Where is Takeshi Kaneshiro? He'll find '100 excuses' to turn down acting jobs, says director Peter Chan

If you’re wondering why ‘90s heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro has been largely absent from our screens over the last decade, Hong Kong director Peter Chan might have the answers.

On a recent episode of the ViuTV talk show Director’s Gate, the 59-year-old revealed: "He basically doesn't really want to act."

Peter and Takeshi, 48, have collaborated on three movies over the years: Perhaps Love (2005), The Warlords (2007) and Dragon (2011), a long-lasting partnership considering the Taiwanese-Japanese actor’s reluctance to act.

While revealing the details of his work with superstars including Maggie Cheung and Leon Lai, Peter also mentioned that it takes up to half a year to convince Takeshi to take on a role.

“He will find 100 excuses not to film,” Peter said. “Such as, ‘I can't go to a place without a computer and no Internet’ or ‘the location is far,’ out of his comfort zone.”

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The last time Takeshi graced our screens was in 2017 with Chinese romantic comedy This Is Not What I Expected.

Back in 2018, he was filming for Juno Mak’s movie Sons of the Neon Night which never saw the light of day amid rumours of a feud between the cast and filmmaker.

Like an elusive mythical beast, he resurfaced in an advertisement for a mobile game in 2021. Shot in black and white, the ad featured absolutely no gameplay footage but instead graced us with Takeshi in a wooden cabin, doing mundane tasks while snowed in.

Maybe he needed some mobile games to pass the time. 

[embed]https://youtu.be/cgB3TAj6pMs[/embed]

All hope is not lost however, because the reclusive actor did make an appearance in June 2022 on the cover of Elle Men China.

In it, he reiterated that he was “not used to being a star” and that “living the life of an ordinary man is sufficient happiness” for him.

drimac@asiaone.com