`I think machismo can sometimes be used to disguise an effeminate nature, and cheerfulness used to hide the darkness in one's heart.' KEN WATANABE Actor

On a rainy January weekend at Tokyo's posh Imperial Hotel, the interview started after a one-hour delay. Since it took me five months to get the appointment, another hour was nothing.

My target, actor Ken Watanabe, is not the easiest guy to see these days, hence my pleasure at having his undivided attention for a little while.

A venerated actor here, his remarkable Hollywood debut as the defiant warrior in 2003's ``The Last Samurai'' earned him an Oscar nomination and opened a lot of doors in the United States.

Scripts have been landing on his agent's desk with regularity. First up is Watanabe as the sinister Ra's Al Ghul in the new Batman flick, ``Batman Begins,'' directed by Christopher Nolan.

He will also star in Rob Marshall's ``Sayuri,'' the film adaptation of the best-selling novel ``Memoirs of a Geisha.'' Watanabe plays the Chairman, the patron and love interest of the geisha Sayuri. Watanabe moved to Los Angeles last summer to shoot the movie.

During a short break in a tight shooting schedule, the 45-year-old actor flew back to Tokyo for the opening of his latest Japanese film ``Kita no Zero-nen'' (Year One in the North).

``The opening day of a movie is like its birthday. I wanted to celebrate the day with my co-stars and the crew who have shared joy and sorrow together,'' Watanabe says. The interview is taking place in his suite, a room he's had little time to get familiar with-he arrived in Tokyo the day before the interview and would return to Los Angeles the following day.

Set in the 1870s, Isao Yukisada's epic drama ``Zero-nen'' revolves around a group of samurai and their families who are forced from their homes on Awajishima island in the Inland Sea by the new Meiji government and relocated to the freezing wilds of Hokkaido.

Watanabe portrays samurai Hideaki Komatsubara, the leader of this band of pioneers, as they struggle to survive in an unfamiliar and unforgiving environment.

Discussing ``The Last Samurai,'' Watanabe says, ``we Japanese, '' not Hollywood, should have made a film about the the early Meiji Era (1868-1912), a turbulent time when Japan was rapidly transforming itself from a feudal society into a modern nation.

``So I got very interested in this film (``Zero-nen''), which deals with the same period. I felt this was a film I had to do,'' he says. ``Samurai in `Kita no Zero-nen' are samurai in name only. They carry a sword, but it's only a symbol. They decide to discard their warrior lifestyle and adjust to the new system, but it's a struggle for them.''

As seen in Katsumoto in ``The Last Samurai,'' or his role in ``Zero-nen,'' both strength and sorrow are at the heart of the characters Watanabe often plays.

``I think machismo can sometimes be used to disguise an effeminate nature, and cheerfulness used to hide the darkness in one's heart,'' Watanabe says. ``So even if a character doesn't seem to possess traits like darkness or loneliness (in the script), I like to integrate them into the character because that makes him more human.'' Grinning, he finally admits, ``Well, the characters may project my personality.''

Born in 1959 in Niigata Prefecture, both Watanabe's parents were teachers. Like many, he was in a hurry to leave home and explore his potential.

``I was desperate to get out of that rural town,'' he says. ``I just wanted to do something creative. So I decided to go to Tokyo.''

He headed to the big city after graduating from high school in 1978. He says he had no specific plan in mind.

Shortly after in the capital, Watanabe went with a friend to see a play produced by En, a Tokyo-based theatrical troupe. He says he came away impressed, and as luck would have it, he soon joined the group. He made his stage debut at 19.

``Gradually, through my encounters with senior actors and stage directors, I began to believe this must be what I was looking for,'' he says.

His big break came in 1987, at age 27, when he got the leading role in NHK's successful samurai drama series, ``Dokuganryu Masamune.''

However, just as his career appeared ready to blossom,Watanabe came face-to-face with a serious health problem. In 1989, while on location in Canada shooting a big-budget film, he was diagnosed with leukemia.

Watanabe fought back and the disease went into remission, only to resurface five years later. Many people thought his acting career was over.

When asked about the illness, the soft-spoken actor appears a bit uncomfortable. ``If a viewer thinks, `Wow, a guy who once had leukemia is playing this role,' it can be a distraction. When I play a tough guy, for instance, if the audience wonders `Is he OK?' the role could be ruined,'' Watanabe explains.

``As long as I am labeled as a man who has recovered from this illness, I will not be able to play a wide range of roles. So I don't dare talk about this topic, although it was a big moment in my life. It's something that my audience doesn't need to know.''

Throughout the interview, the actor shied away from difficulties he has faced, both in his life and in his career. The product, not the process, seems more important to him.

Asked about life in Los Angeles, he smiles and says: ``It's not so different from life in Japan. I don't feel like I'm living in a foreign country, so I sometimes forget to carry a passport with me when I fly back to Japan.''

When not working, he says he likes to take his Labrador, Harry, for a walk, sometimes stopping at a hotdog stand or a pancake restaurant. He drives to local supermarkets and fixes his own meals. ``I cook rice in the morning and sometimes make porridge to eat healthy,'' he says.

Now, as one of a handful of internationally recognized Japanese actors, Watanabe attracts a great deal of media attention.

However, he says he doesn't feel any particular pressure to keep acting in Hollywood.

``I just do what I can do. When I get an interesting role, I play it. That's my job. I try not to think beyond that. Otherwise, I would end up having to do things I don't really want to do,'' Watanabe says, adding he hasn't decided if he will come back to Japan or not after finishing ``Sayuri.''

``I'll go anywhere-wherever there is an exciting job. It doesn't matter whether the job is in Japan, in America or another Asian country.''(IHT/Asahi: February 12,2005)