0:00:16.876,0:00:22.381
What would you do if you had only[br]till 6 o'clock tomorrow morning to live?

0:00:24.042,0:00:28.501
This is the kind of question I would ask[br]my young Japanese actors

0:00:28.542,0:00:31.384
who are going to play Kamikaze pilots

0:00:31.792,0:00:35.035
in a play I directed[br]called "The Winds of God".

0:00:36.083,0:00:41.807
They would look inside,[br]and think about what is dear to them,

0:00:42.626,0:00:45.730
and they would have to make some choices[br]and act on it.

0:00:45.731,0:00:49.751
This is the kind of work[br]that I would be asking actors to do.

0:00:50.876,0:00:53.308
Sometimes, actors have to go

0:00:53.315,0:00:56.543
to places that are a little dark,[br]or that could hurt,

0:00:57.250,0:01:02.942
but in a way, the regular people, we,[br]cannot sometimes go there,

0:01:03.752,0:01:08.940
so we ask the actor to go there for us[br]and express things that we can't express,

0:01:09.250,0:01:11.709
express things we want to, but we can't.

0:01:12.209,0:01:15.751
And that's probably why actors[br]can get a lot of money.

0:01:16.918,0:01:20.917
But this is the kind of work[br]that I've been involved with.

0:01:20.918,0:01:24.483
With "The Winds of God"[br]I traveled with them,

0:01:25.709,0:01:29.543
- Australia, New Zealand -[br]we toured a lot, we went to London,

0:01:30.626,0:01:34.626
Actors Studio, and we were also invited[br]to the United Nations.

0:01:35.959,0:01:41.001
There, there was one lady[br]who I met after the show,

0:01:41.394,0:01:45.705
and she said, "My father[br]taught me to hate the Japanese,

0:01:46.250,0:01:51.034
but when I saw this play[br]I thought they were like my own sons."

0:01:51.918,0:01:54.333
It was a beautiful comment,

0:01:54.334,0:01:59.041
and it made it all the more meaningful[br]that I could work the way I do.

0:01:59.042,0:02:01.160
And so, today, I want to share

0:02:01.184,0:02:04.530
the love for drama,[br]and this amazing work

0:02:05.459,0:02:11.402
on how we try with artists[br]to create maybe just one moment

0:02:12.209,0:02:15.648
where we can move people[br]and inspire people.

0:02:20.501,0:02:23.751
I also want to talk to you[br]about my international work

0:02:23.752,0:02:25.751
which has led me to casting.

0:02:25.751,0:02:30.543
And again, that's an amazing,[br]wonderful thing I want to share with you,

0:02:30.544,0:02:32.751
because when you think about casting,

0:02:32.752,0:02:37.202
you have a script,[br]you have words in the script,

0:02:37.337,0:02:38.940
and that's all you really have.

0:02:38.940,0:02:41.811
You have the director's vision,[br]you have your idea as well,

0:02:41.811,0:02:43.752
but you have this,

0:02:44.375,0:02:50.000
and then you have to find actual actors[br]who can fit this role.

0:02:52.000,0:02:54.501
But you have to use your imagination

0:02:54.501,0:02:57.610
and to get insight on what they can do.

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And then you put them together,

0:03:00.751,0:03:04.291
and sometimes an amazing thing happens,

0:03:04.292,0:03:05.793
because it's like magic:

0:03:05.794,0:03:09.373
the role becomes more charismatic,

0:03:09.751,0:03:12.543
the actor becomes even more charismatic.

0:03:14.250,0:03:18.715
Here are some of the films[br]I was involved with.

0:03:21.751,0:03:24.793
I did want to show you[br]the Kamikaze pilots,

0:03:25.669,0:03:27.525
that's the one that I worked on.

0:03:29.209,0:03:33.213
And I worked on "The Last Samurai"[br]fully for two years.

0:03:33.755,0:03:35.752
It was really amazing.

0:03:38.250,0:03:41.542
Ken Watanabe[br]was the actor that auditioned,

0:03:41.542,0:03:46.820
there were, you know, many more,[br]almost 400 Japanese actors.

0:03:48.709,0:03:50.541
"Memoirs of a Geisha".

0:03:50.542,0:03:55.750
The little girl who played Sayuri,[br]I looked at her picture,

0:03:55.751,0:03:58.043
and I thought,[br]"Ah, this is the young one."

0:03:58.044,0:04:00.960
And I kind of chose her through a picture.

0:04:02.751,0:04:09.190
And Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel",[br]she [was] among other Japanese actors,

0:04:09.501,0:04:13.351
but she stood out[br]because of her amazing intensity.

0:04:16.250,0:04:19.416
And there are several others I'm doing

0:04:19.875,0:04:24.208
including "Unbroken"[br]which has not been released yet in Japan.

0:04:24.209,0:04:27.501
There was an amazing performer,[br]Miyavi, who was in there.

0:04:27.501,0:04:30.374
And this one, "The Emperor",

0:04:30.375,0:04:35.927
is a film that I produced[br]along with Gary, and Eugene, my son.

0:04:38.501,0:04:42.835
I just really believe[br]that there was meaning in to produce this

0:04:42.836,0:04:45.335
and show it to as many people as possible.

0:04:47.501,0:04:50.252
So apart from casting,

0:04:50.959,0:04:56.734
just my work [is] in teaching,[br]directing, coaching and casting,

0:04:58.751,0:05:02.333
I've kind of brought down[br]the elements of drama

0:05:02.334,0:05:05.791
into three things,[br]three pillars, possibly.

0:05:05.792,0:05:08.001
But these are the things[br]I look for in actors,

0:05:08.002,0:05:13.527
these are the things I work with[br]in trying to get better acting.

0:05:17.819,0:05:20.835
The first pillar is the truth of oneself.

0:05:22.501,0:05:24.249
It's not so easy really,

0:05:24.250,0:05:27.999
because we all think[br]that we want to look good,

0:05:28.000,0:05:31.616
we don't want to show our bad [sides],

0:05:33.501,0:05:36.252
but the actor has[br]to really use all of himself

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because the power[br]will not be there to present.

0:05:40.459,0:05:44.458
So he has to be able[br]to accept all the parts of himself

0:05:44.459,0:05:49.284
that might not be so good,[br]that he wants to hide, maybe.

0:05:49.542,0:05:52.892
It's like a pie, like an apple pie,

0:05:53.209,0:05:56.292
and you can't try[br]to get rid of a part of the pie

0:05:56.293,0:05:58.043
because it is a part of you.

0:05:58.044,0:06:02.215
And so you try to accept[br]all the parts of yourself,

0:06:02.417,0:06:04.959
and once you do,[br]it becomes a little bit easier,

0:06:04.960,0:06:09.504
because you're truthful,[br]you're working on truth.

0:06:10.250,0:06:14.213
This is what I believe is so important,

0:06:14.792,0:06:17.917
especially in Japan right now[br]with young people.

0:06:17.959,0:06:21.249
I tell them, "There is only one DNA,

0:06:21.250,0:06:24.168
there is only one fingerprint,[br]there is only one you.

0:06:26.042,0:06:28.084
So, in a way, you are perfect."

0:06:28.542,0:06:30.376
And so, for the actor,

0:06:31.000,0:06:33.459
instead of comparing oneself[br]to somebody else,

0:06:33.459,0:06:36.181
"That person is a better actor than I... "[br]or whatever,

0:06:36.181,0:06:40.250
they can use whatever they have[br]to try to fulfill their role.

0:06:41.751,0:06:45.106
I have a quote from Elia Kazan,

0:06:45.375,0:06:49.458
who's a legendary film director[br]who worked with James Dean,

0:06:49.459,0:06:52.839
and he wrote an actor's creed, a code:

0:06:54.501,0:06:58.291
"I will have my heart open,[br]I will be vulnerable...

0:06:58.292,0:07:01.681
The one thing I want most[br]is to be myself."

0:07:02.918,0:07:04.544
So that's really important.

0:07:04.545,0:07:07.449
The second pillar

0:07:10.280,0:07:12.833
is what I would call purposeful action.

0:07:12.834,0:07:14.626
For example, when we see drama,

0:07:14.627,0:07:19.460
we root for the person[br]that really fights all these obstacles

0:07:19.472,0:07:21.421
to try and get what they want.

0:07:21.422,0:07:23.500
This is what drama is all about:

0:07:23.501,0:07:28.541
that there is one amazing purpose,[br]the heart, yearning, wanting something,

0:07:28.542,0:07:34.188
and the actor goes through all[br]these difficulties to try to get there.

0:07:36.751,0:07:39.460
And that's what the actor[br]also has to find in himself,

0:07:39.461,0:07:41.500
his need, his purpose.

0:07:41.501,0:07:44.249
And he has to really -

0:07:44.250,0:07:47.917
Because he's going to fail[br]several times, but it's OK,

0:07:47.918,0:07:51.085
because he has that passion[br]and that purpose to get there.

0:07:53.250,0:07:59.775
For example, in my case,[br]I wanted to get a song from Stevie Wonder.

0:08:00.501,0:08:03.521
I write lyrics, and I kind of thought,

0:08:03.834,0:08:07.876
for this musical I've been writing,[br]I want to have his music.

0:08:07.876,0:08:10.710
And, of course, it is difficult,[br]it took me 5 years,

0:08:10.711,0:08:15.612
and this con artist, really,[br]you know, lots of problems.

0:08:16.250,0:08:20.895
But I met Yoko Ono on the way,[br]so it was kind of nice.

0:08:21.173,0:08:23.249
But after 5 years,

0:08:23.250,0:08:25.709
Stevie Wonder[br]came out of his hotel room

0:08:25.709,0:08:29.999
with his brother, who led him[br]to the piano, and set beside me,

0:08:30.000,0:08:35.491
and he started to play the song,[br]and I was so moved,

0:08:38.458,0:08:42.210
and I got tears in my eyes,[br]but obviously they were silent tears.

0:08:42.211,0:08:44.785
Yet, he heard them,

0:08:45.007,0:08:47.291
because he stopped part-way

0:08:47.292,0:08:52.402
to wipe my tears[br]with those big hands he has.

0:08:53.959,0:08:59.784
So, if you believe in it,[br]and you really want it, you can get it.

0:09:00.751,0:09:04.023
And that's what I want[br]to qualify, the purpose:

0:09:04.292,0:09:06.542
first, it has to be very positive.

0:09:07.209,0:09:09.501
You can't act on something[br]that is negative,

0:09:09.542,0:09:11.632
you can't say,[br]"I want to get out of here."

0:09:11.632,0:09:13.026
It's a little difficult.

0:09:13.026,0:09:14.964
But you can say, "I want to go there,"

0:09:14.964,0:09:16.710
and that's where the action comes.

0:09:16.711,0:09:19.501
So, it's got to be positive,[br]and at the same time,

0:09:19.502,0:09:23.663
the biggest thing is to have[br]belief in what you want to do,

0:09:24.792,0:09:28.209
as I'd believed in wanting[br]to get that song from Stevie,

0:09:28.250,0:09:30.333
or in wanting to make a movie,[br]or whatever.

0:09:34.501,0:09:39.046
There is a Tony award-winning dramatist,

0:09:41.959,0:09:47.270
Simon Stephens, who said something[br]that I thought was really wonderful.

0:09:48.250,0:09:50.249
"It is the job of the dramatist

0:09:50.250,0:09:54.848
to release universes of thought[br]and feeling through action."

0:09:55.667,0:09:58.084
For example, he mentioned[br]this one word, OK,

0:09:58.085,0:10:01.501
and that was the funniest word[br]in the whole play.

0:10:01.542,0:10:04.043
It means that it's not[br]just the word alone,

0:10:04.044,0:10:06.376
but it's the behavior and the action.

0:10:10.250,0:10:12.250
Now I want to come to the third pillar

0:10:12.251,0:10:16.723
which is so easy to say,[br]and yet so difficult to achieve.

0:10:17.209,0:10:22.271
It is to talk, really to talk,[br]and really to listen.

0:10:22.876,0:10:27.322
I think that it is an art[br]to be able to really listen.

0:10:27.626,0:10:32.291
We so often talk and think[br]that we are transmitting something,

0:10:32.292,0:10:34.417
but we have something else on our mind,

0:10:34.459,0:10:36.960
the other person[br]has something else on his mind.

0:10:36.961,0:10:39.333
It's not a real moment

0:10:39.334,0:10:44.379
where it is really true,[br]and full, and alive, and real.

0:10:44.792,0:10:49.612
This is the kind of a moment[br]I've been privileged to see many times,

0:10:49.959,0:10:53.959
and that I strive for[br]in the work I want to do.

0:10:55.250,0:10:59.215
Here are some moments[br]with my students,

0:11:01.584,0:11:05.806
and I believe[br]that little moments like that

0:11:06.125,0:11:08.709
of a real talk and listening -

0:11:09.417,0:11:11.626
Very quickly.[br]Patric? Are you here?

0:11:11.626,0:11:14.377
Can I have your help[br]for one second? Oops!

0:11:14.378,0:11:16.041
(Man voice)

0:11:16.042,0:11:18.793
Oh, really? What? OK.

0:11:19.579,0:11:21.323
Patrick: Sure.

0:11:21.324,0:11:23.242
Yoko Narahashi: Is that too late?

0:11:23.242,0:11:25.819
Patrick: No, that's all right.[br]YN: It's all right? OK.

0:11:25.819,0:11:28.246
I'm just going to ask him to -

0:11:28.247,0:11:30.506
Patrick: What role am I casting for here?

0:11:31.250,0:11:34.625
YN: The next movie. The big one.[br]Patrick: OK, the big one.

0:11:34.626,0:11:36.374
Let's go! I'm ready.

0:11:36.375,0:11:40.001
YN: Say whatever word[br]you'd like to say. Whatever word.

0:11:41.083,0:11:43.792
Patrick: Flow.[br]YN: Flow. OK, just say it to me.

0:11:44.473,0:11:45.727
Patrick: Flow.

0:11:46.250,0:11:48.584
YN: OK, there was something there, right?

0:11:48.584,0:11:51.436
OK, here we're just passing the word.

0:11:51.437,0:11:54.537
OK, this time, can you look at me,

0:11:54.542,0:11:57.667
and you can see[br]what kind of a situation I am in, right,

0:11:57.668,0:11:59.750
feel where I am,

0:11:59.751,0:12:03.126
and then can you[br]say it to me with, you know,

0:12:03.150,0:12:06.505
try to say something[br]with that word to me.

0:12:06.506,0:12:09.436
Is there something you want[br]to relate to me through that word?

0:12:10.873,0:12:12.108
Patrick: Flow.

0:12:12.125,0:12:17.458
YN: Oh, (Laughter) flow.[br]That's nice. Thank you. (Applause)

0:12:17.459,0:12:19.918
That was beautiful, thank you.

0:12:19.918,0:12:22.917
Patrick: And the word was "love".[br]YN: Oh, my goodness!

0:12:22.918,0:12:25.293
What he was trying to say underneath[br]was love.

0:12:25.334,0:12:27.709
I really felt that.[br]Thank you very much.

0:12:27.710,0:12:29.795
But that's what it's all about.

0:12:31.250,0:12:32.542
So, I would like to -

0:12:32.542,0:12:37.043
Oh! Here is just one more,[br]another one of those moments.

0:12:37.722,0:12:39.757
A giraffe and an ostrich.

0:12:41.167,0:12:44.833
I would like to end[br]with another final quote,

0:12:44.991,0:12:48.293
because I can't say it any better[br]than this amazing person,

0:12:48.294,0:12:52.303
a Spanish cheloist[br]who was always for peace.

0:12:52.792,0:12:55.625
And whatever work I'm doing with drama,

0:12:55.626,0:12:58.293
I think this is closest to my heart, so,

0:12:59.542,0:13:02.293
"Yes, you're a marvel.

0:13:02.334,0:13:06.132
And when you grow,[br]can you then harm another

0:13:06.133,0:13:08.752
who is, like you, a marvel?

0:13:09.751,0:13:12.750
You must work, we must all work,

0:13:12.751,0:13:16.286
to make the world worthy of its children."

0:13:16.752,0:13:18.221
By Pablo Casals.

0:13:18.222,0:13:19.506
Thank you very much.

0:13:19.507,0:13:21.018
(Applause)