After 13 years as an English teacher in Japan, I moved to America where I can thrive
In March 2019, I was intrigued by a man who was hosting a samurai show at an event in Beverly Hills. He told me that he had been a school teacher in Japan. He told me that he came to America 10 years ago to become an actor.
His name is Naoyuki Ikeda. In 2019, he won the Actors Award for Best Supporting Actor for "Another Yesterday." He says he has appeared in over 60 films, music videos, and commercials in the last 10 years. How did he seize the opportunity in America after quitting his job as a teacher?
The first time he came to the United States was after graduating from university, when he participated in a training program at Disney World in Florida. He worked in a restaurant in the park for a year, using English. After returning to Japan, he became an English teacher at a junior and senior high school in his hometown of Aichi Prefecture. He then moved to a private high school in Nagoya, and taught English at junior and senior high schools in Kagoshima. After gaining about 13 years of experience as a teacher, he suddenly stumbled. "I couldn't leave the house. Whenever I tried to go to school, time stopped. The reason? I had my own views on education, but I couldn't express them at school, and I had worries about life, and I think they had been piling up like dust. At that time, I also got divorced. Nothing was going well, and I was at a loss."
At that time, he met the president of an entertainment production company in Kagoshima. "At first, I called the president and explained the situation, and he let me take an acting class. I started going there every week because it made me feel energized. That's when I started to move forward as an actor." At the same time, he thought about his dreams. Should he go back to school or take a different path? What would he like to do other than being a teacher? Things he had dreamed of since childhood, and things he had given up on. Surfer, cameraman, actor, etc. Among those options, the one Ikeda could most imagine as his job was acting. So instead of becoming an actor in Japan, he decided to go to America, where he could be lively. Ikeda's memories of his fun time in Florida remained in his mind.
At that time, by chance, through the president of an entertainment production company, Ikeda met Takimu Kanda, who was active in Hollywood. He told him, "Don't worry, why don't you come to Los Angeles?" The president and his students in Nagoya and Kagoshima also told him, "Just do what you want to do!" As if encouraged by those words, Ikeda landed in Los Angeles on September 16, 2009. Then, one day, he went to an acting class he found out about in a newspaper ad. That was a turning point for him.
His next work is a short story about a Tsugaru shamisen player who becomes homeless.
"The (acting) coach I met took care of me in many ways. He advised me that if I wanted to be an actor, I should show up everywhere and get to know people in the industry." Ikeda also auditioned, but he says that when he actually got filming, "it was mostly through the people I met who gave me information, and that was how I got the opportunity to do it."
"At first, a Japanese actor I had become friendly with asked me if I would like to appear in a web series, and I immediately replied, 'I want to be in it!' I played the role of her husband and had no lines." I also met a film director at the birthday party of my acting coach, and was introduced to another film director at a different party, and my network expanded. "Just like the story of the Straw Millionaire, I was connected to one person after another (laughs)," Ikeda said.
He was once suddenly offered a role on set when he was invited to come and watch a shoot. "I played a vampire who had his arm ripped off, and I was asked if I was okay with being covered in blood. I said I'd wear as much blood as I wanted, and acted. They liked me, and even though that was the only part I was in, I ended up appearing in the trailer."
"I was also blessed with great directors and co-stars. The director always listened to my questions seriously and gave me direction. I also sometimes got to work on set with actors I had seen on TV or in the cinema. They gave me a lot of advice from the perspective of someone on screen. These experiences on set are a treasure to me."
Looking back over the past 10 years, Ikeda was asked if coming to America was the right decision. He answered, "Once I make a decision, I think it's the right decision for me. I think I would have been successful if I had gone to Korea (instead of America) and become an actor. But the fact is that I quit teaching and am now able to be an actor here in Los Angeles. And actually, being a school teacher required the same elements as acting. I don't get angry at my students, but sometimes I have to. Also, like improvisational theater, you are required to respond immediately to what students say. I've given speeches in front of a large audience, and I've read aloud. It's the same as acting." Ikeda asserts that none of his 13 years of experience as a teacher was a waste.
"I was really happy to receive the Best Supporting Actor award for 'Another Yesterday.' It's been about 40 years since I won an award for arts and crafts in the third grade of elementary school. It was fantastic to be chosen even though I'm Japanese in America. However, I'm not satisfied with my acting now. That's why it gave me confidence that I can still improve. Next, I want to act with actors that I've seen in the cinema, and that's what I'm aiming for."
And now, a short film project starring Ikeda is underway. The story is about a genius Tsugaru shamisen player who falls into poverty and becomes homeless in America. The title is "Hit the Bottom (tentative)". After steadily achieving results in the 10 years he has been in America, this "former English teacher" actor seems to be moving on to the next phase.
© 2019 Keiko Fukuda
