'I Had to Be Different': Shogun's Tadanobu Asano Discusses Crafting His Distinct Villain

The following contains spoilers for Shgun Season 1, Episode 10, “A Dream of a Dream,” which premiered Tuesday, April 23 on FX and Hulu.

One Shōgun character stands out as uniquely memorable, terrifying, untrustworthy and grossly compelling: Lord Kashigi Yabushige. Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano has established Yabushige as a villain so loathsome he puts Game of Thrones to shame. Between his blood lust, his inordinate self-preservation and his ever-shifting loyalties, it feels like there’s nothing he won’t do.

In this interview with CBR, Asano shares his experiences filming Shōgun with an international cast and crew. The actor offers his take on his very dark, twisted and humorous character, and discusses his newfound fame as a result of the FX miniseries.

Shōgun is a fictionalized version of real events in your nation’s history. How would you compare acting in a critically acclaimed historical epic like Shōgun compared to other projects you have done?

Tadanobu Asano: I should say, this is very different from any of the other films I had acted in! Even in comparison to some other period pieces I have acted in the past. Looking back — and I think it was a great idea that we were able to film in Vancouver. It looks like it’s Japan, but something is different! There were a lot of rainy days, and a very wet atmosphere, which actually was better when we were creating such a complex human drama.

You collaborated with actors, writers, directors and crew from around the world. What are the most exciting and fun things about working with an international cast and crew? What were the challenges?

John, Toranaga, and Mariko Shogun

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In comparison to some of the other Japanese actors, I was fortunate enough to be involved in other known Japanese films up until this moment — whether in the U.S. or any other countries! But this time, I truly felt that even though I’m saying my script in Japanese, I’m able to put other people into the story. And I also thought that I had to make sure, whether I’m speaking Japanese, that people watching my scenes would be very involved, or be a part of the story. That was the challenge, and that was something I really wanted to achieve.

Kashigi Yabushige is a character with many different sides. He’s scary, he’s hilarious, and he perceives things other characters can’t. What went into playing this character?

What I tried to do was, of course, read the script, but then I had to be different. I did not want to be the character that everyone expected Yabushige to be. So if there’s a certain sort of imagined character, I wanted to be different. I could possibly go opposite to what other people might imagine, what he could have done. So these are some of the thoughts that went into playing Yabushige’s character.

Is there a scene in Shōgun that you especially are proud of?

SHOGUN-CUSTOM IMAGES-5

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I could say that after Mariko’s death, everything is going to just get gory — especially for me! And I think that is the moment that I can possibly imagine how the audience would react to that sort of scene! So I find myself in any scene after Mariko’s death — those would be the interesting ones!

Shōgun has reached fans all around the world, and your character is quite popular. How does it feel to know you have a multinational audience?

Shogun and Yellowstone image with John Dutton and Yoshii Toranaga

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I have to say that I am extremely happy! Because the whole time we were in Vancouver — as long as eight months! — I was struggling to play this character. So I feel like my effort has finally seen the light!

All ten episodes of Shōgun are now streaming on Hulu.

Shogun Film Poster

Shogun (2024)

8/10

Set in Japan in the year 1600, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.

Release Date2024-02-00Creator(s)Rachel Kondo, Justin MarksCastYki Kedin, Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu AsanoMain GenreDramaRatingTV-14Seasons1NetworkFXStreaming Service(s)Hulu