New Rob Interview with Movie Star Magazine (Japan)

Translation

Q: Do you think that from early on being pushed into the public spotlight has made you more aware than other people that you have to be sure to live your own life?
Rob: It’s true that I was put in a place where I had to be more mindful and take more responsibil­ity for everything. I couldn’t just be aimless. Also, the direction of my career has finally moved in a positive direction and I’ve tried to make a bit of progress. Thanks to the fact that I’ve had the time to think about a lot of things during this period, life itself is now free of the anguish that I felt in my past. I’m also now aware of just how lucky I am. I think that’s why I can enjoy it more and be more aware of what’s interesting to me and experience it all.

Q: When some people attain the kind of enormous success that you have they develop a sense of guilt over how much they’re blessed. Do you have any sense of guilt?
Rob: Sense of guilt? No. I just think it’s luck. I’ve just wanted to get the most out of all my opportu­nities and build a long career. That’s why now I have my feet firmly planted on the ground and I try to concentrate on the work I’m getting and try to enjoy the situation I’m in with out getting bothered by all the stuff that’s happening around me. After all, the most important thing to me as a human and as a professional is to evolve.

Q: Is it possible to realize your own desire to have great acting skills as an actor and only as an actor even when you’re in the midst of all this popularity?
Rob: The majority of people who are criticized by the public for this and that are the people who are constantly putting them selves in the public eye. So I guess that means I could say that it’s better not to show one self in public too much. I’d like to think that if you work hard to make high quality movies then you won’t be evaluated as a “meaning less celebrity,” but rather by other factors. If you’re seen as a celebrity, then it becomes more difficult to be evaluated based on the level of excellence of the movies you're acting. But, to give one example, Johnny Depp has been win­ning that battle. He’s the kind of person you can’t evaluate based on image right? The object of evaluation is always his acting skills. That requires a lot of self-discipline, and the ability to hide from the public eye has also become important. You just have to get used to that.

Q: If you look back on your current self 10 years from now, what will you think?
Rob: I’ll probably think that I should have enjoyed everything more during this completely amazing moment in my life. But it’s just now that I’ve finally begun to be able to really enjoy everything.
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