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Jolie enlisted Japanese casting director and acting coach Yoko Narahashi in her search. Narahashi reached out to Miyavi (born Takamasa Ishihara), a guitarist and singer — but didn’t tell him what their meeting was about. “She came to my office in Tokyo and kept asking me questions like, ‘What kind of movies do you like? Who are your favorite actors and actresses?’ ” Miyavi recalls. “I said, ‘I really like Angelina Jolie.’ She just smiled.”
- Variety.com [LINK]
"Jolie said she had shown Zamperini, who died in July aged 97, the film on her laptop -- which she took to his hospital room.
He watched very intently as a man who knew he was passing away, he watched his life before his eyes," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at the Monday night premiere." - hurriyetdailynews.com [LINK]
"Miyavi: I don’t know if I prefer acting to singing. It was just the role I played was really sensitive; the story itself is really sensitive. There were lots of world issues. I wanted to be really responsible because my role was an actual person, the Japanese guy, who is supposed to be in jail as a criminal. But the story is based off a book so its kind of controversial. So of course I did not want to represent the negative side of Japan, my country. At the beginning I was not sure if I should take this opportunity as an actor."
- theaureview.com [LINK]
"Miyavi, you met Louis as well?
Miyavi: After the filming. I took my daughters to his house, and he was playing with them, cracking jokes, telling his funny stories. To me it was this precious moment, and I felt strength from his attitude. He's the guy who gave everyone his forgiveness, and I was so touched by that. For the Japanese, it's too controversial to talk about these kinds of things. You don't want to watch anything that's a hard story in your country. But I was able to feel his forgiveness, in how he treated us."
- Los Angeles Times [LINK]
"While shooting in Australia, the two families spent a night camping together in Sydney Zoo to celebrate one of Jolie’s children’s birthdays. “Everyone was wearing animal onesies, even the adults,” Miyavi says. “I was a penguin, Brad was an alligator, Angie a zebra. It was a fun moment. They’re celebrities but they’re great parents, so natural, down to earth, taking care of their kids a lot.” Less natural was the media circus following the Jolie-Pitts’ every move, with paparazzi and selfie-seekers around every corner. “They can’t even go out and get a pizza. It’s crazy. "
- The Guardian [LINK]
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