When it comes to acting in properties that adapt previously written stories such as novels or comic books, there is always room for multiple interpretations of one character. One of the best examples of this can be seen over decades with characters like Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man.
More recently, actor Tohoru Masamune has experienced this by being the first actor to take up the mantle of the Shredder in 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Before then, no other actor had been in the role in a feature film since James Saito, and David McCharen brought him to life in 1990's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
During an interview with Masamune, many questions were asked about his love of comics and his love of the character of Shredder. One of the questions asked was in regards to what character he would like to play in a Marvel film, given the opportunity. In response, he wished to give The Ancient One from Doctor Strange a shot, should the opportunity come knocking.
Make sure to check out his full response in the interview below! If interested in the full audio interview, make sure to check out LiteraryJoe's Inner Child Podcast below!
JVL: Being an obvious fan of comic books and comic book stories, are there any other stories that you'd like to be a part of or see brought to life on a big screen?
Literary Joe: There are a lot of Asians in Daredevil!
Tohoru Masamune: Right? Yeah, Daredevil is one of them. Yeah, Daredevil, I'd love to appear in that. There are definitely a lot in that. Doctor Strange, I was always a big fan of that. So I like that. That would be cool to do somehow; I guess in some remake, I could be the Ancient One. I could do that. Right? I got years ahead of me.
JVL: And you've got sorcerer hair right now.
Tohoru Masamune: (Laughs) And you know, there's a point where, I always joke about, I was talking to my manager, I was saying about my acting career is, this is why I feel pretty good. I feel like this, to me, it's like one big ride. The reason why I'm pretty calm as an actor is I know that I have, no matter what happens, I can always play that old Asian guy on the mountain, you know, the Ancient One? And I said, at some point, I'm going to just go for it. I'm just going to let my eyebrows go crazy, by the way. Trust me. I'm going to be the craziest looking old guy you have ever seen. People are going to line up to see that, and I'm just going to let it all go. (Laughs) I'm thinking, I know I have that waiting for me. That's like my, you know...
JVL: That's your retirement plan? (Laughs)
Tohoru Masamune: Yeah. (Laughs) That's my retirement plan. And I think that would be kinda cool. Huh? Being the Ancient One? I think I could do that. I think the timing might line up where, when they're going to do that again, and they'll remember, okay, we should probably use an old Asian dude. I think that's the right thing to do because that's what everybody wants.
Literary Joe: (Laughs) Yeah. That would be funny if that happened.
Tohoru Masamune: Yeah. I think the timing, and, you know, this is all recorded. Let's keep it right here. Right here. Let's hold on, don't lose this recording. Because we can play this like 20 years from now. (Laughs) You know when I'm sitting there, in my rocker on the Oscar carpet. Oh, I remember these guys! I don't remember which one was Joe and which one was Josh. I don't remember which, but anyway, we came up with this crazy idea! You know?
Literary Joe: One of them had hair. (Laughs)
Tohoru Masamune: That's interesting. I never thought of it that way, but the timing could work out. It could very well work out on that. (Laughs) Oh, my God. It's too funny.
Literary Joe: I'll toss up an article that you want to play the Ancient One, and we'll see what we can drum up there. (Laughs)
Tohoru Masamune: Oh, my God. It's too funny. Yeah. But you know, I'm an actor. I'm just living. I just love doing the next role. So that's awesome.
*This interview has been edited for clarity, and is co-hosted by Joshua Vargas-Lloyd, credited as JVL.*
What do you make of Tohoru's comments? If you're interested in checking out our last conversation with the actor, you can do so below. Also, be sure to check out the trailer for Masamune's current series, Artificial: Remote Intelligence, below.
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