-You look stunning. Welcome back to the show.
-Thank you. -Rina, we were your first show
where you made your music debut. -Yes.
-That was your first late-night show.
Which -- Yeah, we all know you. We love you.
[ Cheers and applause ]
But now this is your first late-night talk-show interview.
-Crazy. -I'm also your first.
-Crazy! I love it! -We're in the history books.
I'm honored. I'm honored to be in the history books.
This is also your first film. -Yes.
-Which I almost can't believe that's real that I'm saying that
because you're phenomenal in this film.
-Oh, my God. Thank you. I can't believe it, either.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-You're -- I mean, it's a giant --
Do you get nervous when you're doing a film
as opposed to performing live as a -- as a musician?
-Oh, I -- It is a completely different experience.
-Different animal.
-I don't really get nervous before shows.
-You don't? -No.
I get very excited, but it's not nerves.
-Well, how about this? Look at this show right here.
This is Tokyo Garden Theater. Look at how many people.
-Yes. [ Cheers and applause ]
-You're not -- You don't get nervous for that?
-Past, like, 3,000 people, I feel like -- the human eye,
you can't really understand what's going on.
You know what I mean. Do you know what I mean?
-That's very interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, after a certain amount, you're like, "Who cares?
3,000 -- 3 million."
-No, it's -- You -- -No, in a good way.
-No, I still can't understand it.
-You can't see further than that?
-Yes. -When I did stand-up --
This is back in the day and people were allowed to smoke
in stand-up -- in comedy clubs.
And so it was all smoke and lights.
So all you saw were maybe... -Two people.
-...a row, two people, yeah. -Yeah.
-And I was like, "Oh, I can do this."
-Right. Yeah. -Then they banned smoking,
and all of a sudden, like, "There's all these people here?"
Like -- This is like -- "Wow. I don't want to do this.
This is crazy." -Bring in the haze.
-Yeah. "I want the haze." You want that, yeah.
But this is -- this is a giant thing.
You're opposite Keanu Reeves. -Yeah.
-When you're in and you're --
Dude, you carry the film with Keanu, right?
I mean, you're amazing in it. Do you get -- Was he --
What was he like when you get there?
Are you like, "Oh, I just don't want to flub my lines.
I want to do..." -Yeah, I mean --
So, we had, like, five weeks of training
before the five weeks of shooting,
which is all at nighttime, by the way.
So it's -- Yeah.
Oh, I mean, if you see any of the action scenes in the movies,
they're usually shot 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.
-Is that right? -Yeah.
-So, what's your sleep schedule like?
-It's 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
-Wow. So you're a vampire. -Yeah. Honestly.
We'd be wearing sunglasses on the way home
so we wouldn't get any sunlight.
-Wow. -Yeah.
And all of our skin went a bit gray.
-It did? -It's not --
Like, you know, you're climatized to it.
You try and, you know, adjust your sleep schedule.
But you need vitamin D. Like, everyone goes a bit crazy.
-But you look so -- Everyone looks so cool.
It's so stylized, and the movie is awesome.
I mean, yeah, you know the "John Wick" --
If you haven't seen it. But it has everything.
The lighting, the direction is so good.
-Oh, it's amazing. Yeah. -How did the director know
that you were right for this part?
-Oh, my -- So, it's honestly like a Hollywood miracle,
like, fairy-tale story. -I love these stories.
-So, basically, I had just finished writing
my second album, not fully, but the bulk of it.
And I was -- I was having a creative block before that.
So it was like kind of -- It was amazing that I met --
I managed to write most of it in two months.
And never in my schedule have I ever had a couple months free.
But because I had finished that block of work,
there was a couple month free after that.
And then I just randomly get a call from Chad Stahelski.
He wants to speak with me.
I'm like, "Why the [bleep] does he want to speak to me?"
[ Laughter ] -Okay.
-Why does director of "John Wick" want to speak with me for?
-Yeah. -Right?
-I would think, "Great." I would take the call.
-I took the call. -Yeah.
-Yeah. -You go, "What's your problem?"
-And then he was like -- Yeah. Yeah.
"What do you want? What do you want?"
So, I spoke with him, and he was like,
"So, I've been trying to cast this role."
And he described the character.
And, "What are you doing for the next three months?"
-That -- Just like that? -Just like that.
-But did he know that you -- you can fight and --
and kick and run around and flip and roll and shoot arrows?
-He didn't, and I didn't. -Okay, perfect.
Alright. Good. -So...
But you know what? There was a conspiracy.
-Uh-huh. -It was my conspiracy.
Because I'd -- So, I co-direct some of my videos,
and I write some of my videos, as well.
So, I wrote into my videos the fact that I'll be, like,
acting as a character, so there's a video called "XS"
where I'm acting like a robot
and I'm breaking down. -Yeah.
-And there's a -- there's a video called "Bad Friend"
where I'm looking like a Japanese salary man
and doing a fight scene. -Yeah.
-Honestly, I was thinking, "You know what?
If I've got this budget to do a music video,
I'm going to also make it my acting portfolio."
-Yeah. Yeah. [ Cheers and applause ]
"I'm gonna get..." Smart. So smart.
-And it worked!
Because he said, "I've been watching your videos.
Keanu and I watched
your 'Bad Friend' video and 'XS' video
and was so impressed because clearly you do stunts."
Because I did fighting in "Bad Friend."
-Yeah. -"And clearly you can act
in 'XS.'" -Yeah.
And you're -- you're funny in some of your videos, as well.
-Thank you.
-Which that'll be the next movie you do.
You'll do a comedy. -Oh, that would be sick.
It's hard, though. Comedy's hard.
-Nah. -"Eh."
[ Laughter ]
-You crush it so awesomely in this.
You're coming out -- Again, bow and arrow, bow and arrow,
flipping, rolling, kicking, everything,
then use the arrow. -Yeah.
-Stabbing people with your arrow -- your bow.
-Yep, doing splits.
-How much training goes into all this stuff?
'Cause it's you, right? -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It was five weeks of training. -Yeah.
-Which is not enough. -No.
-And then the first week, they were like,
"Oh, we're just going to do some drills
just to get you warmed up." -Yeah.
-And I -- I think it was honestly
the first day of training.
I did a move that we -- You just dodge underneath.
Like, you're in a squat position and you just dodge like this.
-Yeah, that's it. -And then like this.
-Yeah, I would throw my back out and be out...
-Okay. Listen. So, I threw my back out.
[ Laughter ]
-Guy's like, "Who cast her?" -First day.
-Yeah. First day? -Yeah, first day.
-So you don't tell anybody, right?
-How embarr-- No, I didn't tell anyone.
-Of course not. -So, I pinched I nerve.
So, I don't know if anyone has pinched a nerve before.
Well, it does -- -It's terrible.
-It grabs the muscles around your nerve,
and it shrinks it.
So, I was trying to hide it.
But after a couple of days, my spine started going like this.
So I was walking like this. -And you're like --
-I was just -- And then I was like, "No, no.
It's absolutely fine. I'm not in pain."
-Yeah, everybody's like -- They're like,
"Rina, why are you doing this?"
-Your spine is literally like this.
-Oh, my gosh. -Yeah.
And then they were like, "You need to go get some help."
-Wow. -Yeah.
-And then, by the end of it, did you get so into it?
You're like, "Oh. This is my second calling.
Now I want to get into like..."
-I would love to do more. -You would?
-I would love to do -- It's the hardest thing I've ever done,
but I would love to do more.
-You couldn't have crushed it harder, bud.
-Thank you.
-Couldn't have crushed it harder.
-Thank you. -Well, well, well done.
-Thank you. -How do we set up what
the movie's about without spoiling "John Wick: Chapter 4"?
-This is -- This is the weird thing about
promoting a movie versus promoting music.
-Yeah, because you can talk about the music.
-Because you can talk about the music.
You can't talk about a movie. -Yeah.
-So, of course, I'm like -- Am I spoiling?
Okay, but -- my character --
-[ Imitates buzzer ] -Right!
-No, you can't say that. -No, that's --
-Can't say that. -Lionsgate...I'm gone.
-Let's try it a different way. -Yeah.
-Well, I think we're allowed to say what John is doing.
John is trying to -- -John's killing more people.
[ Laughter and applause ] -In the first ten seconds.
[ Cheers and applause ] In the first ten seconds.
There's -- There's nunchucks.
There's throwing stars. -A lot of that.
-There's everything you would never thought.
You go, "Oh, my God." There's horses.
-Yeah. -In the first ten --
Horseback. -All from one dead dog.
[ Laughter and applause ]
-All for one -- Don't mess with someone's dog.
-That's true. -Don't mess with someone's pet.
-I get it. I've got a dog. -Yeah.
-I totally get it. -Don't mess with that.
Yeah, that's -- Yeah, exactly.
That's the best way to set it up.
-Yeah. -Don't mess with someone's dog.
-Yeah. -I want to show a clip.
Here's Rina Sawayama in "John Wick: Chapter 4."
Take a look. [ Cheers and applause ]
-If they find you here, the Table will kill my father.
Me. Everyone.
Because you broke the rules.
You shouldn't have come.
♪♪
You armed?
-Yeah! Are you kidding me?!
[ Cheers and applause ] Rina Sawayama!
"John Wick: Chapter 4" is in theaters and IMAX March 24th.
We'll be right back with stand-up from Nore Davis.
Stick around, everybody.