Q: What made you want to be a Comedian? And ｗhy in Japan?
A: Well I wanted to be an actor. I have been acting since I was 6, singing and performing in general. I came out to Tokyo in 1996 to be an actor. I watched Japanese TV and they had American personalities (talent) but not good American actors so I figured that they needed a good one and that was me! After a year on the scene, it turned out that this country didn’t really need me. I didn’t get any big jobs and hadn’t really made a name for myself as an actor. So I had to improve my skills. Then I met my partner, Makoto Yoshida. He wanted to be a comedian. I said, “Gosh. If I want to be an actor, I should know how to be funny in Japanese. So I figured “Use him and lose him”.
I thought “Practice with him for awhile and when I get famous, I’ll go back to acting”. But apparently, I’m not going back to acting anytime soon. I picked Japan to act in and I picked a career as a comedian to improve my acting skills.
Q: What was your first impression of Japan?
A: I was amazed that it was similar to America. I thought it would be much more different. Japan has American clothes, fairly big houses, regular cars and better food! This is a great country to get along with!
Q: How did you overcome the barrier of language as a foreigner from a non-kanji country?
A: Kanji cards! I just carried them around with me everywhere, when I was on the bus, when I was supposed to be working. I focused on reading (rather than writing).
I made 2000 cards in 2 years. Once you know kanji, it makes a huge difference.
Q: What is the key for Japanese to improve their English?
A: Go away! Living in a foreign country would be the fastest.
There is no secret. Just study. It’s no different from learning how to play tennis. No one learns how to be a good tennis player in an hour or a week. It’s just the same thing. Practice makes it perfect.
Q: What was the “culture shock” for you in Japan?
A: Maybe my attitude or behavior as an American. By Japanese standards, it was too unrefined. For example, arms on a table, crossing my legs, or sitting next to an important person and saying, “Hey, how is it going?” I had no idea. So the expectation of politeness was a bit stricter. I also hit my head a lot.
A: Well I wanted to be an actor. I have been acting since I was 6, singing and performing in general. I came out to Tokyo in 1996 to be an actor. I watched Japanese TV and they had American personalities (talent) but not good American actors so I figured that they needed a good one and that was me! After a year on the scene, it turned out that this country didn’t really need me. I didn’t get any big jobs and hadn’t really made a name for myself as an actor. So I had to improve my skills. Then I met my partner, Makoto Yoshida. He wanted to be a comedian. I said, “Gosh. If I want to be an actor, I should know how to be funny in Japanese. So I figured “Use him and lose him”.
I thought “Practice with him for awhile and when I get famous, I’ll go back to acting”. But apparently, I’m not going back to acting anytime soon. I picked Japan to act in and I picked a career as a comedian to improve my acting skills.
Q: What was your first impression of Japan?
A: I was amazed that it was similar to America. I thought it would be much more different. Japan has American clothes, fairly big houses, regular cars and better food! This is a great country to get along with!
Q: How did you overcome the barrier of language as a foreigner from a non-kanji country?
A: Kanji cards! I just carried them around with me everywhere, when I was on the bus, when I was supposed to be working. I focused on reading (rather than writing).
I made 2000 cards in 2 years. Once you know kanji, it makes a huge difference.
Q: What is the key for Japanese to improve their English?
A: Go away! Living in a foreign country would be the fastest.
There is no secret. Just study. It’s no different from learning how to play tennis. No one learns how to be a good tennis player in an hour or a week. It’s just the same thing. Practice makes it perfect.
Q: What was the “culture shock” for you in Japan?
A: Maybe my attitude or behavior as an American. By Japanese standards, it was too unrefined. For example, arms on a table, crossing my legs, or sitting next to an important person and saying, “Hey, how is it going?” I had no idea. So the expectation of politeness was a bit stricter. I also hit my head a lot.
