SPOILER ALERT: If you have not seen this film this article contains potential spoilers and key pieces of information.
We got chance to speak with Tohoru Masamune, about his performance in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Check out what he has to say right here!
Q: How did this project come up?
A; “ I received a phone call saying we would like to offer you a part in the new ninja turtles movie. Your character has a name, but we can’t tell what it is. They really wouldn’t tell me anything apart the role, but i was so excited I probably still would done it even if it was an offer for foot pan #3. The studio kept it a secret all the way up to the day we were shooting. I’m sitting in make-up and still didn’t know anything about my character or who I was portraying. Once the began to apply make-up and scarring, I quickly realized I was at least playing a villain. Still they never made the full eveal until we actually began shooting.
Q: How long did was the make-up process take?
A: “It would take about 3 hours working with the same make-up artists from the Walking Dead. It was an awesome experience watching them turn me into this sinister looking character.
Q; How much of the suit was actually CGI?
A: Except for the prop suit you first see, the entire armored suit was CGI created in post production. Once the suit goes on, I’m pretty much out of the picture. There was no green or anything like that. For me it was just all smoke and mirror camera tricks. I voiced everything once I’m in the suit, but the stunt guys and post procession team are responsible for everything in the suit. But i wish i could fight like that.
Q; A lot of fans believe Eric Sachs is actually Shredder. Have you been getting a lot of questions about the confusion and do you ever feel like just yelling out “I AM SHREDDER!”?
A: It’s a funny problem to have. I play Shredder, but I really couldn’t tell anyone. It’s not a problem I am used to having.
Once the story that William Fichtner would be playing Shredder was out there Paramount wanted to play into that hype, so they asked me to please keep quite about the whole thing.
But no I never found it frustrating or aggravating. It was a little weird not being to tell my friends, mainly because you go to work for months and can’t talk to anyone about what you working on. Thats sort of strange. But It’s all part of the game and it was fun. I just loved shooting the film and being part of the team bringing Shredder to life.
Q: At the end of the film we see Shredder clench his fist, implying there’s still some life in him. Does that mean we can expect to see Shredder return? Maybe Super Shredder?
A: Masamune laughs and states: I’m the wrong person to ask about that. Maybe if I ever become a big movie star they will let me in on this kind of stuff, but for now nobody knows. I actually hadn’t viewed that scene until the screening of the final cut of the film, and had the same wishful thoughts. As for now I am just taking it on project by project. But when it comes to the character, Shredder is pretty much immortal, and there is always potential for the character to return.
The post Interview With Actor Tohoru Masamune Who Plays Shredder In The New TMNT Film also appeared on PCM Reviews.