Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with The Man in the High Castle’s Rich Ting

Rich Ting is a warrior on and off the screen. Trained in martial arts, this up-and-coming talent has been blowing audiences away with performances in Waco, Warrior, NCIS: Los Angeles, Chicago P.D., and dozens more. This November, he joins the cast of Amazon’s Emmy Award-winning series The Man in the High Castle. Pop Culturalist caught up with Rich to chat about the final season of The Man in the High Castle and what fans can expect.

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Rich: I don’t think I really discovered it, to be honest. It really started the first time I saw Bruce Lee as a child. I was probably three or four at the time. I saw this guy doing his thing on television. I always say that I don’t know if he inspired me to pursue martial arts or if he inspired me to pursue acting on television because I saw both at the same time. The curiosity started when I was really, really young. As I continued to get older, grow, and mature, that seed that was planted in me as a child remained there.

PC: You’ve had tons of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Rich: First, thank you for that! I feel like I’m just starting, to be honest. The momentum is just beginning now. I would say up until this point in my young career, I would say being cast for Warrior. It was such a full-circle moment for me.

For people who aren’t in the entertainment industry, it can take years, even decades, to get a project green-lit, funded, and cast. Then you actually get to film it. Bruce Lee played a huge role in motivating me to start my martial arts career, which is such a huge foundation of who I am. While I was growing up, Shannon Lee, his daughter, was discovering these old treatments and scripts that Bruce wrote before he passed away. She was trying to develop it and finally got the opportunity to work with Justin Lin. Together, they got it funded, brought it to Cinemax, and finally got it green-lit.

I was at a certain point in my career at the time and was allowed the opportunity to be seen by casting. Ultimately, I was able to book the show that was created by my childhood lifelong idol and got to play a character, Bolo, who I’ve watched simultaneously with Bruce Lee throughout the years. How many people are able to say that they get to honor their idol? I’ll never get over the fact that we’re able to prolong Bruce Lee’s legacy through Warrior.

PC: You’re also starring in the upcoming season of The Man in the High Castle. Can you tell us about your character and what drew you to that project?
Rich: Of course! I play Captain Iijima, who is a Japanese military captain sent over from Japan to provide aid and assistance to the main Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido, who is the main Chief Inspector of the Japanese Kenpeitai. The Japanese Kenpeitai is the governing body of Japan in the Pacific States of the US.

My character arrives to assist in a murder investigation at the top of episode 1 of Season 4. Everyone is there to support Kido. What’s interesting about Captain Iijima is that viewers won’t understand what his motives are at the start of the season. Without giving any spoilers away, you’ll see the tension and conflict between Captain Iijima and Chief Inspector Kido. Is Iijima there to assist? Is he there to oversee? Is he there to report back what’s going on? All these questions start to come up throughout this investigation. I’m really proud to play him because he’s a strong character who’s extremely loyal and committed.

As soon as I wrapped Warrior, I came back to the States. I wasn’t aware that Season 4 of High Castle was green-lit. I thought Season 3 was the finale, but then I got the call for this character. He’s a new addition to the show. In ways, I’ve been waiting for this character, since I was a fan of the series since Season 1. It’s Amazon’s first Emmy Award-winning show. Besides the accolades it’s received throughout the years, I was drawn in because it touches on a Japanese American element, which I relate to. I’m half Japanese and a fourth-generation Japanese American, and I have family that has gone through World War II and the Japanese internment camps in the post-1945 era. My family received reparations from the government after so many years after that. All that history regarding the Japanese Americans in the US has really been present while I was growing up.

Not only was I a fan of the show, but I had a personal connection to this alternate universe. To be given the opportunity to audition for a new character that they’re going to introduce in the final season is pretty awesome. Dan Percival, the showrunner, was the one who auditioned me and eventually cast me for Season 4. He also directed the first episode of Season 4. I couldn’t have been more grateful and humbled to join this cast.

Photo Credit: Amazon Prime Video

PC: Was there any pressure joining a cast that’s had three seasons under its belt and it being the final season?
Rich: To be honest, it was the opposite of that! I looked like I was joining a winning team. It’s like being drafted by the New England Patriots. It’s already this award-winning acclaimed series with an extremely loyal fanbase. High Castle is one of those shows that you have to watch from beginning to end. If you’re a fan of the series, you can’t just watch a couple of episodes. There’s so much that happens and so many different storylines. The question that I had to ask myself was, “How am I going to contribute to this winning team?” That took the pressure off, in contrast to Warrior, which was a brand-new idea and series.

PC: If you could summarize the final season of The Man in the High Castle in one sentence, what would it be?
Rich: Wow, that’s a hard question! I truly believe that Season 4 is the most appropriate, accurate, and fulfilling closure to the show. Anytime you end a show, there’s always going to be question marks, there are always going to be what-ifs, but I really feel the fans are going to be happy the way it ends, and they’ll be given closure. [laughs] That’s longer than a sentence, but that’s the best way to describe it!

To keep up with Rich, follow him on on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Binge-watch The Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime today.

Photo Credit: Ryan West