Most people would assume that good looks are an asset to an acting career. However, Taiwanese-Japanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro - a former pin-up pop idol - says his handsome appearance is standing in the way of his film career.
From the intoxicated alcoholic detective in Confession of Pain (2006) to the scruffy bearded blood brother in The Warlords (2007), Kaneshiro (above) seems to have tried hard to erase his Prince Charming image and show he can handle more challenging roles.
In his latest role, Kaneshiro plays the witty Chinese military strategist Zhuge Liang in John Woo Yu-sum's big budget war-epic Red Cliff. Zhuge was instrumental in allying Sun Quan (played by Chang Chen) from the Wu kingdom with his master Liu Bei from the Xu kingdom against ambitious prime minister Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi). Cao, who was using the Han emperor as his puppet, was defeated at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208AD.
'Even today, the media still like to put a lot of emphasis on my appearance,' Kaneshiro says. 'I appreciate the compliment but, as an actor, your appearance can vary according to your character. Sometimes, I feel as if my looks have overshadowed my performance and the hard work I put into my characters. They can be an obstacle for me.'
Kaneshiro says he wasn't cast in the film at first, and there was considerable drama before the role of Zhuge Liang landed in his lap. Originally, the role had gone to Lust, Caution star Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who was later forced to relinquish it due to health reasons. Then Chow Yun-fat, a friend of the director, quit the lead role as Zhou Yu, so Leung volunteered to take over his part. Finally, Kaneshiro was asked to join the US$10 million, two-part project.
'It was towards the end of the shooting of The Warlords that Woo gave me a call and told me the whole story,' Kaneshiro recalls. 'He asked me if I was interested but I had already been fighting for months during Beijing's coldest weather. I thought: 'What? Another costume period drama? Another big picture? It sounds like another very exhausting film project. What should I do?'
But he collected himself and thought more carefully: 'Hey, it's Zhuge Liang - a strategist - I won't have to fight.' So he accepted and spent several months more on set - during Beijing's hottest weather.