Get the latest gossip

‘Shogun’ Star Anna Sawai Says She Was Forced to Turn Down Katana ‘Suicide Squad’ Audition While in J-Pop Group

On The Hollywood Reporter's 'Awards Chatter' podcast, the actress who plays Lady Mariko on the FX limited series revealed what could have been her big break: "I go to my manager and he's like, 'You can't audition.'"

It turns out that Anna Sawai, the breakout star of the hit FX series Shōgun, might have broken out even sooner had she not been denied an audition for a dream project. The 31-year-old former J-Pop singer, speaking with The Hollywood Reporter ’s Awards Chatter podcast, revealed that she was forced to turn down an audition for the part of Katana in the 2016 film Suicide Squad — which was eventually played by Karen Fukuhara — because the company behind FAKY, the girl group to which she then belonged, forbid it. In 2006, Sawai auditioned for and was signed by Avex, one of Japan’s major entertainment companies, which operates a music and dance bootcamp in the hope of turning out J-Pop stars.

Get the Android app