The reaction came as a surprise to Hiroyuki Sanada, the lauded Japanese actor of stage and screen, known for roles like The Fool in a U.K. production of
King Lear, the Immortal in
Kirito No Séngyo, the titular
Twilight Samurai, and parts in
The Wolverine and HBO s
Westworld. I never played a [
Mortal Kombat] game before, he admits to EW while taking a break from his latest cinematic venture, the star-studded
Bullet Train. But for his role as Scorpion, an iconic fighter from this mythos, perhaps the
most iconic, he researched the character and his history for some added perspective.