Hiro Kanagawa

Hiro Kanagawa is a Vancouver-based actor and writer perhaps best-known for his 200-plus film and television roles ranging from Best in Show and art house shorts to hit shows like Smallville, Altered Carbon and Star Trek: Discovery. Behind the camera he was story editor on several critically-acclaimed Canadian television series: Da Vinci’s Inquest, Da Vinci’s City Hall, Intelligence and Blackstone. Also a playwright, he received the 2017 Governor-General’s Literary Award for Drama for his play, Indian Arm. His latest play, an adaptation of Mark Sakamoto’s best-selling memoir, Forgiveness, premiered in January, 2023 in an Arts Club Theatre / Theatre Calgary co-production directed by renowned director Stafford Arima.

This Asian Heritage Month, wherever you are and whatever your community, join me in celebrating peace over violence, love over hate, tolerance over division.

To all my fellow artists of Asian heritage:  it’s been a hard road getting to where we are today so, yes, let’s celebrate this current moment…but not at the expense of others.

My Asianness doesn’t give me a free pass to shit on somebody else, and no one’s anger or fear or whatever high ground they think they occupy gives them the right to shit on me. 

We can all be who we are–we all need to be who we are–without perpetuating sexism, homophobia and other dehumanizing attitudes towards our sisters, brothers, neighbors and fellow villagers in the human tribe.

We are all equal members of the human tribe.  Let’s for once be proud of that fact–proud of ourselves and of each other–in all our wondrous diversity.

Peace, love,

Hiro Kanagawa