Singer and actress MASUMI chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about her highly-anticipated film “Yakuza Princess,” and being an entertainer in the digital age.
She stars in the lead title role of Akemi in “Yakuza Princess,” which is available everywhere on September 3. The film was directed by Vicente Amorim, and she stars opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“The Tudors”). “Starring in this film was almost like a dream to me,” she admitted. “I was really grateful especially to see a Japanese female take the lead in an international movie that is coming out in the United States. You really don’t hear much of that and that gave me a lot of hope for the future.”
“Working with Jonathan Rhys Meyers was amazing, he was so supportive the entire shoot. I loved him and I was so happy to work with him on my first movie,” she added.
In addition, she wrote and performs the original song “Run Baby, Run,” which is featured in the film.
MASUMI moved to the United States after the 2011 tsunami and earthquake in Japan. She holds dual citizenship, similar to her character Akemi. “My character and I had similar journeys,” she said. “There was a lot of fear that I had to overcome from the beginning to the end so I felt I was going through this journey with Akemi. By the end of it, I felt more empowered. It felt like a synchronicity, and that was a blessing for me.”
“Living through the earthquake taught me that life is very short, so whatever it is that you need to do (whether it is being a teacher or coach or finding the right school or moving countries to make your dreams come true) is something that you need to do right now. It is important to commit to growth, and to commit to living life to the fullest,” she added.
On being an actress in the digital age, MASUMI said, “It’s a really exciting time where people can be creative and they can express that in so many media. At the same time, there is content overload all the time. I hope to be working with teams that want to create content with a message not just for the sake of entertainment.”
Each day, she is motivated by the fact that she was able to choose this artistic path on her own. “It’s a privilege to be able to do what you love and make money from it,” she said.
When she got engaged to her now-husband, actor Kenny Leu (“Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope”), she proposed to him. They both reside in San Francisco even though they are currently visiting Los Angeles for the time being. She is fluent in Japanese and English. “Kenny was able to coach me for the martial arts in this movie so that was great since he’s a martial artist as well. Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said.
“Yes, I proposed to him. My whole life, I’ve chosen my own path so I didn’t want to wait for somebody to propose to me. I wanted to be the one making the decision choosing my life partner, so that’s why it happened that way,” she added.
MASUMI listed Academy Award winner Charlize Theron and Kaori Momoi (“Memoirs of a Geisha”) as her dream collaboration choices in acting.
To learn more about MASUMI, check out her IMDb page, and follow her on Instagram and on Twitter.
