Cowboy Bebop star John Cho discussed his hair in the anime adaptation and why it doesn't completely mirror the animated Spike's locks.
Cho talked to Vulture about how the plan was never to exactly mimic the anime but rather channel the energy of Spike's hair. "I don’t know if I like the hair. My hair’s such a mess, and it’s very hard to make it do anything," Cho said. "My discussions with hair and makeup were, 'We could do this exact version that would match the anime, but I want him to look like this is natural' and 'He just washes his face and goes.' And 'I don’t want to wear a wig' — I didn’t want to [do action scenes] while having my scalp pulled. And so I had to try and make my hair grow as fast as possible before episode one."
"I had a really short haircut, so I was really sweating it," Cho continued. "I was like, I gotta keep growing, I gotta keep growing."
As with any animated adaptation, the physical attributes of certain characters can't always be matched -- especially when it comes to the wild hair often seen in anime. But the iconic 'do wasn't the only concern when it came to bringing Spike to life.
"The biggest fear that I had was I was too old," Cho said. "I knew people were gonna have issues with my age. And I had to get over it. I’m not a person who says age is just a number or whatever. It was gonna be harder — physically. And I was gonna look different than a 25-year-old guy. At some point, the opportunity is “Yes or no — do you wanna do it?” And I did wanna do it. So I wasn’t gonna stop myself from doing it."
"I couldn’t have done it when I was 27. I mean, maybe I would’ve been better suited athletically, but in terms of my discipline, I am strangely better suited at this age," Cho continued. "I don’t think I would’ve done justice to the emotional depth we tried to give Spike. There’s always a trade-off. What young men are typically best at as actors is rage. And that might’ve been a more pronounced element in the character. What I’m better at, being older, is showing weakness and vulnerability and love. Those things are more accessible to me. Personally, I’d prefer the version I’m able to do now. That’s my taste."
To see John Cho's hair and judge for yourself if it honors Spike, watch Cowboy Bebop on Netflix Nov. 19.
Source: Vulture
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