Ep 468: Akie Kotabe

PUBLIC VERSION. Actor Akie Kotabe (EVERLY, THE BATMAN, THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE) joins Adam, Joe, and Arwen to discuss his career journey. From majoring in computer science at UT Austin before randomly noticing a casting call and on a whim actually auditioning… to bombing that very first audition but catching the acting bug… to fearing the odds of ever becoming an actor and deciding to move to Japan to teach English instead… to his mother's passing causing him to go for broke and chase his real passion… to making the move to Southern California only to discover that Los Angeles wasn't exactly as depicted in LAST ACTION HERO… to his days of working odd jobs doing everything from waitering to selling spoons as a telemarketer… to acting in student films and then booking his first TV commercial… to becoming a working actor in TV and film… to Akie's deeply personal process in developing "Dead Man's" motivation in EVERLY… to the importance of bringing a grounded point of view and realism to even the most supporting role in a film… Akie has remained as down to earth a guy as you'll ever meet despite traversing through everything from TV commercials to performing in the biggest budget Hollywood blockbusters being made today. Dr. Arwen provides "Hollywood Therapy" for a writer who feels like they may never write again due to their long haul COVID-19 symptoms and the guys share some of their most awkward celebrity encounters in this fantastic conversation that should be required listening for anyone who has ever wanted to pursue their passion instead of stick with the safer status quo.