Shingo Usami

When Shingo Usami arrived in Australia back in 1995, he was a Japanese teacher with three years of teaching experience from the US. A few years later, he realised that acting was his passion, and decided to pursue a career as a professional actor in Australia. He has since played a range of roles, including a Japanese diplomat in Curtin (2007), a defiant prisoner in The Pacific (2010), and a news reporter in Suing the Devil (2011). In this Japanese-on-the-Move episode, Shingo begins by telling us an amusing behind-the-scenes account of his TV debut role as a samurai/ninja. He then shares with us his reflections on both the challenges and advantages of being a Japanese actor from an English-as-a-Second-Language background in Australia.