Suicide Squad actress Karen Fukuhara hopes her role as a samurai warrior in the superhero film will inspire young Asian Americans.
Karen, 24, plays Katana, a skilled martial artist and samurai in the upcoming comic book movie, in which a collection of rogues with superpowers form a secretive task force to perform dangerous missions on behalf of the U.S. government.
Having joined up to the team voluntarily, Katana's background in the movie is rather different to most of the other characters, who are supervillains forced to join to earn a taste of freedom.
The star is delighted to get the chance to play the role, as she feels there are not enough compelling role models for young Asian American women.
“As a first-generation Japanese American, I’ve always wanted to play a samurai warrior like my Suicide Squad character, Katana," she told America's Playboy magazine. "Samurai are almost always male, so growing up in America I had a hard time figuring out role models."
Although in real-life she does not share her character's warrior-like personality, she says that sharing her Japanese cultural background means she does feel a certain kinship with Katana.
"Katana and I may not have the same personality, but coming from the same cultural upbringing, we share core values," Karen explains.
"In Japanese culture there’s this idea of putting others before yourself, but I’ve also never wanted to let myself down."
The star believes her character may be set to make a major impact on fans when the movie is released in August (16) as she has already been told that the rarity of seeing an Asian superhero on screen makes Katana stand out.
"Someone recently told me how refreshing it is to see an Asian woman as a superhero," she reveals. "That stuck with me. Stand up for yourself and what you love.”
Among those starring as members of the team of supervillains and heroes are Will Smith as expert marksman Deadshot, Cara Delevingne as maniacal sorceress Enchantress and Jared Leto as mischief-loving master-criminal The Joker.
Suicide Squad is released in the U.K. and U.S. on 5 August (16).
