Actor Ryan Potter stars on Nickelodeon's Supah Ninjas as the sweet, shy and kind of awkward Mike Fukanaga, a regular high schooler who discovers he's descended from a long line of ninjas! Find out more in his Kidzworld Q&A!
KW: How did you become interested in acting?
- Ryan: I've always loved movies and animation. When I was little I was always pretending to be some alter ego super hero. For years it was Ultraman, ninjas, Spiderman and other cool super heroes. I think auditioning for Mike really brought up an interest and love for acting.
KW: How did you get the role of Mike Fukunaga on Supah Ninjas?
- Ryan: My kung fu teacher handed me a flyer when I was leaving class one day and it had a casting call notice on it. They were looking for Asian-American boys, 13-15 years old, with martial arts and acting experience. I didn't give it too much thought but after a few days I decided I would give it a shot. I was so excited after the first audition. I mean, who wouldn't want to be a ninja? I made up my mind that I really wanted the chance to be in Supah Ninjas, and I put my heart and soul into each audition for Mike. Every time I was moved on to the next round of auditions it gave me more confidence and made it more exciting too. I just about lost my mind when we got the call I had gotten the part. It's been amazing ever since.
KW: What do you think you have in common with your character? How do you relate to him?
- Ryan: I think we both have the ability to surprise people. Mike needs to get a little more confidence. I mean,really... the guy is amazing at martial arts he's smart and and he's a loyal friend. So what's not to like?
KW: What has been your favorite episode so far?
- Ryan: All the episodes are so different. Each episode has had something that makes it really special whether it was the guest star, the action scenes, the comedy, or the villain. But if I had to choose I would definitely say "Ishina" because it was epic!
KW: What’s in store for fans of the show this season?
- Ryan: Way more action, comedy, and romance.There are new [kwlink 27716]villains[/kwlink] and some surprise guest stars.
KW: You were on a few episodes of the Nickelodeon game show Figure It Out. What was that experience like?
- Ryan: A lot of fun. The year before I did "Brain Surge" with Carlos and Gracie as a team but this was the first time doing a game show on my own. It seems so easy when you're at home watching, but really, when you're there playing, it's A LOT harder than you'd imagine. The kids have amazing talents. It's kind of unbelievable what you see in some of the episodes.I also liked how they mixed up the casts of the shows. Some people are really fast at figuring out the clues and then other people are completely clueless. I had a few moments myself where I was completely confused.
KW: What is the best piece of advice you’ve received since starting out?
- Ryan: Stay true to yourself and do what you love.
KW: Which actors do you look up to?
- Ryan: Jeff Bridges, Robert Downey Jr., George Takei, Randall Park, Donny Yen
Your Fave...
- Food: Japanese
- Sport: Baseball, snowboarding, martial arts tricking
- Movie: Forrest Gump, The Sting, 13 Assassins, Everything by Akira Kurosawa, all the animation by Hayao Miyazaki
- Animal: My cat Champ because he's the most awesome cat ever.
