Globo actor wants soap opera with Asian lead: ‘About time’

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He’s only 17, but he’s lived to realize one thing that bugs him: “How many more times are we going to play the Asian man who sells cupcakes and talks shit?” Pedro Ogata gained ground in the artistic world by starting Souza The othersGlobeplay series.

In an interview with Earth, the former The Voice participant highlighted the work he is developing with the Somos Brasileiros project to demystify the idea that yellow people can only play stereotypical roles, such as pastry chefs or immigrants with a strained accent. And her streaming character of her is a prime example of that.

In the storyline, Pedro plays a truculent bully who has never explored his oriental ancestry. This personality was also built on the basis of the actor’s personal experiences of being bullied and xenophobic.

“I’ve heard everything. At school they called me ‘fake Japanese’ when I got a low grade. During the pandemic they sent me back to my country and, here in the apartment building where I live, someone was already calling me ‘coronavirus’. I think that was the hardest thing,” he recalls.

Watch the interview below Pedro Ogata in full.

Have you ever been to Globo as a participant in the The voice and now as an actor. How do these experiences differ?

The voice, for me, it was a watershed. Up until then, I was a bit lost in what I was going to do with my life, I didn’t know whether to do audiovisual or focus on theater […] and when I did the talent show, something clicked in my head: I made the decision to work in front of the camera, singing or acting. The program gave me legal exposure. Before that, the most concrete thing I had done was a feature film and other academic pieces. OR The voice it really made my career a reality.

The series The others it’s your new project. How has this work challenged you as an artist?

It has been a demanding project right from the start, right from the preparations, because it deals with a very delicate issue [a convivência violenta em um condomínio]. Bullying, for example, has always been a difficult subject for me. I have heard a lot. When I moved to São Paulo, I heard jokes related to my ethnicity. I’ve heard everything. At school they called me “fake Japanese” when I got a bad grade. During the pandemic they told me to go back to my country and, here in the apartment building where I live, someone called me the ‘coronavirus’. I think this was the heaviest.

What was it like working with Adriana Esteves, Drica Moraes and Milhem Cortaz?

There is pressure and fear and butterflies in my stomach. In my case, I’ve just started in audiovisuals and it was my first job with Globo. We always imagine that it will stop at the scene, but they [veteranos] they put us very at ease, make us feel calm and help us to have confidence in what we are doing.

What is the Somos Brasileiros project and how does it contribute to the demolition of the yellow artist?

It’s a group of Brazilian artists with some kind of ancestry. There we discuss the agenda, create content to demystify bias, and build a support network for dissemination and guidance. […] I believe that, for some time now, this [a sucateação] has gotten better, but Asian actors still fall heavily into stereotypical roles. How many more times are we going to play the Asian man who sells pastries and talks slurred? I’m Brazilian, I can do any other role. My character now, Souza, is an example of how that’s changing. They didn’t need to exploit my ancestry to create this character.

Do you think we are far from a first Asian protagonist?

Don’t hope. I think it won’t take long. This is a moment where people are finally waking up to all the cowardice and injustice of Eurocentrism, realizing that representativeness matters. We [amarelos] let’s wait, but hopefully it won’t be long. I know there are several issues that get in the way [público e diretores], but I hope they can work around these factors. It’s almost time [de ter um protagonista asiático]it’s already 2023.

And how are the recordings for the second season of The others?

I still don’t know about the second season. I’m also recording another project right now. I can’t divulge anything about it yet, but I’m super excited.

Source: Terra

Amanda

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