On how she got her creative start…

In college, I was fascinated with a popular Japanese magazine—it was beautiful and high-quality with special paper. It was more of an art piece. It featured stories about different corners of the world and about finding beauty. Back then, I wasn’t clear what I was going to do as a student. I had many interests; I thought I was going to be a violinist. I asked for one when I was four and I played and played. I thought that was going to be my path. I was in an orchestra and also played solo, but it just seemed like a very insular world.

I had so many interests but you have to be 200% dedicated to the instrument and the life of it. I saw people living that way and there wasn’t room for anything else. I started to question it and rebelled by doing other things. I joined a rock band in high school. I wasn’t allowed to cook or play sports because I might injure my fingers but I wanted to do all of these things. I wanted to see other worlds and meet other types of people.

College was about me searching and trying out different things. I decided to apply for grad school in America. In Japan, you have to look for a job when you are a senior, and if you don’t have one your life is sort of over. It’s a hard system because people fall through those cracks and they can’t come back again. There is so much pressure. I wanted to alleviate that and prolong it. I thought I was going to get a master’s in art preservation. I had some time and I applied for an internship at that magazine. I got hired and quickly got sucked into that world and loved it. After graduation, I worked there full time and I got to go on trips with the best photographers in Japan. It was an exciting time being around artists and so much creativity. There was also an insane work culture, in Japan and publishing, where you don’t sleep or go home, especially if you are at the bottom of the ladder. I would sleep under the desk and shower in comic book cafes, that was my life. It wasn't a good situation and I wondered if there was more to life.

Above Mari is wearing a jumpsuit by Alexander McQueen, Hirotaka earrings, and By Far boots.

ROSE & IVY In Conversation with Mari Yamamoto

How her world shifted and she began exploring the world of performing…

My sister was awake one night when I came home at 2 am and I started crying. She was like, you know you don’t have to live like this. She pulled up different job listings and I left the next day. Then I started working in advertising and in a way, that was worse—the pay was better but the schedule was the same. I had a title of creative sales, but there was nothing creative about it. I felt my soul dying. I started watching movies in the middle of the night, it was a coping mechanism. I lived in England as a kid and we moved back to Japan, which was a hard transition. I would just watch British TV, movies, or books just to feel like I was connected to that world.

When I was so working, even if it was late at night, I knew that if I watched 20 minutes of something I would feel better. I was trying to feed my soul something. My friends and I were cinephiles and we would watch these tiny movies or obscure European films. I never thought about acting but I loved being in different worlds. I say this all the time, but it was Sandra Oh in Grey’s Anatomy who impacted me. It was the first time that I saw a fully flawed Asian woman who I could relate to. Her character was well written and her performance was like life. I thought, Asian people can do this in America? In terms of representation, everyone on TV in Japan is Japanese, but I just didn’t connect to them as well. I felt more a part of the diverse, big world. I thought this was something that I wanted to do, especially when your soul was slowly dying in this corporate job. It looked like living.

Above Mari is wearing boots by Isabel Marant.

On how her dream took flight…

My interest in acting grew and I started looking into workshops. I have always been pulled to New York my whole life. I took a summer vacation from work and took a five-day workshop. In America, it seems that everyone is exposed to some sort of acting in school, but acting isn’t part of Japanese education. I went and it was so much fun. By the end of it, I knew I wanted to do this. I went back and told my parents, sorry I think I want to be an actor (laughs) and they were supportive. They saw me struggle through my job and they told me to do what I love.

I moved to New York and went to The Lee Strasberg Institute. Any free time I had, I would go to Shakespeare and Co, sit on the floor, and read plays for hours. I would look for monologues I could practice, and Asian characters I could play—at the time there were two. I think it has changed a lot but there were very few at the time.

It was like a slingshot, when you have been held back for so long, when you get to finally go you just go, go, go. It was a life-changing moment. People weren't surprised, my friends were like, you can do it. No one said I was crazy, everyone said they saw it for me. I didn’t know anyone in New York, I moved with my suitcase. It’s that story of a suitcase and a dream.

Above Mari is wearing a Jacquemus dress, Hirotaka earrings, and Coperni boots.

On stepping into the role of Keiko in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ on apple TV+…

The main reason I wanted to do this project was because of the character. I love her so much, and talk about representation, she is the type of Japanese woman I have never seen in a Hollywood film or show. It takes place in the 50s. I had given up hope that I would get to do a period piece as an Asian woman. She is a scientist from Japan, who survived the war, and is studying radioactivity across the world. You instantly think, how does she do that, it’s a complex setup for a character. She is doing her postdoc in America and she is working with the military. Somehow the writers came up with the premise that she is this scientist, the military is escorting her, and she meets another scientist. In this mission, these three people, an unlikely trio, bond, build a team, and are on a mission to save the world. The monster story alone is exciting because there is so much at stake and meaning you can attach to these monsters. These people come from such complicated paths and they interact in such a rich way. Despite their past, they work together, fall in love, and dream of this future. I found it so moving, not something I expected from a monster show.

On her full circle career moment…

I am a really curious person and I am very interested in every aspect of filmmaking. Since I started in publishing, writing, and acting are my main things. I got involved with Tokyo Vice because I went back to journalism for a while. After New York, I had to move back to Japan for five years. During that time I met, through friends with this American journalist Jake Adelstein, who is the author of the memoir, and we became good friends. I tagged along one day for a protest he was covering and he asked me if I wanted to start talking to some people. I started interviewing people and he told me I did really well and I told him about my experience. We started to write together and we worked so well. He is like my brother, we became this team covering stories about Japan for the Daily Beast. I did that for six years, met a lot of people, and wrote different stories about what I cared about.

When his book was optioned to be a series on HBO, the showrunner, J.T. Rogers—who was a friend of his since high school—wanted Japanese writers in the writer’s room. It brought me back to New York and it was my first foray into screenwriting. I was pitching stories and being a voice of reason for Japan. It’s a very intricate story about how the police work and how it connects to the underground world. We were so determined to make a real Japanese story, not from a Hollywood or American standpoint. That’s how it started and the second season I was brought back to be a producer. It’s such a fun job to sit around a table with all of these brilliant people and think of the most exciting stories, it’s the best job. It was so much fun and it inspired me to start writing my own scripts.

Above Mari is wearing a Magda Butrum top, Dries Van Noten skirt, Hirotaka rings, and Simon Miller boots.

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stream ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ on apple tv+

stream ‘tokyo vice’ on HBO Max

A special thank you to this team and Narrative PR.

In Conversation with Mari Yamamoto