Muses of Media

Everyone enjoys a good villain, and viewers of The Wrecking Crew will get just that with Miyavi’s Nakamura.

Not only is Miyavi a seasoned musician and performer, but you’re also likely to have seen his other acting work in films like Unbroken and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. However, in The Wrecking Crew, Miyavi morphs into a true action star, kicking ass and taking names along the way.

I was lucky enough to chat with Miyavi, and he shared what he enjoyed most about his character in the film, what it was like practicing the physicality of the role, becoming an action star, and much more!

Watch the full interview with Miyavi below:

In The Wrecking Crew, Miyavi plays Nakamura, a Yakuza member who is also looking to prove himself to his father. This vulnerability was something he related to and used when taking on the role of Nakamura.

“Oh, that vulnerability. Like, really, you know, weakness. That’s why he had to keep vibrating as a man, you know? So, you know, I wish I could play a role like Jacob [Batalon] does, with the funny jokes and always having fun and chilling, but I’m not the type of person like that, you know? I’m more…like Nakamura comes in and the kind of atmosphere and vibration changes, you know? It’s a little bit of a different thing because, you know, he has a complicated relationship with his dad, you know, who built the Empire. So he’s doing Yakuza, but it’s thanks to his dad. So he has to show and prove that he can do it, you know? So that’s why I was really serious about this kind of job. I mean, you know, toward Jason and Dave’s character. So there’s so much, you know, so many things are going on in his mind. And, yeah, so I have it too. And I had that kind of relationship with my dad, too. You know, we aren’t Yakuza, but I was on a soccer team, and he was a coach. So I had to prove myself, like I could do it as a captain,” Miyavi shared.

In his first major action film role, Miyavi enjoyed the practice and training that came with playing Nakamura, especially the choreography for the stunts and fight scenes.

Miyavi said, “I mean, I practiced, you know, to use the stick – like, it’s not even a sword. It’s like a stick thing, you know, you never used it in your life. So I was doing that in my hotel room the whole time in New Zealand, just doing that thing, you know? Trying not to break any furniture in the room, and also the cocaine thing, you know? I don’t do that, you know. I’m always high without that, but I had to kind of practice, you know? That way to make it smooth. So I got the protein powder, and then I was practicing with the Japanese yen bill. And I’m sure the housekeeper, you know, at the hotel was wondering what I was doing.”

Miyavi wanted to do most of his own stunts and gave a shout-out to the stunt team, who did a fantastic job on the movie set.

“I wanted to do, you know, all the tricks, all the movements, by myself, except the wire scene. I wanted to do it. But, you know, I also didn’t want to take too much time for the crew as well. And it’s dangerous. So for that part, you know, big, big thanks to the stunt team, they did it. But except for those parts, I did everything, even the one scene with the high kick. I couldn’t nail it because the floor is pretty slippery. So I even asked them to reshoot, and we did it. So, yeah, because I really wanted to do it, to be able to say I did it, you know? I don’t know, they might have ended up using the stunt guy’s job. I don’t know. I haven’t seen it so, but I did a lot. I mean, yeah, I’m pretty confident about that now. I think, and I can say that I’m kind of an action star now,” Miyavi said with a smile.

Be sure to catch Miyavi as Nakamura and the rest of the fantastic cast in The Wrecking Crew, now streaming on Prime Video!