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Tokyo Vice: Rachel Keller on Sam's Journey, Resiliency & Immersion

Rachel Keller (Legion) spoke with Bleeding Cool about her experiences in Japan and Samantha's mounting challenges in Tokyo Vice Season Two.

Rachel Keller is always looking for new challenges since her onscreen debut in 2014's Hollidaysburg. She's kept busy, particularly in the TV scene, appearing on dramas like CBS's The Mentalist, The CW's Supernatural, FX's Fargo and Legion, and Netflix's The Society. She's also had memorable appearances in films like Netflix's In the Shadow of the Moon (2019), Saban's Butcher's Crossing (2022), and Sony's A Man Called Otto (2022). Keller spoke to Bleeding Cool about the Max international crime drama Tokyo Vice from J. T. Rogers, based on the Jake Adelstein memoir Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan.

The series follows Jake (Ansel Elgort), who works his way into Meicho Shumbun, Japan's largest newspaper. On top of his rigorous test, he's bound by the unwritten rules of police culture and how their dealings with the criminal underworld of the Yazuka. The series not only tells Jake's story but also features the many lives affected by the Yakuza, including Sato (Show Kasamatsu), an enforcer in the Chihara-kai yakuza, and Samantha Porter (Keller), an American missionary-turned-host in Japan who relies on her resiliency and intuition to survive. Keller spoke with Bleeding Cool about Sam's resourcefulness, challenges she faces ahead, and her time in Japan.

Tokyo Vice: Rachel Keller on How Sam Is Trying to Survive in Japan & Her "Deal with the Devil"

Bleeding Cool: Your character had an interesting journey. Can you break Samantha's journey now having a deal with the Yakuza for her club to be built in the season one finale?

Keller: When Samantha starts her club, she does it with the Yakuza because she can't finance it. The money's been stolen from her, so it's like she's making a deal with the devil because she owns the club, but not really, because financially, it's owned by the Yakuza. Sato and Sam are so trusting and caring for each other. At the end of season one, they're not romantically together, but they're linked because he's the one helping take care of her club. That becomes complicated, but that tension between Sato and Sam having to deal with business stuff is interesting because inside of that is this push-and-pull between a friendship and an attraction. It's an honest kind of relationship that we get to see play out.

How do you balance Sam's psychology, having done so much to try to dig herself out but having it all taken away and forced to take an even bigger risk, going to a darker place? Can you tell me about the challenges of taking Sam further as she tries to survive

When Sam starts her club, feeling she has ownership over the club – but not. When you become protective over something but not conscious of it, it's more like protecting your autonomy or financial independence. The protection of the women that you that you're trying to protect. It's like you have these blinders because protection is the priority. It's fascinating that women come from all over the world to become hostesses here for so many reasons, like getting out of debt or financial independence for four or eight months of their whole life. It's a great way to make money, but she's in a particular position, coming from a religious cult that kept her trapped for so long. Feeling trapped is not unfamiliar to her. When she's trapped, it's barreling through, which I find brave about her, particularly in a young woman. We see it a lot in men on television and in film. For a young woman to just barrel through and put herself first and put the priority of the other young women around her first. We have judgment about her behavior, but I find that interesting.

How has a series like this helped you evolve as an actor, and what has done for your career?

It was a total magical dream to be living in Japan and to have the opportunity to learn a new language. When you learn a new language, you're not learning just the language. You're learning the culture; why do we speak this way? What's going on here? What's happening with these people? It was fascinating to me, and I felt incredibly humbled, honored, and grateful to be living in Japan. The role is so different from what I've played before. There were challenges, but the biggest thing and takeaway is how gorgeous and extraordinary I feel Japan is. I feel changed, and I don't think a day goes by that I don't think about Japan, my time there, and my friendships. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I've been watching television for ten years, which is extraordinary and so fun, but this was so unique to be in a different country that is built on respect, and of course, we get to explore all the stuff that's underneath all that politeness. I felt so humbled and honored. In Japan, you sit on the ground a lot. You're going down; you're on the ground. It brings you down and I felt like I learned a lot by sitting on the ground.

The season two, two-episode premiere of Tokyo Vice, which also stars Ken Watanabe, Hideaki Itō, Rinko Kikuchi, and Tomohisa Yamashita, streams on February 8th on Max with new episodes on Thursdays.

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