How Actress Anna Sawai Went From Twice-Debuted Idol To History-Making Emmy Winner
The popular Hulu program “Shogun” recently swept across many categories at the 2024 Emmys.
Shogun follows the story of a shipwrecked English sailor and Japanese feudal lord and is loosely based on the true story of William Adams, an Englishman who became a samurai under Japan’s first shogun.
Of the 18 awards the series won, history was made in one category: lead actress Anna Sawai took home the Emmy for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.” She is the first Asian to win at the awards show in this category.
What some may not know about Anna is that she was an idol before this big break!
Anna’s career began in 2004, following her family’s move from New Zealand to Japan. The young actress appeared in a stage production of Annie and signed with AVEX after a successful audition in 2006.
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Her Hollywood debut occurred three years later when she appeared in the film Ninja Assassin alongside Rain.
The actress impressively continued lessons throughout her schooling, attending Sophia University and getting signed to Avex Trax record label. In 2012, she made her first debut in a girl group, ARA, though they disbanded less than a year later.
She then was announced to be a member of the girl group Faky, which debuted in July 2013. While promoting with the group, she also had many individual activities, including acting roles.
Anna would go on to leave Faky in 2018, later revealing it was due to her label holding her back — including not allowing her to audition for the 2016 film Suicide Squad.
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After leaving the group, Anna appeared in the Japanese series Colors and the British program Giri/Haji, before her international breakthrough role in Fast & Furious 9.
She appeared in two critically acclaimed series by AppleTV in 2022 and 2023 before securing the role of Mariko in Shogun.
Anna has had a long path to her well deserved achievements and we can’t wait to see what’s next for her!
