This article originally appeared back in April 2016 on 5D’s previous incarnation on Blogger. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it was a rather popular piece, in fact it broke a whole heap of viewing records at the time. Now, I would love to think that the high views were down in the main to my wonderful writing, but alas I know the truth, the real reason was quite obviously the subject matter of the piece – namely an interview with actor Peter Shinkoda who played Nobu in the Daredevil series. So it seemed fitting that I now show the article here on the revamped 5D website. The article itself has been reproduced almost exactly as it was at the time hence the out of time references……including the inevitable spelling and grammar mistakes.
I hope new readers enjoy…….
I’ve made it no secret in the past of my love for the greatest superhero of them all, Daredevil – Yes, he is and if anybody disagrees with me I’ll fight them in a vat of three day old custard until they relent.
I wrote about my obsession with the eponymous Devil of Hell’s Kitchen just last year in a rambling shambling blog piece which, if you have the inclination, you can read right here at http://stuart66.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/a-love-letter-to-daredevil.html. In the article I blathered on about my early fascination with the comic adventures of the superhero, my raging disappointment with the movie version (Yes, Colin Farrell, I’m talking about you) and my absolute delight at the television adaptation that graced our screens a year or so ago in a blaze of gritty superhero delight.
It was quite a popular blog piece – I know that because none other than the redoubtable Vincent D’Onofrio, who was magnificent in the role of Kingpin, retweeted the link to my article saying that it was, and I quote, “Very cool”. Star-struck, Moi? You better believe I was! – In fact it’s a year or so later and I’m still banging on about the retweet. Thanks to his couple of words (which in my mind I translated as “perhaps the greatest blog article about Daredevil that I have ever read”) the page views of that particular article went stratospheric. Which was nice.
However, the series wasn’t all about Mr D’Onofrio, because it’s safe to say that as an ensemble piece Daredevil is up there with the best of them. I would go so far as arguing that, in my humble opinion, there wasn’t a weak link amongst any of the principle characters – Charlie Cox nailed the central performance for example and the likes of Rosario Dawson and Deborah Ann Woll gave their characters a level of complexity not always offered to female comic book roles. This skillful ensemble cast also included a wealth of excellent supporting characters with Peter Shinkoda as Nobu being of particular note.
So you can imagine my excitement when last month the second season of Daredevil premiered on Netflix in all its 13 episode binge-fest glory. I was about as giddy as a giddy boy could be – though I did have a plethora of questions.
Will Charlie Cox continue to nail the part of Daredevil?
Will the series keep up the high standard of gritty superhero realism?
Will the Jon Bernthal be a great Punisher?
Will the character of Nobu return from the dead to kick Daredevils arise once again?
Will Rosario Dawson continue to be the epitome of sex on legs?
Will any star of the show retweet me this season?
So many questions, so little grip of reality……..
There will no doubt be a more in-depth blog article on series 2 at some point (you’ve been warned) but for now let me just say that in terms of the above plethora of questions…… Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, not yet.
In the days before the Internet (those dark, terrifying days) when one followed someone around while continually asking to speak to them, not to mention going through their personal messages and photos, the result was invariably to be the subject of yet another restraining order. These days it’s simply called following someone on social networking and so its perfectly acceptable to stalk someone until they either give in, or block your account. So it was with genuine joy that after weeks of pestering one of the cast of Daredevil for an interview, he finally relented. The blocking of my account will inevitably follow at some point, but at the moment in my mind Peter and I are the best of mates.
As I mentioned earlier, one of the many delights of the Daredevil series was the attention to detail given to the entire cast, and not just to the couple of central characters. The role of Nobu may be a smaller one in the scale of things if compared to someone like The Punisher, but his place as one of Daredevils nemesis is critical, as is his involvement with ‘The Hand’. The performance of Peter Shinkoda has been a joy to watch so it was with real delight that not only did Peter agree to a short interview with me but he has also (some would day foolhardily so) become a Facebook friend of mine.
According to his Wikipedia page…….Nah………actually I know that there are those who scoff at the accuracy of Wikipedia, so I’ll leave it up to Mr Shinkoda himself to do the talking instead ……..
Q) So for those not in the know, tell us a little about your early life
A) I was just a regular kid growing in Canada playing sports, riding my BMX, reading comics and hanging out. I’m still pretty regular.
Q) How and when did the acting bug bite?
A) The acting aspirations started at a very early age watching TV and movies of course.
Q) I loved Falling Skies and your character of Dai, but I always felt the part was somewhat ‘underwritten’ for you. Would you agree?
A) I would agree to that, yes.
Q) What was the audition process like for the part of Nobu in Daredevil?
A) Auditioning was secretive but I knew what was going on.
Q) So, you find yourself in scenes with the legend that is Vincent D’Onofrio. What was the experience like?
A) Acting with Vincent D’Onofrio was thrilling and somewhat daunting!
Q) The fight scenes with Charlie Cox in both series are wonderful. How much were you allowed to take part in the sequences?
A) I’d participate in all my fight scenes as much as the stunt coordinator Philip Silvera would allow. The fights are extremely dangerous to execute and my gifted stunt double Micah Karns is exceptional!
Q) Daredevil was always my favourite comic book superhero so I was nervous about the TV adaptation, but my god it’s stunning! Have you seen the finished product?
A) Thank you. Legions of people work hard to put it all together! I’ve seen season 1 in its entirety but I’ve only see a few episodes into season 2 as of yet!
Q) I know you’re a bit of a comic book fan, so c’mon……. Daredevil v Spider-Man, who would win?
A) My understanding is that Spiderman would win because of his super strength and endurance?!
Q) So go on, spill the beans – who is the giggler and joker on the Daredevil set?
A) My time on set during season 2 was very intense.
Q) Do you like or dislike watching yourself on screen?
A) I need to watch my work to assess what I’ve done. That being said – I hate it watching myself.
Q) You’ve recently been over her in Europe at the Dutch Comic Con – what was the experience of the comic con and Amsterdam like?
A) One of the best comic conventions I’ve been to yet is certainly the Dutch Comic Con. Everybody was gracious and pleasant in The Netherlands. I appreciated every moment in that country!
Q) What are the future plans for Peter Shinkoda?
A) Keep on grinding away in my industry and hope to make a difference, as well as entertain a few people along the way.
Q) Oh & finally…….Rosario Dawson’s phone number is……?
A) Get in line, Stuart.
Pete.
Ahhh, dagnab it – my cunning plan of finding out more about the wonderful Mr Shinkoda with the cherry on the top of the Daredevil cake being Rosario Dawson’s phone number has backfired. But hey, at least now I’m in the line!!
I would like to publicly give my thanks to Peter for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat with me. Talented, good looking and an all round nice guy that he is………kind of reminds me of myself!
You can find the official Facebook Fanpage for Peter Shinkoda at https://www.facebook.com/ThePeterShinkoda/timeline
You an also follow Peter on Twitter via his handle at @PeterShinkoda