 Hi, I'm Rusty Komori and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou Boys Varsity Tennis Team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. My books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game are about leadership, character, and creating a superior culture of excellence, which is what this show is all about. My special guest today had a starring role in the iconic movie Karate Kid II. He reprised his role as Chosen Toguchi on the hit TV series, Cobra Kai, and is the producer of the absolutely fantastic new movie, The Paper Tigers. He is Yuji Okumoto, and today we are going beyond movies. Hey Yuji, welcome to the show. How's it Rusty? Thanks for having me. Oh Yuji, it's so good to see you. You know, I absolutely loved your movie. I mean, that was such an iconic movie, The Karate Kid II, and we'll talk about that in a bit. But I know that you were born in LA and you grew up in LA, but how did you first get interested in acting? Well, I initially wanted to be a dancer, actually. I did some breakdancing stuff back in the day and they called it pop-locking or whatever, but I just dated myself. But knowing how short a career, a dancer's career can be, I kind of diverted and started taking acting classes in college. And, you know, I wound up at an Asian-American theater company called East West Players in LA, and that's kind of how I started. And on a dare, I auditioned for the play The Flower Drum Song at a theater in LA, and that was hilarious. It went terribly wrong, but had no clue about keys and how to sing and your range and all that stuff. And so when the accompanist asked, what key do you want to sing this song in? I said, I don't know, God, can you help me with that? What key do you think I am? And so she just started playing and I kind of, you know, went along with it and actually got a callback from this audition, which is hilarious. And, you know, they wanted me to audition for the role of Sammy Wong or Sammy Fong, and he was one of the, you know, kind of supporting characters. And so, you know, I did that. I don't know why they had me come back. I don't know if it was due to sheer guts on my part to go in cold like that or if they felt sorry for me. But either way, unfortunately, I didn't get the role, but they did ask me if I wanted to be part of their ensemble cast. And I politely declined and said, thank you very much. But at that point, I kind of felt this kinship with, you know, the entertainment business and acting. And so I continued to do these small plays or plays in small theaters. And, you know, I eventually landed a commercial agent and she sent me down the hall to meet with a theatrical agent. And, you know, I got all this doing this play in a small theater in North Hollywood. And I played a dying buffalo, if you could believe that. That's what got me an agent, plastic. But, you know, I just look at this whole life thing. Is this anything like you, you never know what's out there unless you put yourself out there. And, you know, that's the beauty of our lives is that you take those risks, you jump in and you don't know what will happen. But you never know unless you try. So, Yuji, I like hearing that how it all began. And I want to ask you what kind of impact did somebody like a Bruce Lee have on you? Oh, my God, he was so iconic, you know, in the 70s. I mean, that's what I grew up on is those kung fu movies and martial arts movies in the 70s. And, you know, when he kind of exploded onto the screen, I thought, my God, this guy is incredible. Not only does he have the martial arts ability, but he has that it factor, which is the charisma. And so when you watch his performances, my God, you just can't wait till he comes back on screen because he's got that it factor. And so he was such a huge influence, I'm sure on not only my life, but a lot of Asian Americans out there. You know, I'm sure when we saw him in a lot of those movies where he did the nunchucks, you know, we all picked up nunchucks and started swinging them around and, you know, cracking our skull, you know, with the sticks. And, you know, but I tell you, he was he was a huge influence. And I think he was one of the reasons why I thought, you know what, maybe, you know, I can I can kind of be an actor. And, you know, maybe make a difference, maybe influence people and and say, yeah, we're here. And give Asian Americans that visibility because I think that's what we're we're kind of missing is that that, you know, visibility in the industry. Well, I totally agree with you. I love Bruce Lee and and UG, when you got that starring role for Karate Kid 2, how excited were you? Well, I don't know if I was excited about that necessarily, or more excited about the fact that we're shooting in Hawaii. Yeah, I tell you, I was I was going nuts. I mean, I was a big fan of the first Pride Kid. And, you know, I was a huge fan of, of course, Pat Merida. I thought his story and his legacy was incredible. I mean, he he came from from nothing and he suffered a lot as a kid and, you know, he built his career. And he got to the point to to kind of fight basically for that role of Mr. Miyagi, because initially they didn't want him. The producer said, I don't want a comedian to play, you know, this character. I want to be serious, you know, like she don't be funny, you know, or something like that. But, you know, Pat, you know, he he brought it. He delivered and they basically couldn't deny that fact. And so John Allenton was really a proponent of casting Pat Merida. So when I got the role and I was so excited to be able to work with Pat and, you know, also Ralph Maccio, you know, I, you know, was a big fan of the outsiders, of course. And, you know, when I first came in to audition for that role, I had known the casting director from two other films that she had cast me. One was Aloha Summer, which was shot in Hawaii. And then the other one was a film called Better Off Dead. And so this is my third film that she was looking to cast me in. And so I went into the room and I'll never forget. She had told me before before you go in, because Ralph is a little shorter than you, make sure you kind of slumped down a little bit. So you're not as tall, right? I mean, because, you know, at the time, I think it was probably like five, eight if something, and I was like six feet at the time. And so I went in and, you know, slouched a little bit. And John Adelson was the director of Karate Kid, too. He was looking through his, you know, viewfinder thing on his camera. And that's kind of how he did his auditions is like going to the room and he's already on his camera like this. And he looked at me, goes, you OK there? Why are you slouching? You look like you got a back problem or something. I said, oh, no, no, just I'm good. I'm good. So, you know, after that point, you know, I stood up tall because he said, I want this guy to be a lot bigger and menacing towards towards Ralph. And so that's what I did. And I did the audition and I think I had to meet with the other producers and probably Sony people. And I got the gig probably after three auditions or something. So, Eugene, that that iconic fight scene at the end of the movie, how tough was that to film that for you? You know, I think it comes down to having a good dance partner and Ralph was just extremely good at choreography. He was a dancer to begin with. And so not not necessarily a martial artist, but I think when you can kind of deliver those moves believably enough, then I think that's that's the big part of it, because the choreo, man, I mean, you've got to you got to know the choreography and, you know, so we avoided, you know, making contact with each other. We did really well with the fight scenes. And I think it comes down to the chemistry that Ralph and I had during the filming of Karate Kid. He was he was very gracious, very giving as an actor. So when we did the rehearsals for the fight scenes, you know, he would say, OK, let's let's try this and try that. And, you know, the fight choreographer would would utilize our strengths and and use them in the film. So if I had one leg that was stronger, throwing one kick than the other, then he would go to that side. And same with with Ralph, too. So it made the fight scene go a lot easier. So, Yuji, it's so cool how they, you know, you reprised your role as chosen to Gucci on the hit TV series now, Cobra Kai. How was it reuniting with Ralph Machio on Cobra Kai? It was it was it was like being with the family again, you know. It was a smooth transition. But like I said before, I mean, the guy is a pro. He's there to do the work. Is is but at the same time, he's friendly and open to suggestions and, honestly, when I first was approached to do the role and reprised the role, the writers slash creators had sent me the script and I initially have passed on it because I didn't want to play chosen in the way that they wanted him to be played at that time. So my agent went back to them and said that. Thank you very much, but you're just going to have to pass on this. And they said, well, let us talk to him. Let us let us have a conversation with them because we want him to, you know, play this role and be happy with this role. So they love the fact that they actually did call me and they got on this conference call and all three of the guys were pitching the story. And and I said, that's that's great. But can I give you my input? I don't really want chosen's legacy to, you know, go this way because I think he still has to have that sense of honor, that sense of strength in order to go in this direction. Because if you have him apologizing from a get go, then he has nowhere to go. But if you have him coming in a little hard, then the payoff at the end with everything I won't spoil it for people who haven't seen it, then the payoff works. But if you have him apologizing from the beginning, you know, then then it weakens his character. And I think chosen has a lot of pride and living this character for the past, what, thirty five plus years. I think I wanted to show difference to this character and I didn't want the audience to kind of feel like, oh, he just did it for a paycheck, you know. So getting back to your question about working with the folks of Reuniting, Tamla Tomita, who plays Pumiko, my God, that was a joy, too. I mean, it felt like we're both on the set of Friday Kid, too. It was such a wonderful, warm kind of homecoming. And, you know, I love Tamla. She is just one of the sweetest, just toughest, just just a wonderful person and a terrific actress. So I was totally blessed to be in their presence. Ralph and Tamlin, I mean, they both really brought it. And some other scenes were so incredible, so touching. So I was in, you know, I was in heaven. Well, Yuji, I I'm so happy that the producers of Cobra Kai really listen to your input because I absolutely love how everything came together right there in that role. And hopefully they're going to have you back again. And I want to ask you about your, you know, producing your new hit movie, The Paper Tigers, which I absolutely love. Can you share about some of the challenges you guys had in filming and dealing with the movie? Yeah, those those quite a bit of challenges because when you're dealing with a small budget indie film, you really have to watch your budget. And, you know, sometimes you want a certain shot, sometimes you need time for this shot. But you have to be, you know, aware of that that that's going to cost money. And so it was hard because, you know, being an actor, I mean, I want the best for the actors and the performance. I mean, but at the same time, you have to put your producer hat on. And, you know, sometimes you have to, you know, you know, cut it off a little bit because otherwise it could get out of control. But some of the other things talking about, you know, the door is getting, you know, shut in your face when we're trying to pitch this. You know, that I was used to because being an actor, you're used to getting doors slammed in your face and the rejection and all that stuff. But I think the worst part was, you know, those doors sometimes were open, but then you get slapped in the face with white washing and thinking, wow, man, you know, here on the one hand, they want to help. But then on the other hand, they don't want to help. So, you know, just to give me an example, they wanted to help finance the movie, but the caveat being they wanted to change the lead actors to white guys. So, you know, they would throw out suggestions like, hey, how about Bruce Willis? And I'm thinking, did you guys read the script? You know, nothing against Bruce Willis. I think he's a fine actor, but, you know, that's kind of a tall order for him to play a role that's specifically written for an Asian American character. So, you know, those kind of things were challenging. But, you know, it's like anything I think if you believe in something, you've got to stick to your guns. And for us, we didn't want to settle. We didn't want to sell out. We wanted to do the movie that we set out to do. And for us, it's a big thing to focus on the POC not giving into, you know, this whole whitewashing. We want to go against that. So for us, it was a no-brainer to pass on all this and continue moving forward. And, granted, our journey took a lot longer than maybe some other shows. But at the same time, you know, we wanted to do it our way. Oh, that's so good. And, you know, a few weeks ago, you guys had the premiere in Hawaii, and it was so great of Lauren Day, either from KHON2, to promote your movie. And how special was it for you and the other actors and the directors to be here watching and interacting with your fans after they watched your movie? Yeah, you know, it was extremely humbling. I think I was born in L.A., but my heart is in Hawaii. My grandpa was born in Hawaii, you know, and my ties go back to 1888, when my great-grandfather moved from Japan to Maui and worked the plantation. And then so my grandfather was born in Hawaii. And so, for me, being back was so special. And, you know, we were we were kind of sitting in the lobby of of Pearl Ridge Theatres. And, you know, we spent the majority of our time. This is our this was our life because we would do screenings there and then have a Q&A afterwards. So because they kept adding screens because we're doing so well at the theater, we ended up staying at the theater doing Q&As after Q&As after Q&As. But, you know, everybody was so jealous initially when we said, oh, yeah, we're going to Hawaii and we're going to, you know, be there for, I think it was like four days and they're so jealous of that. But then when you think about we were in the theater the whole time, but it's not, you know, how you spend your time, right? It's who you're with. And for us, it was so special because there's nothing like local audiences. You know, there's nothing like that that support that we got in Hawaii. I mean, it was so incredible, so incredible. And it was the first screen that we had, I think it was a Friday afternoon screening. And there was only maybe a handful at that screen. And, you know, there were three elderly women there. And they said, yeah, we really like the movie, but how long, how much longer is this going to last, you know, and, you know, for a Q&A? And because they said we have a bus to catch back to the center. Oh, my God, I love this. I love these women. But, you know, it was they still came out to support. I didn't they didn't know what they were going to see. But they just decided, oh, we'll see the paper tigers. And they loved it. This one one of the ladies had those little flip phones and she was doing video of the Q&A on a little flip phone. It was awesome. So when you see the kind of support that we got out there, you want to go back. You know, I wish we had more movies that we can showcase there because I tell you, there's there's no better love than that aloha spirit, that aloha love that you get from from boy. Well, I'm so glad that that so many people in Hawaii had the chance to see your movie and multiple times as well. And Yuji, I want to ask you about producing versus acting. How tough is it being a producer? It's not easy. It's like it's like opening a restaurant. You're constantly putting out fires. Your day never seems to end. It goes on and on and on and on. But the difference is, you know, as an actor, you your work comes, you know, before the production starts, you do all your homework, your character breakdowns, and then you you shoot the project. But as you're filming, when they call rap, then you just go home. But when as a producer, when they call rap, that's not when your day ends. I mean, it continues. I mean, you've got to you got to prep for the next day. Make sure the locations are good. Make sure you you solve all the issues or the problems that, you know, for that day and for the next day and for the next day, because you have to think ahead because, you know, you got to make sure the locations for the following, you know, three days are going to be all good. So it's a lot more work. You know, it doesn't end with principal photography. It goes on to post production. And you got to worry about, you know, the post production houses and locking those down and making sure that they stay on point. It's it's just selling your film and then the marketing of the film. So that's why we do what we do. I mean, we've been traveling from LA to Orange County to New York to Hawaii to Dallas. Now they're going to go into San Jose to Union City. After that, we go to Phoenix. And, you know, so it's like this this touring thing. And, you know, if we were complacent and we just said, oh, heck, we wanted to do all that stuff. Then who knows where the film would end up? It may just kind of go nowhere. And then you're, you know, not doing what you're supposed to be doing, which is making sure that your investors recoup their money. And that's a big thing for, I think, you know, us is to make sure that we are responsible with these people supported us. So we want to make sure that they are taken care of. And that's our priority. So for us, I mean, we we didn't take a producer for you at all. We just did it because we wanted to to to put a film out there that people would would want would want to see, want to be proud of, especially for the Asian American community. So yeah, we were lucky because we we latched on to a company that believed in us. Our distributor is called the Well Go Entertainment and they're responsible for the whole it mon series. They did train to boost on, but they have been just fabulous. They their owner happens to be Taiwanese American. And so she could relate to the whole struggle. We got a chance to see their whole operation when we went to Dallas. It was a true mom and pop operation. And but they were so passionate about film and they stepped up and they've been really, really wonderful. And they've been in the film out there and they've been very supportive. So we couldn't ask for a better group. You know, we we had a great, great sales agents. We had wonderful volunteers or investors or friends or Oana. I mean, you know, nothing in life is handed to you. Right. You have to be proactive and you have to work your butt off. You can't sit around and hope and wait for anything to change in this business. So it's it's up to us to kind of make that change. And, you know, we couldn't have done it without our village because it takes a village to get something like this off the ground. That's for sure, Eugene. In my books, I talk a lot about mindset and looking forward to challenges and and adversities. And I want to ask you about this. Like you mentioned earlier, when you would go to auditions, you would get yeses, you would get no's. How how would your mindset be when you would get those no's in and feel disappointed or rejected? What what would you be thinking about? Yeah, I look at the rejection as a challenge. I've never looked at it anything any other way. Life is all about challenges and adversity, and it's up to you as an individual to push through. And I think being blessed with a really good support system. My parents were always very supportive of my choices of being an actor. So I think with that, it really gave me the the impetus to really push forward and not quit. I remember one audition in particular that I was I I wasn't there totally. I just was terrible and I fell flat on my face. And I left the audition with my tail between my legs, feeling sorry for myself. I got my car about to start it up and I said, you know what? I'm better than this. So I marched back up to the casting offers office and I told the casting director. I said, look, I was off. I admit it, but give me another chance to prove myself. I will deliver. So I went back and met with the director and he thought, my God, this guy's got some cojones, man. And so I proceeded to do the audition again. And I left the office thinking, well, if if anything, at least I took that chance, I said, you know, I'm better than this. I know I can do better. And I took the bull by the horns and went up there and and said my piece, because if you don't, then you're always going to have regrets. God, why did I? You know, so after I got my car, went back home and my agent calls me and says, hey, by the way, you booked that job. So that just goes to show that, you know, you have to have that tough skin. You have to have that tough mentality. You don't give up and you persevere. And I think that's what will get you through. Oh, I love hearing that. And before we wrap, I want to talk to you about one more thing. You own two restaurants in Seattle, Kona Kitchen and my a bunch of my friends have been there and they absolutely love your restaurant. Now, what is the biggest main reason that your restaurants are successful? I think it comes down to maintaining quality control, putting out a consistent product. I think having a great attitude helps tremendously. You know, when you're having a crappy day, you don't go out to your customers as, oh, man, this day sucks and blah, blah, blah, you know, nobody wants to hear that. Right. So that's what you got to do is, you know, you have to you know, put on that that that face because, you know, it's not their problem, right? So for me, you know, we had some really tough, lean years at the beginning, getting receipts for 100, 150 bucks, 200 dollars and you're going, yeah, you know, we had $200, you know, but, you know, back in the day, I mean, that's all perspective, but you have to learn to persevere. You never quit because it's going to get better. If you put in the work, it'll pay off. And so that's what we did. We had that. My wife and I do the restaurant now. We had that never quit kind of attitude. We had to believe in our product and we had to believe in our service. So we're both very stubborn in that way and, you know, never want to quit. But, you know, you just that's what you got to do. And so I think a lot of folks in this in this industry tend to kind of give up and quit because you think about the failure rate in the first year, it's got to be over 90 percent. So I think that, you know, there's a lot of the mistakes that people make, you know, are probably to build out their restaurants and spend all their money on the build out and the restaurant looks beautiful, but they have no cushion to lean times. And that's what what we did was made sure that we had a cushion. So there are so many lessons that I learn from the restaurant that kind of helped me segue into producing, because if I had just done the producing, I don't know if I would have been as perseverance, but the restaurant definitely taught me a lot about business and and how to be, you know, a good producer. I can see how those there's those common threads there. And and, Eugene, I got to tell you, it was super great having you on the show today to really highlight your successes in acting and now as a producer of the Paper Tigers movie. And just want to thank you. Well, thank you, Rusty, for having me on. I mean, I think it's wonderful that you do what you do because without motivation, I don't know what people would be doing because, you know, we need people like you to inspire. So hats off to you. Thank you very much. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com. And my books are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I hope that you, G and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.