Anna Sawai Reveals How She Has Stayed 'Grounded' on Her Journey from J-Pop Star to Award Winner (Exclusive)
Anna Sawai Reveals How She Has Stayed 'Grounded' on Her Journey from J-Pop Star to Award Winner (Exclusive)
Brianne TracyWed, March 18, 2026 at 8:29 PM UTC
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Anna SawaiCredit: Joe Pugliest/Apple TV -
Anna Sawai is reflecting on making history as the first actress of Asian descent to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
She also discusses gaining career control after Shōgun and balancing fame with staying "grounded"
Sawai will also portray Yoko Ono in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles movies, set for release in 2028
A lot has changed for Anna Sawai since her history-making win at the 2024 Emmy Awards, where she became the first star of Asian descent to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, for Shōgun.
For one, she’s accumulated so many statuettes for the hit FX show that “they’re all stacked on top of each other right now in their boxes, because my place isn’t spacious,” she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue, on newsstands Friday.
Plus she’s thrilled she can now count Kathy Bates as a friend. “We met for the first time on the Emmys carpet, and now we’re texting buddies,” Sawai says. “I look up to her so much.”
Sawai's turn as Lady Mariko in the acclaimed Japanese historical drama not only made her phone contacts a little more starry but also gave her more control over her career.
“In the beginning, you audition for what’s available and take the roles that you’re offered,” she says. “Now I get to read the scripts and decide for myself. With the awards, I realized how much my choices mean to other people, like, ‘Okay, if I choose this, then maybe girls will be inspired by it.’ I realize the weight of my choices now.”
Anna Sawai with Hiroyuki Sanada in 'Shōgun'Credit: Katie Yu/FX
After Shōgun, Sawai, 33, stepped into the role of Cate Randa, a schoolteacher with PTSD, for the first season of Apple TV’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
“I was looking for something different, and I was really pleasantly surprised by how meaty the role was in a fun monster story,” she says.
With season 2 of Monarch streaming now, Sawai’s star continues rising — though she’s not often recognized on the street. “I’m so short that people don’t even see me,” she jokes. "I can totally walk around in not presentable clothes and just be myself."
Anna Sawai with Takehiro Hira, Ren Watabe and Kiersey Clemons in 'Monarch' season 2Credit: Apple TV
Her parents and sister also keep her "grounded," she says. "They’re excited that I’m doing what I love, but whenever I talk about work, they’re like, ‘Oh, cool … but what are you eating later for dinner?’”
Sawai had an international childhood. Born in New Zealand, she moved between Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines because of her dad’s job at an electronics company. When she was 10, her family settled in Japan. A year later she booked the lead in a Tokyo stage production of Annie, which was broadcast on TV.
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“I wanted to become Britney Spears,” she says. “It was my dream to become a singer.”
When she was 14, Sawai enrolled in a J-pop boot camp. “We did tap dance, hip-hop, jazz, vocal lessons, model walking, yoga classes,” she says. "It's really crazy to think about how many classes we had."
She trained throughout high school and college, and in 2013 she made her debut as one of the lead vocalists of the girl group Faky.
Anna sawai in a 2016 music video with FakyCredit: Avex
While Sawai says she “had so much fun” with her bandmates, it was difficult being forced to turn down outside projects.
“It’s not about what you want to do, but what the company allows you to do," she says. "I felt like I wasn't really valued as the artist that I am. I was more of a product to the company that I was with."
Ultimately, she left Faky in 2018. “I felt like I was being blamed for leaving them behind. But I had to choose myself,” says Sawai, who soon landed roles in the Fast & Furious movie F9 and Apple TV’s Pachinko.
Now she’s tackling her biggest challenge yet: playing Yoko Ono in director Sam Mendes’s four Beatles biopics, due in 2028. As for her future beyond that?
“I would like to have a family one day,” she says. “I can see myself creating a family and going back to work. I mean, there are so many stories to tell. I just hope that I get to keep doing things that are meaningful to me.”
Monarch season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
