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Well begin crafting a story that lives in the canon but expands the canon for better or worse.
Each of the actors picked a clip that offers a taste of theCowboy Bebopworld they inhabited.
What else is there to say?
I think we were all hyped.
Yoko Kanno, the music composer, was also there.
Did you get to meet her?DP:Yeah, it was like meeting a unicorn.
She came out of nowhere and was like, Hi, I came here from Japan.
I was like, What?
It was a big deal.
And shes only here for two days, just for this!John Cho:Shes a baller.
I was told she didnt decide to come until a couple of days prior, but shes definitely idiosyncratic.
And I would argue that she, as much as anyone, defines what the show is.
And she was important for you to agree to do the show, right?JC:Yeah.
It wasnt like I was threatening or anything, but that was the first question.
I said, Is she in?
and the answer was Yes.
I dont know how I would have felt if the answer was no.
DP:Yeah, if we didnt have her, I know fans would be, What is this?
What are you trying to do?
Im curious about each of your relationships to the original anime.
Were you fans of it?
Did you watch it?Mustafa Shakir: I did.
I saw it back in the early 2000s, after the club, hanging out.
I was like, Oh wow!
This is an interesting mash-up of different ingredients.
DP:Before Mustafa did this cool look, it was Usher.
MS:I fell in love with it right away, and the rest is history.
DP:I knew of its existence but I hadnt watched it.
I was a hardcoreSailor Moonfan.
Shoutout toSailor Moon.Sailor Mars wasmyperson.
But I had not seenCowboy Bebopuntil this opportunity came, and then I fully immersed myself.
JC:I had not seen the show.
I was not fully aware of it at all until they came to me.
And I said, Have you heard of something calledCowboy Bebop?
Its come to me.
And he said, Which character?
I said, Let me pull up the email: Spike Spiegel.
And he said, You have to fucking do it.
There is so much in the original piece.
I mean, the tone of Beau Billingsleas voice was really influential to me, among other things.
DP:I think you have to look at the source material.
You have to look at the blueprint.
You have to study the anime.
But the thing that we all did was, you find a moment with your character.
And our show, which is a springboard of the anime, is an opportunity to really expand.
My favorite moment is any time Faye eats anything and its rushed.
Shes like a ravenous raccoon, and its all over her face.
That tells me so much about who she is and how to live in her body.
It was never about getting something correct, it was about getting theBebopfeel.
Mustafa, what was the casting process like for you?
Did you have to audition?MS:Yeah, totally.
I got the email like the rest of you guys: Audition on Thursday.
First, I sent out a tape.
Apparently they liked it.
Was it for Jet Black?MS:It was for Jet Black.
Then, I got a Skype interview where I used my Nerf gun as a disruptor.
It was really corny.
In hindsight I was like, Dude, you just used aNerf gunas a prop.
You know, whatever.
I mean, I thought at least they would stack us time-wise so we wouldnt see each other.
DP:Theyneverdo that!
They always make you look at the other person and have it be awkward.
MS:At least not that many!
It was like, four of each.
I was like, Oh my god.
Thats a real mind-fuck.MS:I know.
There were dudes in there that lookedreallylike Jet Black.
I went in there and I had cornrows and a fedora, you know what I mean?
I was like, Oh man!
I was like, Focus, man!
DP:But none of them have blue eyes.
MS:Oh well.
DP:[Growling noise]
MS:All right,moving on!
and I said Cowboy Bebop.
And she said What?
Who are you playing?
Its for Faye Valentine?
ITS FOR FAYE VALENTINE?!
She looked like she was going to leap over the table.
And I was like, Holy shit!
This is really intense.
It was intense love, like [gasping intake of breath].
That was a big indicator to me that, Whoa, this is a big deal.
How are you processing all of that?JC:Its a lot.
And also, its a lot of surprises.
Also, I just got back to America, so Im dealing with that too.
Im like, Oh, Im sorry, Im just having a personal moment of disorientation.
We should watch the first clip, which is Johns clip.
Do you want to set the scene a little bit?
We had a laugh-off.
Ill get into it one day.
Lets get into it after the clip.MS:Maybe!
So tell me about the laugh-off.
But you get to take 12, and its hard tolaughlaugh.
[They start doing moves.]
JC:Anyway, it got more and more elaborate.
MS:You had to be there.
JC:Youhadto be there.
What was the training like for each of you?
Mustafa, I was reading that you did capoeira for Luke Cage back in the day.
What did you do for this?MS:Oh yeah, capoeira big-ups!
No, we all were in boot camp for…
I think it was six weeks this time.
Maybe a little bit more.
It was full on.
They had assault fight training.
It was pretty full on.
And thank you, because it prepared us for some long shootouts.
That was the training.
That was my favorite time.
I dont know if I had a favorite.
I mean, the end of the day was great because like, Holy shit.
We lived through that.
It was so intense.
I would say if I had to pick one, I loved the tumbles.
I like doing rolls.
I think thats really fun.
Did doing the training help you get into your character or access that person?DP:Definitely.
And youre also realizing, Wow, were portraying people who arecrazyin shape.
It was really rewarding and really trying, and I couldnt believe I came out of it alive.
JC:For me, if youre gonna ask, Who is Spike?
It really is that simple sometimes.
I go, Oh, Im the guy who walks around knowing he can dothis.
Thats a different relationship with the world and any human being, so it was really helpful.
Did you have to learn how to fight with knives?DP:Yeah, I did.
MS:Youre being prepped for real stuff, yo!
Thats brutal!DP:Were deadly.
I saw that and I was like, Thats horrible!
JC:Its excessive.
DP:Like, can we tone it down a little bit?
JC:I feel like Jet has an advantage because hes got metal parts.
DP:Thats true.
MS:I agree.
JC:Its armor!
Hes literally half-Spanish conquistador!
You were talking about how long the shoots could be.
What were the most difficult scenes to film?
Were they physically demanding in any way?DP:Any night shoot ever.
Theres a sequence at the end boss man
Andre Nemec, everybody.JC:The showrunner!
There was some intense fighting.
It was also just an emotionally really dark place.
I look back and Im exhausted thinking about that sequence.
John, obviously you had a little boo-boo on your knee, and wetalked about it before.
I think that was good.
It was seamless for me.
DP:Because we went on hiatus, it was like, Is John okay?
Is the show okay?
Whats going to happen?
When we came back we were all in agreement that this was a blessing in disguise.
This was the best thing that could have happened.
Im happy that our show is coming out this year and not last year.
Coming out of that, I hadnt lost my Christmas weight.
It was like, Hoo, all right, getting back into it.
I cant say Id do it over again; it was terrible.
But I do think it helped.
I really was able to get my head around the thing because Id had a taste of it.
It is kind of traumatic.
But this was very unusual.
It was the first time that kind of opportunity has fallen in my lap.
And I did appreciate it in the big picture, the opportunity to visualize over those months.
DP:By the way, in real life, I donotadvocate for shower-bath-shower.
That is a colossal waste of water.
We are in a drought.
Dont come after me.
Do you have a preference of showers versus baths?DP:I like baths.
All day, every day, bath.
Faye has a really biting wit.
Is that something you connect with?DP:The biting wit is not hard to relate to.
It was like putting on a glove.
The fighting stuff was really tough, but there are aspects of Fayes personality that are deeply relatable.
She is the disruptor.
And it was not hard you’re free to ask these two to jump into that role.
I had a lot of fun playing her.
Thats an opportunity of a lifetime.
Where would he get a robe?
Does he care about robes?
He wears the same clothes every day.
Does he pack a robe when he travels?
So you ultimately landed on yes?
What was the thinking?JC:I have to ask Andre.
I think if I remember correctly, its a stolen-from-a-hotel robe.
All kinds of fun stuff, like What?
The famous one, if you follow my social media, is, Youre a fridge!
And I was like, Ive gotta address this.
Netflix tried to put me in a time machine to put me back in time to get better-looking parents.
We tried all options.
Im all about this!
Ive gotten mostly really, really positive responses.
Yeah, it was a very Faye response.DP:Thats what I thought.
Thats whatSteve Blumthought as well.
I did want to talk about the look, though.
What was the conversation around constructing Fayes outfit?DP:Of course, we tried the original costume.
And from a functionality standpoint, the biggest concern was: How does Faye operate in this real world?
I need something to hide gels and stunt pads and plates and things that are going to protect me.
So the costume was designed with that in mind.
Mustafa, did you actually have to wear a metal arm for your character?MS:Yes.
Its about 50 pounds.
DP:I think you had the toughest costume of all of us.
MS:Yeah, it was pretty involved.
Its not metal, but the art department did an amazing job.
Its plastic, and it straps to the body.
We had fun together, me and that arm.
Did you name it?MS:I didnt.
I cursed at it though.
JC:Its called Fucking Shit!
The costume has a lot of information in it.
Part of that for me was knowing that everything was imbued with meaning.
When I put it on, I looked in the mirror and said, Oh, Iamthis person.
Its a suit, but it doesnt look like a business suit.
He puts it up, so its a little bit of pop star to me.
DP:A littleGQ.
How do you like the longer hair for yourself?JC:Its an upkeep issue!
But generally Im good with it.
Was there a thing for each of you that helped you access your character,?
And any time I had a sad scene, I would listen to that audio.
Its on YouTube, and I would just play it, because it genuinely made me very sad.
That was really, really helpful.
Was there anything for you, Mustafa?MS:Being there was enough for me.
The costume was a huge part, because once you put that on …
It was pretty involved.
But there was so much reverence given to the sets and design.
I felt prettyBebop-y all the time.
JC:Ive had costumes where someone has to help you get dressed.
If I just did that, I was like, Okay.
Could you give an example?JC:Im at a coffee table!
[Kicks his legs up.]
Got it.MS:Imaginewithus!
Lets take a look at Mustafas clip, which is going over a plan for apprehending someone.
Is that why you chose this clip?JC: BDE: Big Dad Energy.
MS:Dirty minds!
No, I just chose it because I like it.
DP:[Points to Mustafa.]
MS:The teenager.
I felt like the casting was right.
Was that your experience?
DP:Yeah, Id say thats accurate.
So much of the show relies on the chemistry between the three of you.
DP:A lot of our chemistry was pure luck.
But also, we spent so much time with each other and we have history now.
MS:Big up to Debra Zane!
DP:Our casting director.
MS:Some of her genius is in there as well.
So it was like, Is this gonna work?
That was the very first thing.
It popped, and I go, Okay.
JC:Oh yeah, we met at the sound facility.
DP:No, I met you in L.A., and then I met Mu in New Zealand.
MS:I met you guys in New Zealand.
JC:I guess it was unmemorable for all of us.
We wereveryhigh the whole time.
My preparation for any project is: get high and eat burgers!
Just a thing I developed.
Did you observe anything about the others, like quirks on set?
She has tea, a smoothie; shes the drink queen.
DP:This is 100 percent truth.
Its like the shower-bath-shower.
I stand by it.
MS:Fully hydrated.
JC:Mustafa, Ive never seen anyone be heiswater.
Ive never seen anything like it.
He doesnt need a moment ever to get there.
Hes just there hesthere.
I dont know how he does it.
It was always like, What is that?
Is that like a statue?
No, its holding my food.
Well I didnt know they made anything like that.
Yeah, your foods on point.
The first two corgis who won Best Corgi are sitting there like, statuesque.
And by the way, it is adorable.
Its so heavy and it sheds like crazy.
Its like, four huskies in a little dog.
And were just held hostage.
DP:Both of them, it was the dogs first job, and that was pretty apparent.
Its feelings arent going to get hurt!
MS:He has a really big butt.
Is there a character that you feel spiritually aligned with?
Im a mashup of Jet and Spike.
But I relate to everybody.
Its like, Well see.
DP:Id have to think about it, because theres elements of everybody.
I relate to him on that.
But who doesnt want to be Spike Spiegel?
Hes like, the coolest guy in town.
That sounds overly poetic, like Im making it up, but I do feel that way.
I cant even stress that enough.
The theme internally was, Dont fuck it up.
Thats all any of us ever said, all the time we know that.
I just want people to have fun.
I just want you to forget about your problems, forget about COVID and all that bullshit.
Just binge our show and have fun, because its a really fun show.
MS:I agree.
We need to have more fun.
Its pretty serious out here these days.
Would you do a second season?DP:Yeah?
MS:Lets talk about it in the back, first.
I dont know that … maybe job is not the right word.
But Im sort of just getting introduced to what this means for people, really.
I dont know when Ill fully understand it.
But it obviously holds great meaning for people, so it would be a privilege.
Should people detach themselves from that expectation before watching it?
Should you see it separately?
Should you see the anime first?
Should you see the anime last?
At the end of the day, its whatever works for you.
But I do often hear like, What?
Theyre gonna ruin it!
No ones touching the anime.
The animes always gonna be there the animesalwaysgonna be there.
And I think we did a really lovely, lovely love letter to the anime.
John thinks you’re able to go either way with it.
Mu, what was yours?
MS:I feel like, do whatever you wanna do.
But you want to feel free and creative and have fun and feel like you own it.
It didnt feel like we were replicating something, even though we were, to some extent.
It felt fun, and I hope that is the experience of watching it.
It is formewatching it.
