Actors are always afraid of ending up like overcooked old soup over time. What's risky is that you don't realize this has happened, and you just get thick and boring. Going abroad was like getting a new pot to cook everything again. I was a rookie, a new self. And they were asking me, 'Who are you?'
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the fear of stagnation and the rejuvenating power of new experiences.
Ken Watanabe reflects on the fear actors have of becoming stale and uninteresting over time, likening this to being overcooked soup. He shares his personal experience of going abroad, which revitalized his creativity and self-identity, allowing him to rediscover who he was as an artist.
In practice
In a motivational speech about pursuing new experiences to avoid stagnation.
I can't become another person, no matter how much makeup I wear. Something of your own past, your experiences and personality always comes out in the role, and that makes acting very risky. You're exposed. You always wonder if you can pull it off.
I don't want people to look at my menu and see just the ingredients. I want to take them on a journey.
The most despairing songs are the most beautiful, and I know some immortal ones that are pure tears.
The writer who refuses to explore the darker regions of the heart will never be able to write convincingly about the wonder, the magic and the joy of love for just as goodness cannot be trusted unless it has breathed the same air as evil.
If you love theatre, do theatre wherever you can, because theatre is theatre, and you can experience it anywhere.
There are lots of similarities between being a writer and a lawyer: to tell a story to a jury, hold their attention, make them laugh, make them like you. But what makes being a barrister less satisfying than being a writer is, finally, that it's about what someone else wants you to say.
Music is a gift and a burden I've had since I can remember who I was.
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