Meet Yoko Nomoto

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yoko Nomoto and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yoko, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
My favorite quote is” What one likes, one will do well.”

I don’t really like the word “talent”.　People usually use this word for giving up something. If you compared with other people before you start new things, you aren’t able to start anything. Because only those who have been doing it for a long time are doing it now, and no one will tell you that the process of getting there is hard.　So, at first glance, it appears that there are many talented people who are achieving results without much effort.

I took jazz dance lessons at the theater company, but I was the second stiffest in my class and my classmates laughed at me as I danced. It looks so weird and funny! But I loved to dance. Then,

I couldn’t look myself in the mirror for a long time. But my teacher told me if you don’t look yourself in the mirror, your dancing never improves. And I finally look myself in the mirror perfectly 1 year and half later. Three years later, I was on the dance stage. I was not the best performer, so I practiced on my own every day after practice. My classmates said they were surprised because I had gotten so good at it when I was on the dance stage.

I loved dancing. I was terrible at it, but I loved it.
That is the most important thing.

Even the best dancers were bad at the beginning.

You don’t need to hear those who laugh at you for not doing well at the beginning. They are making fun of you by hiding the fact that they were bad at it too.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It was never easy to continue acting. This is because in this world there are always auditions and we are made aware of how we compare to others. Many times, I ended up crying because of being an actor. People did not recognize me with the simple answer, “I do it because I love acting.” They always assumed that success was the goal. I was asked the question, “Why do you keep going when you are so far from the goal?” I could not answer that question at that time, and I took the question head on.　And for a company employee, becoming a CEO is not the goal and of course, no one will tell you “Why do you keep your job if you can’t get ahead? I have continued to do the play I love while working different jobs.　And I realized along the way. It is the time I spend doing these different jobs that makes me the actor I am. I decided to do my best without making a difference in both. Then every day became more enjoyable. One by one, the number of people who supported me increased. I thought that my hard work and trust in my job also led to interest in me as an actor.
Before I was an actor, I am a human being. And I respect people in all professions. Because I have experienced many professions and know their hardships and joys.
If I am different from other actors, it may be that I have worked as hard in different professions as I do in acting and enjoyed working in a different profession.
Only your actions can change the world. I want to be the one who already starts the next action before someone else evaluates it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite place is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. It’s a place that calmed me down when my mind was tired. It is located downtown, so we can visit the nearby MOCA and The Broad museums, go to the cute bookstore, Last Book Store, have lunch at Grand Central Market and then to Civic Center to take in the view from the observation deck. At night, take the Ferris wheel at Santa Monica Pier and watch the sun set. For nighttime views, the Griffith Observatory is a good place to go.

After all, Los Angeles is all about the beach. I recommend just lying on the beach and listening to the sound of the ocean. There are cute clothes stores on the streets near the beach. I like the Retro Row in Long Beach or Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice.

The place I would like to visit with my friend is Wayfarers Chapel, which is a glass church.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Whenever I have had a hard time, words from people and movie have saved my life.

I would like to talk about two people who have given me confidence and courage.

First, the person who gave me confidence. It was a Japanese actor. He was in one of my favorite movies and looked the most brilliant in it and I loved his play. He complimented me when he saw the stage. He told me an actor who is unknown and new has to work hard to be attractive and you had the charm that comes from that hard work. I could hardly remember ever having been praised for my acting before, I was very happy. I had believed in myself and had worked hard until now because I had been told I was good by an actor whom I thought was wonderful.

Second, he was the one who gave me the courage. I am now working as an actor in the U.S., and one person who has a lot to do with that is a young Japanese actor in the same talent agency. One day, he suddenly introduced himself in English in our weekly acting classes. He told us that he had seen Broadway Musical in New York and wanted to perform on that stage someday, so he started learning English. I had not studied English for many years before that, even though I had always wanted to work abroad someday. I knew that if I didn’t right now, someday would never come, so I researched English conversation schools. But the monthly fees were expensive. Then I found one. A share house where I could live with people from overseas. I lived with Spanish, Korean, French and Panamanian roommates. We shared life’s sorrows and joys because we were in the same room.　There, I lived for three years, and my fear of speaking English disappeared. And all roommates came to Japan alone, so they were brave and kind. So, no one laughed or denied my dream. The many friends I met there from different countries also gave me courage to pursue my dream.

Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14053660/

Instagram: @hasire_yoko

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOry-_YXets 

Image Credits
Steve Escarcega, Morgan Khoe, Tommy Zee, Derrek Harris