Christopher Sean has become one of the most recognizable names in the Ultraman community. Since Tsuburaya Productions began expanding into the United States, he has been a constant presence at major events, from New York Comic Con to Kaiju Brooklyn’s Key to the City ceremony, and now…the historic Ultraman LIVE event at the American Dream mall on November 15-16. Christopher Sean voices the lead role, Ken Sato, in the Netflix original movie Ultraman: Rising (2024).
On November 15th, Nick Crispino and I had the incredible opportunity to reunite with Chris, whom we previously met at NYCC 2024. During the event’s press hour, we conducted a very short yet energetic interview. We kept things brief, as it was nearly showtime, but the conversation was fun, memorable, and a highlight of my weekend!
Joseph Acosta: Ladies and gentlemen of Kaiju United, I’m here with the wonderful Christopher Sean. Chris, thank you for being here. Nice to see you again.
Christopher Sean: It’s great to see you also. Thank you for having me. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your amazing family.
JA: Of course! When you stepped into the first role of [Ken Sato’s] Ultraman, what part did you bring to the character, and what part did Ultraman teach you?
CS: I brought a lot of the ego to Ultraman and Ultraman: Rising. Ken Sato has got a lot of swag. And that was what I brought. What he taught me was to become a hero, to live life selflessly, and even by raising the enemy and a child of his enemy, you learn to love. There’s love in everything. So that’s what that taught me. Ultraman taught me love.
JA: Do you feel any personal parallels between your own journey and Ultraman?
CS: My entire life paralleled Ken Sato’s life: being half Japanese, looking for family, and being bullied at a young age. Learning to love yourself and move beyond the trauma. Healing yourself from intergenerational trauma with your father. Having a lost mother. Like, there are so many things that paralleled that story. My dad called me after the second time he watched the movie, and he said, “Holy cow, you are Ken Sato.” And I said, “Yeah, it was a role that I didn’t have to act. I just lived.”
©Tsuburaya Productions ©Netflix
JA: Have you had a moment with fans – maybe a message on Instagram or at a meet & greet – that made you realize the real-world impact of Ultraman?
CS: I mean, for me, I grew up going back and forth to Japan; I watched Ultraman on television, so to be now a part of the Ultraman family has changed my life. So I understand exactly how it feels to be a fan. I love to see the franchise continuing to grow and expand into the West Coast as well. And all over the world. I mean, Netflix’s Ultraman: Rising hit astronomical numbers. So the fact that I have been… You know, we had over 150 million edits of Ken Sato alone just in Mexico. That impact blew my mind. The numbers were insane.
JA: What do you hope kids or even adults take from your version of Ultraman that maybe past versions didn’t emphasize?
CS: In our movie? It’s the first time a baby kaiju is raised by an Ultra. So you’re going to find that what the next generation needs is guidance and love. And when you are being of light and protection, you can be that guidance for anything.
JA: Was there a moment during production that you realized this project was going to mean something personally?
CS: When I read this script, I remember reading the script, and I broke down crying and I took a photo, and I sent it to the director, and I was like, “Dude, it’s the best script I’ve ever read.” That was it. I knew from that moment on, I was fully dedicated. I wanted nothing but the best, and I wasn’t going to give anything but my best to this project. So literally from the minute I picked up that script, and then we went right into filming every day, I was like, “I’ll do it again. I’ll do it again.” And they were like, “We’re good!”
JA: Well, Chris, thank you so much! We’re going to let you rehearse now. Good luck on the show, and thank you so much.
CS: I appreciate it. You guys are awesome! (Points) Keep following these amazing people. They got a great team. I’m glad you’re part of the family!
The full video of this interview is also available on YouTube! I have to say, this entire Ultraman run was an absolute blast. It means a great deal to me that my home state has become the center of so much Ultraman excitement. And while the fun has ended, there’s still a lot of content that needs to be published/posted covering these past few days! So please stay tuned!
