Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Sasaki.
Michael, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I read my first script when I was about six years old at an audition that wasn’t even for me. It was for my older brother, but when the casting director saw me waiting in the lobby they asked me to read a few lines. Something about this moment stuck with me throughout my life, as I would always feel butterflies in my stomach every time I thought about it. Thirty years later, I would be face to face with my childhood hero Ralph Macchio from the Karate Kid, filming a scene for a popular streaming show.
However, my life wasn’t always acting. After my initial acting bug bite, I discovered the sport of figure skating at age ten. I put my acting dreams on hold so that I could pursue an Olympic dream. I became a nationally ranked competitor and went as far as the Olympic trials. When I realized that I enjoyed more of the artistic side of skating than the athletic side of it, I retired from competitions and traveled the world performing in professional ice shows such as Holiday on Ice and Royal Caribbean International. After retiring from shows, I knew it was time to dust off that acting dream and give it my all. Within the last few years, I had some great acting opportunities in S.W.A.T., Kidding, L.A.’s Finest, and Cobra Kai. I’m currently writing my own feature film with an Asian American lead and am enthusiastically looking forward to see the landscape of Hollywood change in the near future with many social movements pushing for more diversity and change. In addition to my acting I’m also a figure skating coach at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo, where I have the joy of passing on my knowledge of skating to the next generation of skaters.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Growing up as a figure skating competitor, you have to face a lot of sacrifices. While my school friends enjoyed an extra couple of hours of sleep, I was at the rink every morning at 5am to practicing skating. Then after school I would head straight back to the rink for another 2 hours of practice. I knew I chose a path that was a bit different from your average teenager. I think this training in discipline has helped me throughout many life lessons.
In acting, you will be rejected numerous amounts of time. There will also be times where you are so nervous that your audition almost seems like a living nightmare. I remember one time; I left an audition so discouraged because I had bombed it by being so nervous. I had rehearsed it a million times at home and felt confident with the scene, but for whatever reason I got so tripped up about being in front of producers that I went blank. I literally questioned if acting and I were compatible. But just like skating taught me, when you fall, you get right back up. And so that’s what I try to remind myself after every audition I think I bombed. I think it’s working so far.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
As an actor, I am truly passionate about accurate representation. Being a Japanese-American Queer male, it’s truly important for me to see more roles that accurately depict the Japanese-American narrative in a dignified manner. Still to this day I see very little roles played by Japanese-American men and I feel that a great time has come for a shift in the film/tv industry. I’m currently playing an aromantic bisexual male on a tv show called “BIFL,” which can be viewed on the LGBTQ streaming platform Revry. Being able to represent an aromantic bisexual male allows me to increase awareness about the diverse identities we have within the LGBTQ community. As a queer actor, I feel I have an important role in educating our society about the struggles and challenges that the marginalized have to encounter.
As a professional figure skating coach, I enjoy passing on my knowledge of skating to the youth. What makes me most passionate is not necessarily teaching a technique or a skating move, but rather life lessons that are so difficult to instill through traditional education. Just like I was taught to “get up when I fall,” it’s important to me that my skaters learn to not only get up on the ice, but in life as well. Therefore, I look for specific opportunities where I can challenge my skaters to develop such resilience through their skating.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am currently writing a feature film that explores the concept of internalized racism, a topic that I think is an important conversation to have at this moment. My own journey of being a Japanese-American has been nuanced by this particular issue and I feel a deep sense of responsibility to share this particular journey in hopes to validate others that may have experienced something similar. I am also engaged to my partner and we are looking forward to planning out our wedding once the COVID situation starts to get better!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.michaelsasaki.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/mikeisready
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Work Talent AgencyRaynard Pearson
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Kreativ ArtistsBrent Paxton
Image Credit:
Jesse Ashton Photography and Ashleigh Cahn Photography
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