Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Jimmy Taenaka Started Shooting Netflix Series In Portugal In Quarantine After Testing Positive For COVID-19: “Every day I Was Waiting To Get Sick”

The Singapore-based Japanese-American actor was in Portugal last year to make the Netflix spy series 'Glória'.

The Singapore-based Japanese-American actor was in Portugal last year to make the Netflix spy series 'Glória'.

The Singapore-based Japanese-American actor was in Portugal last year to make the Netflix spy series 'Glória'.

Quiz of the week

How well do you know the news? Test your knowledge.

I really, really, hate Jimmy Taenaka. Just kidding. Hate is perhaps too strong a word; try jealous. I’m really, really jealous of Jimmy Taenaka. That’s more like it.

Well, you see, at a time when most of us were (and still are) grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic — when talks of vaccines and Vaccinated Travel Lanes were still on a distant horizon, the Singapore-based Japanese-American actor — who also goes by Jimmy T — got a chance to travel overseas.

“I was blessed,” says Taenaka, 56, in a Zoom call with 8days.sg recently. When friends told him how envious they were, he would joke, “’You know what, travelling overseas is overrated.’” He pauses for a dry chuckle. Yes, rub it in, Jimmy, rub it in.

The erstwhile VP and coach of the Wrestling Federation of Singapore said he first got wind of Glória from the directors (whom he’d previously worked with on another gig eons ago) in March but it wasn’t until the auditions that he found out it was a Netflix production. That revelation made the job even “more exciting,” says Taenaka. “We’d been in a lockdown for three months; we were all cooped up in house. So this gave me some kind of hope.”

From September to December last year, Taenaka was in Portugal filming Netflix’s first Portuguese show — one of the first batch of TV and film productions resuming, slowly and cautiously, after months of shutdown. The show was launched last week.Set during the Cold War in 1968, the 10-ep Glória — which is in Portuguese and English — takes place around Raret (or Radio Free Europe), an American broadcast centre located in the titular picturesque village that transmits Western propaganda to the Eastern bloc. The story follows João Vidal (Miguel Nunes), an engineer from a family with ties to the ruling political regime, who’s also a sleeper agent planted by the KGB.

“The Americans chose Glória because of its high elevation and short-wave radio back then was really big,” he explains. “Anyone can pick it and listen to stuff happening around the world.” And that’s how the superpowers fought the information wars back in the day — not unlike Russian trolls infiltrating social media to influence public opinion, but on a lower-tech level.

Taenaka plays William 'Bill' Bennett, a CIA agent stationed at the base caught up in The Manchurian Candidate-meets-Infernal Affairs-level of spy games. It’s the first time in his 30-year acting career that he’s playing a secret agent, a role originally meant for a Caucasian.

Packing heat: Jimmy Taenaka's CIA agent William 'Bill' Bennett in action. The rules of weapons handling in Portugal are just as strict as those in Singapore, says Taenaka. I had fired arm [on the show], but it was not loaded.


“Then they wanted to go for an African-American, but didn’t think would work because of [Portugal’s colonial wars in Angola and Mozambique,” he explains. “Because of that, there was a lot of racism towards the Africans. Instead, they came up with the idea, ‘Why don’t we make this guy Asian and Jimmy would be perfect for it!’” At least that's the story Taenaka was told when he arrived in Lisbon.

“The way I looked at it, in 1968, for an Asian-American to be a CIA agent — that’s a pretty high-power job!” says Taenaka. “He’s someone who’s by the book and that’s how he got that job. He had to be trusted by the US government. That’s why I was so keen on taking in on this project — he’s a positive role model, has an African-American wife, and doesn’t speak with an accent!”

Taenaka was incredibly grateful that the writers were progressive enough not to play into the Asians-with-accents stereotype. “I was dreaming that I had to do the lines with an accent,” he recalls. “Then I woke up, No, I don’t! He’s an American! He’s an American!”

All things said, Bill is a juicy part — and to think that Taenaka almost missed out on it, not once but twice.

The first time, he was almost not allowed to get on the plane at Changi International Airport. “After I checked in, the ticket lady came after me before I could go through the gate. She said [my documents] were from the Portuguese embassy in Singapore, but they need them to come from Portugal.” The matter was swiftly resolved after the airport officers “huddled together for 10 minutes”, says he. After that, he was off to Lisbon (with a seven-hour stopover in Dubai).

All masked up: Taenaka getting ready to fly from Singapore to Portugal (via Dubai), replete with face shield, mask, gloves and lots of wet wipes . The [Emirates] plane was pretty empty, he says. I remember the flight attendants whenever they would bring you the meals, [whatever you need from them] you really have to ask them quick. Because if you don't, they're already gone — nobody stuck around.



The second time that nearly cost Taenaka his job was a bigger nightmare. “[After I arrived in Lisbon], I was tested on Saturday and I got a call at 2am on Sunday from the production office. ‘Jimmy, we just got your test results — I’m sorry but you tested positive,” says Taenaka. “It was unbelievable because I was very sure that I was okay.” He ended up being quarantined in a hotel for six days. “Every day I was waiting to get sick.”

Thank goodness nothing happened. Taenaka got tested again, and this time he was given a clean bill of health.

Were there concerns that he might be replaced? “I heard someone asking the directors, ‘So who’s Jimmy’s backup?’’, he says. “I had no idea they were talking like that. They told me the whole story after I was cleared. My reaction was, ‘What?!’ That could have happened.”

Other than that potential crisis, filming went on smoothly amid COVID-compliant conditions. “Everybody was surprised they were working [given the pandemic],” says Taenaka, whose other credits include the HBO ‘nasi goreng’ western Grisse and the Mediacorp cancer drama BRA. “That’s why they were super-duper careful — it was a special privilege.”

Rise and shine: This picture was taken from Taenaka's balcony at Hotel Palacio where he was quarantined for six days. I was on the top floor of the hotel, he says. They cleared everybody out of the hotel on my floor. It was a nice hotel. It had a nice balcony. I was still able to step out and get some fresh air.


Did he get to soak in the sights and sounds on his days off? Sadly, not much because of the COVID-19 curbs. “In the morning you go to the grocery store, get your food and stock up for your weekend,” he says. “I also had to work on my script. That kept me occupied. Just the fact that I was working is a great feeling.”

That and the camaraderie among the cast and crew. “The experience reminded me of coming to Singapore to work [in the noughties], he muses. “I was an outsider then. I felt everything had come full circle, with me as an outsider coming to Portugal. I just felt I was received with open arms. You get a little nervous about each project.

“On the first day, you just have to get your feet wet with your character. [After a while], whether I was working in Hollywood or Singapore or Portugal, the etiquette of our industry is the same: People just want to create something special.”

Chilling out: After two weeks in a hotel, Taenaka was relocated to a service apartment ( another great view! ). He spent the weekend lockdown (11am-5am) either reading up on scripts or spinning music, a hobby he picked up during the Circuit Breaker period. I play everything, he says. The '70s, '80s, shoegazing dream-pop, children's music — like the 'Sesame Street' theme, and music I grew up with, 'The Brady Bunch', 'The Courtship of Eddie's Father', 'Different Strokes' and 'Family Ties'.


Gloria is now streaming on Netflix; BRA is available on meWATCH. Follow Taenaka's spinning on twitchtv.jimmytaenaka.

Photos: Netflix, Jimmy Taenaka

Related topics

Stream it Jimmy Taenaka Gloria Netflix

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to our newsletter for the top features, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.