SILICON VALLEY: U.S. magazine Time selected actress Anna Sawai, who starred in “Shogun,” a drama set in feudal Japan, for its “Time100 Next 2024” list of rising leaders Wednesday.

Actor Hiroyuki Sanada, who produced and also starred in the drama, said on the magazine’s website, “Anna Sawai could play any role on this earth, or in space.”

In September, Sawai, 32, won this year’s Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for her role in Shogun, becoming the first Asian winner of the award in the lead actress category. She won acclaim for her portrayal of a woman named Mariko Toda in the drama who lived with dignity although being tossed about by fate.

Looking back on how Sawai faced her work in Shogun, including learning acting using Japanese language of the country’s Sengoku civil war period in a short time, Sanada, who also won the 2024 Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series, said, “The effort she put into creating her character, Lady Mariko, was incredible.”

JIJI Press