Anna Sawai was well-received as Toda Mariko in ‘Shogun’ but could have had her breakout earlier in 2016’s ‘Suicide Squad’ if it weren’t for the J-Pop band, FAKY. She recently told The Hollywood Reporter about the role of Katana:
“After the training — multiple years of training — you are either lucky and join a group, or debut as a solo singer, or you are gone. I was like, ‘This is my chance!’ And then I go to my manager, and he’s like, ‘You can’t audition.’”
The actress explained:
“They basically told me that if I’m gone for over a month, the girls [the other members of FAKY] are not going to have anything to do. It felt like they were really tying me down and because of my contract, I couldn’t leave until the time that I actually left [in 2018].”
She Still Pursued Acting
Karen Fukuhara played the DC hero opposite Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Joel Kinnaman. Sawai shared her love for the ‘The Boys’ actress:
“She did an amazing job, and I respect her so much, and I love her. But also, I would have loved to audition for it.”
The ‘Ninja Assassin’ star started appearing in more acting projects after leaving FAKY. She shared the lead role in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ with Kiersey Clemons, Wyatt Russell, and Kurt Russell.
Her latest show, ‘Shogun,’ aired its finale on April 23. Sawai watched the episode in her LA hotel room:
“[It was] very emotional. It was like just saying bye to your kid and sending them off to college, almost.”
Creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks recently announced that the show would have no more seasons because they didn’t have a story.
