LOS ANGELES – Actor Junichi Okada has a very particular set of skills.

Although best known in Japan as a movie star, the 45-year-old is also a martial arts whizz with a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and certifications in several other disciplines.

And he put that to good use for the Japanese historical drama Last Samurai Standing, where he was not only the lead actor but also a producer and action choreographer – as well as the person tasked with talking another actor into being set on fire.

Netflix’s most-watched non-English-language series globally in the third week of November, the new series is described by Okada as “Shogun meets Squid Game”. It premiered on Nov 13.

An adaptation of the 2022 historical fiction novel Ikusagami, it opens in 1878 in post-feudal Japan, a time when the once-powerful samurai warrior class – also depicted in shows such as Shogun (2024 to present) – has lost its standing.

Okada plays Shujiro Saga, one of 292 down-on-their-luck former samurai who enter a competition that promises a life-changing cash prize.

But when they first enter the arena, they learn they must fight to the death in a twisted game staged for the amusement of a group of powerful men, much like in the survival drama Squid Game (2021 to 2025).

Speaking virtually through an interpreter at a recent screening of the show in Los Angeles, Okada is asked how he juggled his duties on set, and if they ever conflicted.

“Whatever you do, there’s always a contradiction,” says the star, who is considered one of Japan’s top working actors, known for historical films such as The Eternal Zero (2013), action movies including The Fable (2019) and the SP action franchise (2010 and 2011).