I know what it feels like to be bullied, and I will not tolerate the thought of anyone, for any reason, being bullied. It starts with young people and can end with young people. As we learn to embrace our diversity, we become stronger, more tolerant. The differences are beautiful. The differences matter. It's what makes life an adventure.
I go up to San Francisco on holidays and spend time with my family there, but whenever I go to Japan, I enjoy every moment. I try to go back there every year or so. It's a phenomenal place, and I absolutely love it. It's not my second home; it is my home. Whenever I go back, I feel very connected with Japan.
Martial arts is a life journey. One of the things my teacher taught me a long time ago was that everyone's path to the mastery of a certain system is different. Some people's path is a very direct route, where others might wind back and forth if you are injured or something.
If the United States is the melting pot of the world, you need entertainment - you need visuals that represent that.
I'm a huge anime and manga fan.
I think with animation there's a certain freedom that you're given. You don't have a thought at the back of your mind, that worry that you'll have to cut and go back to the top of the scene. You're not working with anyone else from the cast. It's just you.
I will continue to practice a martial arts form along with the mental and spiritual aspect that come with building a balanced life, and I will continue to incorporate it into whatever films I can.
I haven't been in the film world long enough to really understand the gravity of 'Big Hero's' success. I'm just happy that it is translating well internationally and that the story and the characters are loved by audiences around the world, and everything that's come after that has been secondary to the initial response.
This isn't to play down people who pursue acting... For me, I do acting just as a fun job. It is a phenomenal job, and I have fun doing it, but I relate more to my martial arts, to my baseball, to my film study. There are more facets to my life that I relate to.
I love acting - I love doing it. It's a lot of fun, but for the longest time, I wanted to become a firefighter. I still do want to become a firefighter.
When people come up to me and ask for a photo, ask for an autograph, I'm like 'Me? Are you sure?' I don't consider myself to be a public figure. I just happen to be.
I've always loved movies and animation. When I was little, I was always pretending to be some alter ego superhero. For years it was Ultraman, ninjas, Spiderman and other cool super heroes.
I wear things that aren't in fashion. I wear colors that aren't in fashion. And as a result of that, I kind of bring it back. I feel like nothing really ever goes out of style. It's just what the media and what people tell people to wear. I think having your own sense of fashion is important.
