Interview with Ninja Assassin star Rain

Kat Angus
November 23, 2009 3:32 PM

At best, Ninja Assassin seems like an ambiguous title for a film; at worst, it seems incredibly redundant. But only a few minutes into the new bloody action film, it becomes clear that the title it apt: Ninja Assassin is literally about a ninja who assassinates other ninjas.

Finding the right actor to play the deadliest of ninjas is no easy feat, but producers Larry and Andy Wachowski realized they found their man in Rain. The Korean superstar was just breaking into acting with the Wachowskis’ Speed Racer when the brothers chose him for the part, and now, the charismatic 27-year-old clearly sees Ninja Assassin as his opportunity to make a name for himself as the next big martial arts star.

“I loved Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. They are my heroes. I saw a lot of Bruce Lee movies from when I was young,” Rain said while in Toronto last week. “And I’m so powerful, I’m so fast, I’m so handsome and, I’m so young – so much more than them.”

He breaks out into a mischievous grin.

“I’m just kidding,” he says, laughing. “They’re my heroes.”

Don’t let his glib manner fool you, though: Rain was fully committed to playing Raizo, the merciless assassin who vows revenge against the ninja clan that stole his childhood and killed the woman he loved. To prepare for the part, Rain trained eight hours a day, five days a week, for eight months.

“It was hard and I ate just chicken breasts and vegetables. No sugar, no salt, nothing. It was horrible. And second, I learned a lot of martial arts. Tai chi, tae kwon do, kung fu, kick boxing with swords, double sword, shurikens, canes,” Rain explains. “I always threw up. It was horrible.”

But there’s really no other choice when the directors of The Matrix franchise hand-pick you for the part. Although Rain had to audition to play Taejo Togokahn in Speed Racer (“I kept telling them, ‘I can do this! Really! I can do this!’” Rain remembers), the directing duo were reportedly so impressed with his work that they offered him the lead in Ninja Assassin without even asking him to read for the part.

“After The Matrix, the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver were always thinking and planning to make this kind of film, but they couldn’t find the right guy to actually put their confidence in,” Rain explains. “When we were working on Speed Racer, Larry and Andy Wachowski offered it to me, so how could I say no to that? I said, ‘Let’s do this!’”

However, even though Rain sees his burgeoning acting career as his best chance to make it big in North America, he’s hesitant to say that he’s stepping away from music, even for a little while.

“This question is like, ‘Who do you prefer, your mother or father?’” he quips.

Still, Rain can’t deny that being given the lead in a big-studio action film isn’t a big step for him; after a little prodding, he admits that he’s currently looking at three different scripts, trying to decide which one will help maintain his current momentum as a movie star.

“It’s a big opportunity for me. If I do my best, I think Americans will like me, too,” Rain says. “I believe that.”

Ninja Assassin opens in theatres Nov. 25

Source: www.dose.ca