Playing John Blackthorne on “Shōgun” required a level of measured complexity from Cosmo Jarvis. The character, who was loosely based on English navigator William Adams in James Clavell’s 1975 novel, is equal parts ruthless, manipulative, empathetic and curious, a complicated collision of traits that often put him at odds with those around him. Jarvis got the role after several self-taped auditions several years ago. He was compelled by the storytelling from creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, as well as the immersive setting of Japan in 1600.
“It was about embracing that historical fiction element of it but also bearing in mind the historical fact as an important influence,” Jarvis says, speaking in April before starting production on Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland’s “Warfare.” “James Clavell obviously did his research, but he had to embellish it and craft it into an entertaining story so it was worth someone sitting down and reading thousands of pages. But it’s definitely rooted in real history.”
Ahead of shooting in Vancouver, Jarvis had several months to prepare, a process that involved learning the basics of Japanese along with maritime and cannon protocols. Because the cast spanned two languages, scripts arrived in both Japanese and English. But Jarvis didn’t want to get too bogged down in understanding what the Japanese characters were saying, especially in the early episodes when Blackthorne is new to the language.
“Sometimes it was better not to read it,” Jarvis says. “There was no point in knowing things that would end up being a hindrance to the scene. And it was challenging. There were moments where there were pieces of information Blackthorne knew, but there was no reasoning as to how he knew it. I had to bite the bullet and say, ‘Well, I guess he knows this now.’ There was a lot to figure out as we went along.”
While many of the Japanese actors were subject to rehearsals that detailed traditional protocols and movement, Jarvis was able to embrace the fish-out-of-water nature of his character. He says he balanced which aspects of the protocol to learn as Blackthorne slowly assimilated and which aspects to ignore. It helped that the 11-month production took place “more or less chronologically,” with episodes shot in order. “The most useful thing was the constant flow of scripts,” he recalls. “It meant that there was always something to study and prepare for when it eventually did come time to begin work on that section.”
Jarvis thought a lot about Blackthorne over the course of the year-plus that he spent with him. He acknowledges that it’s “very hard to reduce an entire philosophy and culture of a sovereign nation with rich history down to one single digestible thing that a foreigner can accept or get one day.” To the actor, that was the most difficult part of the job. Over the course of 10 episodes, Blackthorne changes and evolves, but Jarvis didn’t want to lose sight of the fact that the character had to be grounded in reality. He found that grounding in the final episode, where Blackthorne offers to sacrifice his life to save a village.
Cosmo Jarvis improvised a lot of his character’s swearing and name calling.
(Katie Yu / FX)
“There are definitely things about cultures that can have huge impacts, but the fact that you dress up this Englishman in Japanese clothes and you teach him how to bow and you teach him to maybe not run his mouth all the time, I don’t know if that necessarily counts for assimilation,” Jarvis says. “He’s still him. But, ultimately, what he goes through at the end that signifies his change is the first honest, agenda-less act that he has been involved in since his arrival — and probably since. He does something selfless and I think that’s the more important change that he goes through.”
One of the most challenging moments came in Episode 9, where Anna Sawai’s Mariko prepares to commit seppuku. In the novel, another character acts as Mariko’s second, but the series raised the emotional stakes by having Blackthorne step in. The actor had a difficult time justifying the character’s decision and wanted to ensure it felt plausible that Blackthorne would offer the service of finishing off Mariko after she slices into herself. In the end, on the day of shooting Jarvis improvised the line, “Hell is no place I haven’t already known.”
“The scripts were very well formed, but some of the Blackthorne lines came about as something that was just tried,” he says. “Justin is very collaborative. The story beats were there, but there were details or logistical things that could be expanded on and that was one of those moments. The line just made sense. Why was Blackthorne doing this? It felt like that let [Mariko] know the reasoning behind it. … You spend long enough as a person and you just start thinking that way.”
Jarvis, who also improvised a lot of Blackthorne’s swearing and name calling, ultimately enjoyed spending time with his character, despite his many complications. “I liked how he carried himself and I liked how people responded to him when he was walking around,” the actor notes. “I looked at it as dispensing with myself for the duration of the shoot.”
“Shōgun” marks the biggest production that Jarvis, previously best known for such films as “Persuasion” and “Lady Macbeth,” has been part of. He was amazed by the impressively grand sets, some of which were built entirely on location in Canada, and says the technical skill of those below-the-line crafts pushed him to be an even better performer.
“The crew were not only so technically proficient but they also had an astounding work ethic,” he says. “What they were able to manifest was the stuff of fantasy. It was a wonderful catalyst to be encouraged to really deliver for them and to try to create someone worthy to live in the world they had built.”
