Batman Begins: Ken Watanabe Interview

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Recently "BigHerbs" sent in a interview by a Japanese magazine with Ken Watanabe. Here is what he sent in...

Living in Japan has some perks. One of them is finding that the June/July issue of J-Select has an interview with Ken Watanabe. The interview details his battle with Leukemia, his lengthy career on stage and screen, and of course his recent splash into Hollywood with "The Last Samurai." Not much is mentioned on "Batman Begins," but Watanabe-san offers up a killer quote regarding Ra's Al Ghul's mentoring of the troubled Bruce Wayne....

(Interview by Femke Bijlsma, interpretation by Yuki Ishimaru. Photographs by David Stetson.)

JS: I understand you have been reveiving quite a few offers from Hollywood since 'The Last Samurai.' What is it that draws you to choose one role over another?

KW: My next role will be in 'Batman Begins.' I chose the part because I liked the script -- I picked it out immediately. I don't really have a strategy, but I do pay attention to the way the script envisages the world and how that view is conveyed through the roles, as well as what the director wants to express. In 'Batman Begins' I play a villain who has to guide a person who is wavering between good and evil. Exploring the dark side of human nature is something that interests me.

Also came across this picture of the man who killed Batmans parents.