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AN INTERVIEW OF HIGH ADVENTURE WITH MAKO! Mako gives Schwarzenegger.com big interview! Reported By: Schwarzenegger.com Sunday, August 4, 2002 Mako, who plays the all-powerful, growling wizard in both Conan movies, just gave Schwarzenegger.com an interview of high adventure. Read some classic highlights below: Schwarzenegger.com: Arnold had to come to America to become an actor. Is that how it happened with you? Or were you an actor in Japan, as well? Mako: No, I wasn't. I came to America to become an architect. And somewhere along the line while I was still in school, I was lured into theater, and that's how I became interested in theater. My first play was something called "A Banquet for the Moon." It was a weird play. Schwarzenegger.com: When you first read the script for Conan the Barbarian, what were your thoughts? Mako: I couldn't make heads or tails of it, because I wasn't familiar with the novels, or the cartoons. I had a younger friend, who is an actor as well, but he was a Conan freak, you know, a fanatic. So he loaned me stacks of novels, but I couldn't really get into it. Then he said, "I tell you what, maybe comic books might be of interest to you." So, again he brought me a whole stack of comic books. And, it's funny, you know, since I was not raised with comic books in this country, I had a hard time digesting it. So, I mentioned that to John Milius, and Milius said, "Ok...you remember Kurosawa's Seven Samurai?" I said yes. "You remember cut number such-and-such?" I said, "I don't know the cut numbers, but I do remember the characters." He said, "Yeah, that's the kind of wizard I am looking for, and, also, another actor, in Seven Samurai in a different scene, do you remember him?" I said, "Yeah. I respect that old guy very much." He said, "That's the kind of composite of character that I'm looking for." So, then, it became easier for me to visualize, because instead of visualizing myself being in (Conan) I could clearly visualize those two characters being involved in a situation that wizards would be in. See that's the kind of direction that Milius gave me. He knew what he was after... even though he wasn't too verbal. Schwarzenegger.com: Describe your first encounter with Arnold for us. Mako: My first encounter with Arnold was in Almeria in Spain. John Milius had asked me to work with Sandahl Bergman and Gerry Lopez. Arnold must have heard of me, because there was a time he was contemplating coming with them to work in the scene and such. But that never materialized. So, when we first met Arnold then, finally, he was like (in Arnold accent) "Hello, Mako." (Laughs.) We weren't strangers. I didn't feel as if I were meeting a stranger, you know? He was very open and friendly. Schwarzenegger.com: A Conan movie just isn't a Conan movie without your wizard character, Akiro, and your narration. Have you and John Milius talked about the 3rd Conan movie yet? Mako: I have seen him once or twice since the first Conan film for a different picture. I guess John was troubleshooting or helping a director with a script or whatever, and I went in for a meeting, but that's about it, so we have never discussed the third. We shall see. Schwarzenegger.com: What are you currently working on? Mako: I am waiting for John Milius to call me! (Laughs.) For the complete interview at Schwarzenegger.com click HERE ---------- |