Yakuza Weapon: Interview with Tak Sakaguchi - Jade Screen

Born in 1975 in Ishikawa, Japan, renowned actor, director and action choreographer Tak Sakaguchi started as a feared underground street fighter with a reputation for using Martial Arts to beat down his opponents. He was later discovered by director Ryuhei Kitamura who cast him as the star of his low budget, action-horror film Versus, one of the earliest full-contact action films in Japan. This little film went on to become a cult action hit, selling over 100,000 copies in America and remains Kitamura's best-known work. Visiting London in May 2011 to promote the European Premiere of his new film, Yakuza Weapon, at the Terracotta Far East Film Festival, Tak also led a filmmaking master class and shared his experiences working in action cinema. He was kind enough to answer some questions looking back on his turbulent life and drop a few hints on what’s next for Japanese cinema’s undisputed badass...

Read the interview here!