How Japanese actor-director Shinya Tsukamoto ends up in Scorsese’s Silence
Director of cult classic Tetsuo had always admired the Hollywood legend’s films and was surprised his own work was recognised by Scorcese at an audition for the role of a Christian villager in the samurai-era epic
Violence pulsates in Shinya Tsukamoto’s early films, driving stories into nightmarish fantasies like in the award-winning 1989 Tetsuo, which ridicules middle-class conformity with a man-becomes-machine metamorphosis.
His more recent works still depict violence, though the Japanese director says the nature of the violence has changed – from whimsical “cyberpunk” horror to horrifying reality. That’s why he identified so closely with Martin Scorsese’s gruelling epic, Silence, which portrays the persecution of Christians in samurai-era Japan. Tsukamoto plays Mokichi, a poor villager and martyr.
“In any era, regular people are kept down with violence. There is such sadness about why violence is perpetually involved,” Tsukamoto says in an interview at a Tokyo hotel. “This same theme came at the same time.”
Tsukamoto, 57, is a prolific actor as well as director, with a cameo as a scientist in the latest Japanese Godzilla film. He went to an audition for Silence, not counting on landing a role but hoping to get close to a director he has admired since he was a teenager. He has watched Taxi Driver dozens of times, and finds something new each time.
He was surprised and flattered when Scorsese recognised him right away and told him he admired Tsukamoto’s films. In the audition, a dialogue scene, Scorsese played the part of the missionary to his Mokichi. It was so natural, easy and perfect, Tsukamoto recalled.
