Get to know the cast of ‘Shōgun’, the highly celebrated, riveting samurai drama series
Arguably the best show on television right now, FX’s Shōgun is a 10-episode limited series based on James Clavell’s 1975 historical fiction novel of the same name and a remake of NBC’s 1980 miniseries.
Read more: Japan’s Samurai City: A guide to exploring Aizu-Wakamatsu in Fukushima
Set in 1600, it tells the story of a brash English anjin (navigator or pilot) who rose to become a samurai under a powerful daimyō (feudal lord) in Japan. That daimyō was later the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ruled from 1603 to his death in 1616.
Shōgun takes viewers into the complex web of alliances and rivalries that defined Japan’s Sengoku period (1467-1615) all while balancing the brutality of feudal Japan with jawdroppingly beautiful costumes and cinematography. The standout show has already amassed a huge fanbase and despite not being a fantasy series, it has been hailed as the “new Game of Thrones”.
See also: ‘Game of Thrones’ star Joe Dempsie on his role in Netflix’s new thriller ‘Pieces of Her’
While the series is already wrapping up, it continues to receive critical acclaim and even whisperings about award nominations, thanks to husband and wife writers Justin Marks’ and Rachel Kondo’s spectacular world-building and the sprawling cast’s stunning performances. Here, we explore the actors in this saga and where else you might have seen them.