Naoko Mori: Who knows

Sometimes it's better not to know what you are getting yourself into. Naoko Mori talks Tosh with Mark Kebble and explains why the unknown has played a role in her career

Like a hugely embarrassing relative, Angel and North’s sales team is hollering and high-fiving downstairs from where Naoko Mori is being photographed. In the middle of offering apologies, Naoko simply giggles to herself. “The cast Torchwood, the five of us, are almost always in trouble for making too much noise.”

If the quality of Torchwood is anything to go, perhaps the sales team are on to a winner. “The people you work with will make or break a job,” Naoko continues in the pub next door, fresh from flummoxing the bar staff with her request for a St Clements (come on guys, bitter lemon and orange). “We have such fun on Torchwood and I miss them so much – we are on the phone all the time.” For anyone who is watching the second series of Torchwood on Wednesday primetime TV, their fun is our gain.

“With any show, during the first season there is always a bit of first season-it is,” Naoko grins. “With Torchwood, it was a real work in progress. With the second series, we have found our feet and our identity.” Naoko plays Toshiko ‘Tosh’ Sato in Torchwood, a spin off from the ever-popular Doctor Who resurrection. Aimed at an older audience, the chief link to the Saturday night mainstay is Captain Jack Harkness, played with gusto by John Barrowman. We certainly can’t remember the last time a homosexual kiss was featured on the Timelord’s travels…

It’s attention grabbing stuff and a worthy companion to Doctor Who. Funnily enough, when the character of Tosh first appeared in Doctor Who, Naoko didn’t have a clue what she was letting herself in for. “I read the script and there was the word ‘Tardis’,” she smiles, her St Clements long forgotten about. “I looked it up in the Dictionary and couldn’t find it, so I rang my agent up and asked what a Tardis was. He laughed so hard, he put the phone down!”

Considering Naoko was born in Japan, and then grew up in America (although she is now rightly living in Stroud Green), she can be forgiven for not knowing (and there's more to come). However, as soon as shooting came around, she knew she was a part of something special. “There was a lot of hype,” she recalls, “and there were a lot of paparazzi around. I just kept my head down and did my best. When I found out that Russell [T Davies, the series creator] remembered me from Doctor Who for a part in Torchwood, I thought it was really bizarre.”

Naoko is happy to admit that Doctor Who wasn’t the first time when she wasn’t quite sure about her surroundings. It may have been tosh (sorry), but she appeared in Spiceworld when she didn’t have a clue who the Spice Girls were. “You're Baby what? There are two Mels?” she laughs as she offers an insight into filming. On a slightly different level, she didn’t know what she had got involved in when she landed a role in Absolutely Fabulous. “I was 17 and didn’t quite have the full understanding of what was going on,” she remembers.

When Jennifer Saunders decided to branch out from French & Saunders, she picked up Naoko to play her on-screen daughter Saffy’s best friend, Sarah. To be fair to Naoko, she was right not to think anything of the part. “I literally had two words – ‘yes’ and ‘yes’ – and then thought nothing more it,” she says. “I must have done something right or Jennifer took a liking to me, as she just kept calling me back. Before I knew it, it was ten years as a semi-regular.”

Absolutely Fabulous has gone down as one of the all-time comedy greats, but was there an inkling of that at the time? “No,” Naoko answers simply. “I knew it was funny, but I was young and nervous. In a way, it’s better to not know or expect how the end result is going to be. Just concentrate on the there and then, and do the best you can.” It may be over a decade later, but the public haven’t forgotten. “It’s usually when I am in Sainsbury’s, with no make-up on, glasses and hair everywhere that people go, ‘Titty KaKa’ [as she was known by Jennifer Saunder’s Edina]. It’s phenomenal.”

A lot of work has followed since, but Naoko admits that Absolutely Fabulous remains up there with her career highlights. “It was a gem – I love comedy,” she says, finally taking a sip of the St Clements. “But then again, it’s great to have variety. Working with Mike Leigh was a highlight [on Topsy Turvy] – that was a huge tick off my list. Hiroshima changed my life [docu-drama about the atom bomb]. It horrified me, angered me… Being Japanese, it almost tore me to pieces doing it.” Undoubtedly heavy stuff, so to lighten the tone, her West End performance in Avenue Q is added to the list. How was it working with puppets? “They are real!” she exclaims back in mock anger. “I grew up on Sesame Street – not ON Sesame Street of course – so I am a huge fan of puppets. I would also love to do more theatre. And, of course, Torchwood has ticked a lot of boxes. I never thought I would be running around Wales in a field chasing an imaginary alien!”

On the subject, how is it filming in Cardiff? “It’s strange getting used to the pace,” Naoko answers. “Everything is a little bit slower. Everyone is so friendly, but saying that north London is the right place for me. I have been here for a long time – I first moved to Islington when I was 16.” How has she changed since then? “I feel like everything happens for a reason. I do believe in all that kind of stuff. With every job, I have learnt so much. Having been born in Japan, and growing up in America, I have learnt about people and life. It’s all just a huge learning curve for me. How have I changed as a person? I am still me I guess, but hopefully a bit wiser. I still do stupid things, though, like fall over on thin air!”

The clumsy approach certainly hasn’t done her too badly. Torchwood could certainly open a few more doors for this talented north Londoner, but as long as she continues her variety, she is happy. “I would really love to try a costume drama,” she considers about her ambitions. “That’s something I never have had a go at. And more comedy too – I kind of miss it. Something completely different to Tosh, a brand new challenge.” Bravely finishing off her St Clements – she was too polite to actually reveal what it tasted like – you sense that there’s a lot to come from Naoko, but for now she can’t wait to get back to mucking around with her Torchwood co-stars.

Catch Torchwood every Wednesday at 9pm.

EXTRA, EXTRA… FROM NAOKO TO TOSH, TOSH TO NAOKO

Loving Torchwood:
“I never thought in a million years I would do sci-fi – to be quite frank, I have never been into it. I never got into Doctor Who, only because I didn’t know who Doctor Who was as I wasn’t in the country. So it really was, ‘Doctor Who?! Torchwood has got everything in it. It’s got drama, action, romance, huge emotional storylines, so even if you are not a sci-fi fan there is something for everyone.”

Tosh’s traits:
“Last season she was very much in her shell. Now she has grown up a bit more. Like in life, everyone goes through things and you learn from it – you become more aware of your needs and feelings. She’s becoming a more confident person. I think it’s often the case when someone has been very academic throughout their earlier life, they have kind of neglected the social side and she’s typical of that. We do have a lot in common. I am quite private, but I hope not as closed up as Tosh. I am a huge fan of anything technical – gadgets, computers, all that – but it’s in my blood because I am Japanese. She really doesn’t have a lot of luck in her love life, which is not dissimilar to mine! I love playing people who are… Not kooky, but just not complete. That’s where the joy is – to see them develop and go through stuff.”

On Russell T Davies:
“He’s a very talented guy… A very tall, talented guy. He is like 8”6! When I found out that Russell had remembered me from Doctor Who, I just thought it was really bizarre. That was such a small part – never in a million years did I think it would lead to a part in Torchwood. I have been around for a while, been what you would call a jobbing actress, so it’s really weird to suddenly be in a very prominent show. It still surprises me when people recognise me.”

Taking on Tosh again:
“It was an easy decision to make – it just felt right. For me it is about who the character is, the potential they have, and there was so much room for Tosh to develop. The writing was so good when we got the first script. I had to say yes – it’s such a rare opportunity to, in a way, be given a chance to a) work with someone like Russell, and b) on a brand new show where everything was possible.”

Wanting to do more theatre:
“It really does bring you back to basics. It grounds you, brings you right back to where you started from. The beauty of theatre is that it is all in real time and you can go through the journey.”