By APA Staff
Gina Hiraizumi's got it all --the voice, the poise, the stick-to-itiveness. Just don't call her a sex icon...
She sings, she dances, she acts, she hopscotches cultural boundaries and she's on her way to Julliard. In other words, Gina Hiraizumi is on a roll. The Japanese American quintuple threat began as a TV regular, appearing on sitcoms (NBC's City Guys) and soaps (Port Charles) alike. Her meteoric rise on the small screen propelled her to bigger, more eye-catching roles: as "Asia" in the much-ballyhooed Soap Girl, or more recently, the feisty urbanite Venus, in Larenz Tate (of Ray fame)'s Hot Spot. But the biggest catch of them all may be the WWII production Only the Brave, where she shares the screen with other Japanese-American titans, Pat Morita and Tamlyn Tomita. However, it's Gina's rapidly flourishing musical career that has placed her at the head of today's teen idol-pack. Her debut album, a collection of R&B and hip-hop-tinged dance tracks is due in Japan sometime this year, with the lead single, titled "Temptation," already in heavy rotation.
-- Chi Tung
Interview with Gina Hiraizumi
January 24, 2005
Interviewed by Chi Tung
Film Edit by Ada Tseng
Transcription by Chi Tung
APA: Could you start by briefly introducing yourself?
Gina: My name is Gina Hiraizumi and I'm from Gardena, California, and I'm an actress and recording artist from Japan. I dunno...what else do you wanna know? [laughs]
APA: With acting and singing, do you feel they are worlds apart, or do you find more similarities between them?
G: In my opinion, acting, singing, dancing are all intertwined with each other. A lot of acting roles require singing, dancing -- I've been lucky enough to incorporate that into my work. And hopefully, there'll be more to come.
APA: Which do you find more challenging -- between singing and acting?
G: I think actors require a lot more preparatory work, as far as digging into a role and researching a role. Singing is more of an expression, I don't think there are any rules -- there aren't any rules in acting either, it's your take on what the story is -- but I just think both require a lot of hard work. And not to downplay one over the other but I've been singing all my life and that kind of comes more natural to me, whereas acting I kind of took on later on and so I've had to work that much harder, taking drama classes, theater classes, stuff like that. It doesn't come overnight and to gain respect as an actor, when an actor does their homework, it really shows.
APA: What should we expect musically from your Japanese release?
G: Well, we're working on it right now. The vision we have right now for the project is, we're trying to make a difference in the image between Japanese and Japanese American, because I'm Japanese American, raised here in the United States. The difference in my stuff is that it's hip-hop influenced, it's R&B, I've got a lot of rappers guesting on the album, a lot of rappers from Japan. Creating something new I think...I don't think a lot of people understand the difference between Japanese Japanese and Japanese American culture. It's a whole different ball game and that's something I wish to bring to the table.
APA: English was your first language, right? So how difficult was it to transition into singing in another language?
G: Actually, English was my first language, but I speak Japanese fluently as well -- because I speak it to my Mom -- while English is how I communicate with my dad. So I've been raised speaking with both, but socially, in the last couple years, it's been the first time I've applied it, and it's eye-opening because when you're not born into the culture, living in Japan...they probably think I'm weird, I probably think some of their things are weird. [laughs] No, but it takes getting used to, and I've caught onto a lot of things.
APA: 10 years from now, do you think you'll have to place more emphasis in one area or the other, or will you find a balance over the long haul?
G: I don't like to pattern myself on anyone else's career, but kind of a Jennifer Lopez thing, with the movie and the album, doing it simultaneously, because I don't think there's been an Asian American artist/actor that has crossed that bridge successfully. In 10 years, I hope to do that and to make it easier for Asian Americans in general because of the stereotypes we have, and I feel it most with roles being offered and given -- it's just really bad sometimes. So if I can make that change, be that leader, it'll be a big accomplishment.
APA: How do you feel as an Asian American in the industry? How has it directly affected you as far as some of the roles you take?
G: A lot of times, the roles are not written by Asian Americans, they're written by Caucasians, and I don't think it's an accurate representaiton of who we are. I know it's a cliche -- the Asian woman is always a dragon lady -- but sometimes, we have no choice but to take those roles because we have to live. But I just encourage Asian American writers to come forth and bring about stories that are accurate to everyday, to life in 2005. Like Better Luck Tomorrow, it didn't have to be an Asian American film but it was, and I thought it was a breakthrough to better represent Asian American culture. It's not the old times anymore, all of us don't have to be immigrants, we can speak English without accents. That's another thing too, it's always: "That was great, but can you do it with an accent?" [laughs]
APA: What's the status on the film Only the Brave?
G: We just got back from a benefit screening for World War II veterans in Hawaii; it was awesome, so many surviving veterans from the war, it was so emotional to see everyone come out. I was so thankful to finally have their story told; hopefully this year it'll come out theatrically nationwide. I feel for the producers and directors because it's hard to get an Asian American film and cast, an ensemble cast -- not with a white lead -- distributed correctly and released onto the mainstream market. But I know they're taking those baby steps to finally get it done.
APA: I understand that there are a few Japanese stars in the film, mainly Tamlyn Tomita and Pat Morita. Do you have any interesting ancedotes to share while working with them on the set?
G: It still amazes me because I grew up watching Karate Kid II, but at that point I didn't know I wanted to be an actor. But to film with them, it's an amazing eperience for me, because I looked to them as pioneers of Japanese American actors. Tamlyn was great, Pat was awesome in the film. We also have Yuji Okomoto, who's a recognizable face...I'm still blown away, my dad can't even believe it, like, "you're right up there with them." It's just an honor to be considered on that level of actors.
APA: You were the only Asian American actress chosen for The Hot Spot, with Larenz Tate. How did that come about?
G: It was the normal casting process, but I knew his brother Lamar Tate and they had us come in and brought us the script and said there's this girl...it's almost like a Set It Off kind of feel -- four strong, sexy females going out and robbing nightclubs, except Set It Off with four girls robbing banks -- same kind of concept, storyline. I went in there, loved it and thought it was great that they wrote this part for an Asian American girl. And I had to play it because she was urban and I liked it because it didn't feed into any Asian stereotypes. Working with Larenz was amazing -- he's currently in Ray with Jamie Foxx, playing Quincy Jones, he's directing this film also -- he was coming back and forth, doing that to this, just a committed person. I learned so much from him and hopefully, that'll come out theatrically as well this year.
APA: How did you get into singing in the first place? Was that something your parents encouraged you to do when you were younger or did they try to steer you towards a more conventional path?
G: It's funny, I grew up playing the piano, classically trained, I'd been playing for 10 years. When I didn't wanna play it anymore, my mom gave me the option of taking something else to stay out of trouble. That's when i started taking voice lesons and I loved it and I love that I can play piano and sing -- kind of like Alicia Keys. I can't deny the fact that there was a strong academic discipline in my family: never had time to play, do Japanese school, along with American school, plus piano, plus voice, plus swimming lessons, all that stuff. It was natural for me to pursue a career in singing; it's therapeutic, being able to reach out to an audience, it's just the most amazing feeling.
APA: Could you talk briefly about your involvement with the Children's Hospital, Starlight Foundation, other charities...
G: I just love kids, my mom's a preschool teacher, I grew up around so many kids, we have a lot of kids in our family -- I've always had to babysit. I think it's so important for children to have a strong family from the time they're young, that builds a foundation for when they get older. Unforutnately, there are a lot of kids without parents in foster homes -- it just breaks my heart. If there's anything I can do to strengthen their self-esteem, build a dream for them, it's just something I'm very, very attached to. It's just... what a joy to go to their hospitals and volunteer for these charities and fundraisers, just the look on their faces, that's it right there -- that's what it's all about. I just hope and pray for everyone to give a day every week, or just an hour, because I know when I was young it meant the world to have someone to look up to, to talk to.
APA: Seeing as how your music is linked to hip-hop and R&B, how did that become the foundation, as opposed to say, J-pop?
G: I think I'm just a product of my environment. I grew up around a lot of hip-hop music, although it's American over here, I felt it was an opportunity to reach back to my roots and apply what I've been raised with culturally and intertwine that together. Hip-hop is real big in Japan right now and I just think it's a really good time to bring something real, because a lot of artists in Japan, they think they're doing something, but really they're copying something...you know, I think that if I come out with something that's honest and from the heart, it'll communicate correctly to people and hopefully reflect my music.
APA: Who would you liken your music to?
G: I love Alicia Keys. I grew up on Mariah, I'm leaning toward more urban sounds, although I loved Paula Abdul back in the day and my all-time favorite, Sade, even though she's more adult-contemporary. Chante Moore, a lot of these R&B soul artists -- Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, even going back to Donnie Hathaway, Aretha Franklin -- that's just some of the things I try to train with my vocal coach; she's a gospel vocalist. I've been singing in churches as well.
APA: From a marketing standpoint, do you think being touted as a sex icon detracts...
G: I don't think of myself as...[laughs]
APA: But do you think it takes the focus away from your artistic goals, or do you treat it as the total package?
G: I know, especially in Japan, it has to be more of the package. Unfortunately, that's how it is with the music business anyways; it's always an uphill battle in the music industry to maintain creative control, because there's just too many people on the higher level deciding that for you and as an artist you don't have a lot of control. But I have realized that America does concentrate more on the sex appeal -- Japan is more about the cutesy J-pop --even though they wanna know they can put you in a commercial, they wanna know you can be the poster girl for whatever cosmetics. And I'm not knocking that, I've been learning a lot of things over the years about the business end of things -- because this is ultimately a business -- and people wanna know they're not gonna be losing any money.
But then again, my motto is you're only young once, and you know, my mom has always said make the best of what you've got. As long as it's not raunchy, it's done classy, I think it's alright.
APA: What's on the horizon for you, the immediate future?
G: Well, in a couple of days, I'm moving to New York, to Julliard for an intensive three month program, going there for performance class. That's kind of exciting, I've been there, but I've never really stayed there, but I'll be bi-coastal, coming back and forth, because there's another film that I'm doing, an independent film by an Asian American director. And I'm hoping to squeeze some work in New York, theater, Broadway, off-Broadway, there are a couple of films shooting right now. In 2005, I really don't know what else to put my finger on, life brings about so many surprises, I would never dream this four years ago, or when I first started acting. There's a certain amount of belief you have to have in yourself and yet, the industry is so hard. I can understand why people wanna give up, it's just, "I wanna eat, I don't wanna struggle anymore."
Luckily for me, my parents have been supportive and I've never really had to experience that rock-bottom struggle that some actors go through. But it takes a really, really thick skin to go through this business and a tremendous amount of persistence and hard work and committing yourself to this...I put it in writing, committed myself to this for life. It's like an obsession for actors because other than that, I don't see how anyone can do that as a hobby. It has to be something that you just have to do because otherwise, I don't think you can survive in this business.
APA: Thank you for your time.
G: Thank you.
www.ginaonline.net
Published: Thursday, February 3, 2005