For movies and series, actors often prepare physically, but also mentally for the role and try to learn new things. An actor learned Japanese for a series, only for the series to be canceled after two seasons.
Which series is it about? Tokyo Vice is a crime drama based on a book. The first season was released in 2022 and is about an American journalist who confronts the Yakuza in Japan alongside a policeman.
The main roles in the series are played by Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe, who was seen in Detective Pikachu. To be perfectly prepared for the role, Ansel Elgort learned Japanese. He became so proficient that he can now speak the language fluently. Despite the effort, the series was canceled after only two seasons. To learn the language so well, Elgort devised a system for himself.
You can watch the trailer for the first season here:
The most important thing was the environment
How did he do it? In an interview with Access Hollywood, the actor explains how he did it. He met with his co-star Ken Watanabe at his house not only to spend time together but also to learn the language. Elgort spoke in Japanese and Watanabe responded in English.
A great advantage for Elgort was being in Japan, making it an immersive learning experience. At first, he studied for up to nine hours a day but switched to four hours daily. The environment allowed him to immediately try to apply the phrases and sentences he learned in practice. As a result, he managed to build a considerable language proficiency in just one month.
The language alone was not the only thing he learned for the role. He also studied journalism and learned the martial art Aikido, as Malay Mail reports.
Why did he learn all of this? The language is relevant for acting. Although he can learn the script with minimal knowledge, if it needs to be spontaneous, he has no room to improvise. Additionally, it feels more authentic when one truly understands the language. (via. Malay Mail)
Despite the commitment and relatively good reviews, the series was canceled by HBO Max in 2024 after the release of the second season. If you want to form your own opinion about the series, you can currently watch the first season on the ARD Mediathek; if you like it, you can watch the second season with a Joyn subscription. When it comes to casting actors for roles, one cannot overlook Christian Bale: Batman actor repeatedly gains or loses 40 kg for roles, cannot anymore
