it changed to colour film, and I was surprised and culture shocked when I was six or seven years old. And then HD, then 3D now. So what's going? What's coming next? It's so exciting.