It's strange, because it seems that society is kind of promoting or nurturing this kind of ostracized existence. People are kind of very much in their own little worlds.

I think as with everything in life you've got to follow your gut. If you believe it wholeheartedly, then it's not going to feel like you're kind of pasting on an idea.

I kind of realized I could sing, so I played around with that for a while. And that led me to acting in itself, which I came more passionate about by the age of 15.

There are actors who are really fantastically talented at being natural on screen and appearing to be themselves, but I like the challenge of becoming somebody else.

I grew up watching a lot of American television and so the American sound has been in my psyche somehow for a long time and is quite familiar and so that does make it easier.

I think that the Japanese culture is one of the very few cultures left that is its own entity. They're just so traditional and so specific in their ways. It's kind of untouched, it's not Americanized.

As far as kids go, at an early age they have to develop a sense of individuality. It's just something that everyone goes through. But I think the older I get, the more I appreciate the fact that we really are just so connected.