Hiro Kanagawa Talks ‘Altered Carbon’ Season 1 [Exclusive Interview]

Netflix’s Altered Carbon left the science fiction world ablaze after their February premiere. With heart-stopping visuals, striking colors, a riveting story and amazingly complex characters, this show is one you shouldn’t miss.

I recently interviewed dynamic actor, Hiro Kanagawa, who plays one of Altered Carbon‘s amazing characters, Captain Tanaka. Kanagawa revealed why he chose this trailblazing series, shared how he prepped for his role, and so much more.

Read below to find out what he had to say!

Tell-Tale TV: What drew you to Netflix’s Altered Carbon, initially?

Kanagawa: I auditioned for it, and the quality of the writing was evident in the audition scene. I went and got the book to prepare, hoping to find some details about my character to inform my audition. That’s when I learned my character isn’t actually in the book.

I had intended to skim the book and read the sections relevant to Captain Tanaka, but I wound up reading the whole thing. It’s a page-turner, to say the least. I love the combination of the dystopian cyber-punk universe with the noirish hard-boiled detective genre.

Tell-Tale TV: Since your character doesn’t talk much about his own backstory and what led him to work for the Meths, did you create your own backstory for him?

Kanagawa: Creating a backstory and knowing what your subtextual relationship is to the world and the other characters is definitely an important piece of homework actors have to do.

In Tanaka’s case, I think how he came to work for the Meths is something we can all imagine –- cops working for the powerful elite who actually run the world -– that’s a story as old as police have existed.

More important for me was creating for myself a backstory of my relationship to Ortega and Ryker (before Kovacs took over Ryker’s sleeve).

There’s an intriguing hint that I may have been close to Ortega’s father who was also a cop and who seems to have been killed in the line of duty. That backstory was important for me to know.

Tell-Tale TV: As Tanaka, which scene was the most challenging to play and why? Which scene was the most fun to play?

Kanagawa: Without giving too much away, my last scene in the series is a huge group scene in the Bancroft mansion. We shot it in the lobby of the Marine Building, an art deco heritage building in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. Whenever you have so many actors in a scene it is extremely challenging and time-consuming.

It was made doubly so by the fact that we were shooting from late at night into the early hours of the morning, and until 2:00 am or so, we had to contend with loud music and rowdy drinkers in a bar next to the lobby.

Believe it or not, at some point around 3:00 or 4:00 am I also briefly became chilled and nauseated, a feeling I associate with ghosts.

It’s only happened to me once before, on a mountaintop in Kyoto, but it’s very distinctive: goosebumps and hair standing on end despite it not being cold, accompanied by slight nausea. Nothing came of it, but it made for some interesting conversation between takes!

As for most fun to play, I can honestly say they were all so much fun.  This project was pure joy for me from beginning to end.

Tell-Tale TV: As your bio points out, your past roles are so varied. How do you decide which role you’d like to take on?

Kanagawa: In the past, I have turned down projects that were exploitative and have avoided egregious racial stereotypes and caricatures. When I am considering a role, there is definitely a set of criteria I try to check off before I agree to take something on.

One, is there complexity and detail to the character? Two, does the character give me the opportunity to explore something and show audiences some facet of myself that is new and intriguing?

Three, is the writing high quality? Four, are the production values in other areas also of high quality?  Five, are the director, and other cast members, artists I want to work with? These are some of the more important considerations.

Tell-Tale TV: So far, who has been your favorite character to play and why?

Kanagawa: About ten years ago, I got to play Ishida Mitsunari in a historical docu-drama for BBC called Heroes and Villains. In the battle to unite Japan under one shogun, Mitsunari has traditionally been regarded as the “villain.”

We shot in historic locations in and around Kyoto with authentic costumes and armor. Villains are generally fun, but the whole experience of shooting in Kyoto made this role especially memorable.

Tell-Tale TV: When it comes to performing, who inspires you most?

Kanagawa: Bruce Springsteen! No one else comes close!

Tell-Tale TV: Other than acting, do you still pursue the other skills you honed in school, such as guitar and sculpture?

Kanagawa: Sculpture, no. I still play guitar occasionally and dream of getting a band together, but I don’t have calluses on my fingers anymore -– that tells you how much I play. I do have a second career as a writer.

I’ve had a couple of screenplays optioned, and last year I received the Governor-General’s Literary Award for Drama.  It’s one of Canada’s highest literary honors, so I’m extremely proud of that.

Tell-Tale TV: What’s one thing fans might be surprised to learn about you?

Kanagawa: I was a coach on my son’s football teams the past four years and we won the provincial championship last year. I’ve always been very athletic. If you’re putting together a beer league softball or football team, I’m your guy. Good hands, speed to kill!

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Don’t miss Hiro Kanagawa in the first season of Altered Carbon now streaming on Netflix!

*Featured image credit: Kristine Cofsky

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