Toho Kingdom’s Chris Mirjahangir had the opportunity to speak at length with Takehiro Hira, who plays the character Hiroshi Randa in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Note that this interview contains spoilers for episode 5 from Season 2 of the show, as well as potential spoilers for the unconfirmed Season 3.

Chris Mirjahangir:
Much has been made of your character having two families, but nothing’s really gone into much depth. Can you shed any light on his motivation for having those two families?

Takehiro Hira:
I guess Hiroshi was a complex character. He feels he’s been abandoned as a child by the divorce, and also his mother disappearing into the void. He was passed on to Uncle Lee and Billy Randa, but he feels he’s been neglected by those guys too. And I guess he was searching for love, affection, and whatever he can get, I guess. I think it’s natural for someone to seek his origin, you know, his ethnic origin in Japan, and also he was brought up in the U.S., so maybe when he went back to Japan, there was a part of him that kind of opened up and then found a connection with Emiko, my wife’s character, and also my wife in the U.S. I guess he wasn’t trying to deceive anyone, but, well, he ended up doing that, but he was true to the moments, I guess.

Chris Mirjahangir:
Him being killed by Titan X, when you read that in the script, were you really surprised when he got taken out by Titan X?

Takehiro Hira:
Yes, but I was, I saw it more as I was protecting my daughter. So yes, I was attacked by Titan X, but I was more protecting Cate from the monster, so I wasn’t really surprised.

Chris Mirjahangir:
Because you were in season one and everything, did you go back and watch all the old films? Not just the MonsterVerse stuff, I’m talking way back with Toho starting from 1954 and onward?

Takehiro Hira:
Oh, no, no, I didn’t. *laughs*

Chris Mirjahangir:
No?

Takehiro Hira:
No.

Chris Mirjahangir:
No inclination? I mean, you know, it’s Godzilla and you’re on the show, it’s kind of a prerequisite now.

Takehiro Hira:
I used to watch it when I was a kid so I guess you could watch it, but this is a different show, with all due respect, so I wanted to create something new. And you know Godzilla; it’s almost like in my meat and bones from just watching it as a kid. *laughs*

Chris Mirjahangir:
What do you remember from when you were a kid watching them?

Takehiro Hira:
Well, I don’t, to be honest with you. I don’t remember any particular scenes, but I remember playing with the figures or the toys a lot. So, it was everyone’s fascination back then, I guess.

Chris Mirjahangir:
So Kentaro’s going to spend season three, I think, looking for another version of your character?

Takehiro Hira:
Sure.

Chris Mirjahangir:
What do you think he’s going to find? Or what do you hope he’ll find?

Takehiro Hira:
Well, it’s funny, in season one, Hiroshi was running away from children and chasing the monster and in season two, I was chased by the monster! In season three, I don’t know what’s going to happen. If I was going to come back you know, maybe it’s just the shadow of Hiroshi in the underground. But that said I don’t know, I’m really curious! I’m really looking forward to what the writers are going to come up with!

Chris Mirjahangir:
Was there a day on set that was particularly difficult for a performance?

Takehiro Hira:
Well, I wouldn’t say difficult, but I guess I paid extra attention and caution so as not to play too much emotion. You know, there are lots of emotional scenes focusing around the family. So, I didn’t want to play it too melodramatic. That was something that I think you could call difficult.

Chris Mirjahangir:
Do they show you the monster designs and stuff prior to everything, to just kind of get you into the world at the start of every season?

Takehiro Hira:
They did and it’s always fun! It’s always hard to imagine the size of it, you know, like you’re acting to this huge green screen and it’s hard to imagine how big that is, the monster is you know? I was just talking to my friend and, you know, if you see a lion like on the street, you would freak out and you might not be able to move at all, but the monsters are like 10, 20 times bigger than that, so you know it’s hard to Imagine.

Chris Mirjahangir:
They’re still doing the tennis ball thing?

Takehiro Hira:
Yeah, the tennis ball or just a laser beam.

Chris Mirjahangir:
Is there a favorite scene that you have from season one and season two? That you feel is your best work?

Takehiro Hira:
Well season one, I only appeared, you know, sporadically here and there. But the very ending, you know, when I encounter my mother for the first time in what, 30, 40 years? I saw the script and my dialogue or line was to just say “Mother” you know and the Japanese word is Okaa-san, which is a more proper way of saying mother, but you know that my mother left me, left Hiroshi when he was about five or six, so he would call her “Mama” like as a small kid. So, I’m this like 50-year-old body calling my mother “Mama.” I suggested that, so that there was some part of him that didn’t grow or that had stopped growing and was like a little inner child in Hiroshi. So that scene I really liked from season one! In season two, I guess I have to say end of episode five, that’s my favorite scene.

Chris Mirjahangir:
I’m really curious to see what version of you they come up with for season three, you know? You’ve been aware of all the hype. Do you keep your eye on fan reactions every episode going forward?

Takehiro Hira:
At this point I haven’t watched more than episode 2, and so I’m watching with everybody else. I love the reactions and I’m really excited about the series! Season one was good, but season two is, you know, much more fast-paced and has a lot more happening, a lot more monsters. I do keep track of what people are saying.

Chris Mirjahangir:
My favorite thing, I think, for the end of episode one was Titan X was swimming away, and Kong just had this look of just like, “Thanks a lot.” *laughs* Godzilla, you know, is kind of the main draw and stuff like that, but I like the fact that there’s enough there to kind of round it out. Because it is also expensive to do, and you have to kind of space it. Is there something that stood out to you in the first two episodes that you thought was really special?

Takehiro Hira:
I guess what’s really special for me, Hiroshi, is the relationship with my daughter, the person I hurt the most and, you know, someone I lied to all my life. I had this dual family thing going in. So, for me to come to reconcile with her or somehow apologize and make up to her was the number one priority for him personally. So, you know, the relationship with her was very important. And also working with Anna after Shogun, you know, I’d like to apologize for what I did in Shogun. *laughs*

Chris Mirjahangir:
I haven’t caught up on that one yet, so I’m going to leave that as a surprise and check it out! What do you have next going on outside of the show?

Takehiro Hira:
I have a small independent film coming out. It’s called Anima, and it’s actually being shown at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Actually, the screening is happening today, this afternoon!

Chris Mirjahangir:
Oh, wow.

Takehiro Hira:
Yeah, and I played… it’s really a two… the two characters in the movie, Sydney Chandler, who played the main character in Alien: Earth series, and me. And so that I’m really excited about. And then there is another film coming out. It’s called Karoshi, and it’s got Cynthia Erivo and Teo Yoo from Past Lives in it. So, I think that the movie is coming out later this year. So, I’m really excited about that too!

Chris Mirjahangir:
Alright, well that’s my questions. I want to thank you for this.

Takehiro Hira:
Thank you so much.

Chris Mirjahangir:
Great talking to you.

Takehiro Hira:
Thank you. Good talking to you, too!

***Season 3 of Monarch Legacy of Monsters is not confirmed***
***Interview conducted by Chris Mirjahangir. Transcription by Noah Percival***