Ryoma Takeuchi, the actor behind Amazon’s live-action Like a Dragon: Yakuza series, is well aware of the weight of the role he’s taking on.
Last month, Sega announced that the Yakuza series, now rebranded as Like a Dragon, will be getting a live-action, TV show adaptation on Amazon. It’s not the first time the series has gone the way of live-action, though it will be the first time in this era of “are video game adaptations kind of good now?” The show will unsurprisingly be about series mainstay Kazuma Kiryu, with this particular outing seeing Ryoma Takeuchi taking on the role. Takeuchi recently spoke with IGN Japan about joining the series, where he spoke about his feelings on portraying a character from a pre-existing series, and the challenges that came with that.
“I was surprised to be offered this role,” Takeuchi explained. “I knew about the game series and had played the first game at my uncle’s home. It’s a real challenge to play a character from an existing work, and I considered very carefully whether I was suited to portray Kiryu, and whether it was right for me. From the beginning, I knew I would have to give it everything I have, or I’d never pull it off.” For Takeuchi, it very much became about crafting his own version of Kiryu, saying he had to create the character “from scratch.” Of course, with a character as beloved as Kiryu, there are also some expectations from fans to consider.
