A Talented 'Tarento' on the Way Up in Tokyo

Shock Win Sees Volunteer Thrust into Spotlight
When American Jason HANCOCK first came to Japan at age 19, he had absolutely no idea that he would later be appearing on Japanese TV, building a career for himself in the 'gaikokujin' talent industry, or appearing on the cover of Hiragana Times! (Feb 2004)

While working for two years as a church volunteer in Hokkaido, Jason tried his hand at many different jobs including working with handicapped children, helping elderly people, teaching English and studying Japanese. His language study paid off handsomely, and after going back to America to graduate from college, he returned to Japan in 2000, applied to enter the NHK/Foreign Ministry sponsored '42nd Annual International Speech Contest In Japanese,' and walked away as the National Champion.

Funny, cute and confident, Jason's entertainment career is on the move. After his first role acting in the re-enactment of "Itsu mite mo haranbanjou," Jason has acted in TV commercials and variety shows, sung, modeled, and performed in two large stage productions.

What is his main focus? "I would like to do stage work," Jason says enthusiastically. "I would like to be different from the other talent in Japan. Some talent only appear on TV but I want to be more than that. I want to be an actor who is also a talent."

Jason has had such a blast living and working in Japan that he finds it difficult to name the highlight. "I've had so many fun shows and shoots," he says. "One of the high points was being chosen to play a character called 'Okawa-sensei' in the annual production of the Tokyo School of Music Shibuya. The school had always chosen a professional actor for the role until last year when I was the first student in their history to be selected to play the part."

Had most embarrassing moment live on national TV
"I'm sorry it still hurts to describe my worst disaster," Jason says shyly. "It was terrible! I was invited to perform in a live variety show and asked to impersonate the very famous Japanese character "Tora-san" played by Kiyoshi ATSUMI, who speaks very fast in a Tokyo dialect. They gave me the script only two days before and I didn't have time to look at it but when I did it, I was shocked - it looked like Russian Shakespeare! When I arrived at the studio I told the Director I hadn't memorized the script. He said he would arrange for cue cards to be shown. Then just before the show started, they changed their minds and said 'No cue cards.' I was stunned.

What was I going to do? The show started, the introduction music began, I stepped out onto the stage and spoke the first sentence, then tripped over a word - on live TV. I tried again and made another mistake. My mind went completely blank but the audience were killing themselves laughing. I was so embarrassed, I made such a fool of myself on live national TV and when I look at the tape now, I still feel sorry for myself." he says with a laugh.

"The show was screened at 1.30am in the morning and I hoped none of my friends had seen my disastrous performance on TV, but when I left the studio, there were 5-6 missed calls and e-mails in my mobile. 5-6 of my friends, even those living in Hokkaido, had seen the show! What were they doing up after midnight time watching TV?" he says with a laugh.

So what's the best way to find a job in the Japanese foreign talent industry? "Register with several agencies and keep in contact with them for jobs," Jason advises. "Many agencies offer extra or casting roles. My best piece of advice is to 'don't just try to be an extra. Do something extra.'"

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