My Name, In Your Mind

Making his film debut at the age of 20, Takeshi Kaneshiro has been a household name for most of his career. But over 40 films and 23 years later, the man himself remains a mysterious force who continues to capture the imagination of the audience.

- Lv Yanni

It is autumn in Tokyo and we are sitting in the hotel room waiting for Takeshi Kaneshiro. An entire floor in the hotel has been reserved for today’s photoshoot. The lift chimes and a man, wearing a red sports jacket and carrying a backpack, strides through its doors. It’s Kaneshiro and he bows slightly as he greets everyone in the room with an unexpected bashful manner about him. Up close, the lines on his face are visible, especially when he smiles. But these do not bother him—the 43-year-old laughs without reservation, with a sparkle in his eyes.

Observing him tilt his head as he listens to others speak is akin to experiencing a multitude of movie scenes come alive. Familiar movie characters flash across my mind: The one who repeatedly buys canned pineapples in Chungking Express; the one who repeatedly snaps photos of the sky above his balcony in Tempting Heart; and yet another who gazes at Shu Qi after a drink in a pub in Confession of Pain. In real life, he might look slightly different to his onscreen personaes, but you would still be able to easily spot him in a crowd. He is Takeshi Kaneshiro, after all.

TRUST AND EXPECTATIONS