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.

今回のJapanese-on-the-Moveに登場するのは、シドニーで役者として活躍されている宇佐美真吾さん。１９９５年に日本語教師として初来豪し、２０００年に永住権を取得後、プロの役者の道を選ばれた。それ以来、日本大使（Curtin, ２００７年）、日本人捕虜（The Pacific, ２０１０）、ニュースレポーター（Suing the Devil , ２０１１）など、いろいろな役に挑戦し続けている。今回のインタビューは、宇佐美さんのテレビ初仕事となった侍（忍者）の役についての体験談から始まる。「日本人役者」としての苦労と、「トランスナショナルな役者」としての強みについて語ってくれた。