'Hunters' Louis Ozawa Talks Fighting Nazis With "Fearless" Al Pacino (EXCLUSIVE)

A group of vigilante Nazi hunters band together in Amazon Prime's newest original series Hunters. Set after the events of World War II, Nazis have escaped to America and are planning to create a Fourth Reich on American soil in 1977. 

Distractify spoke exclusively with one of the series' stars, Louis Ozawa, who plays Joe Mizushima aka the "soldier" in the elite Nazi-hunting squad, about prepping for the role, working with Oscar-winner Al Pacino (Meyer Offerman), and if fans can expect a Season 2. 

Check out our Q&A with Louis below. (Editor's note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)   

Distractify: As one of the core Nazi hunters, your character is known as the “soldier” of the group. What physical training did you have to go through before filming to prepare? 

Louis Ozawa: A strange mix of heavy weights with a personal trainer and Pilates actually. 

And did you have to go through any military training for your role as Joe?

LO: I have experience in many, many action movies so a lot of the military training I had used in former movies and stunt training that I had acquired. But specifically for this, I had certain period specific guns ... so coordinating multiple weapons at one time, that requires a bit of choreography. I went to a training facility and practiced with these multiple weapons.  

I read that Hunters was inspired by true events. Is there a real-life person that your character is based off of? If not, what aspects in the story are based on actual events? 

LO: A lot of these stories are inspired by David Weil (show's creator) who had been told by his grandmother, so a lot of these stories about the Holocaust are based on accounts from her and historical accounts. But also, a lot of these events, like Nazi’s being in the United States, that’s all true. ... My character is not specifically based on a true character.

Was there a particular scene that you were excited to film?

LO: Obviously, any scene I had with Al Pacino. I was very excited to shoot. Guys like him and Robert De Niro made me want to become an actor. 

What was it like working alongside Oscar-winner Al Pacino? 

LO: Even at his age he’s an inquisitive, curious artist, that’s what I was most surprised to see. He’s not afraid to make mistakes and he’s pretty fearless in that way. 

How does this series compare to other Nazi and WWII shows such as Man in the High Castle?

LO: It’s totally different from anything you’ve seen on TV. We’re not an alternate history sci-fi [series]. We’re firmly rooted in a real historical time period. There are real historical figures. There are certain real Nazis that are mentioned, and there are characters and certain Nazi fighters that are mentioned that are true historical figures.

LO: It’s just a lot of the characters and instances are kind of embellishments from a young man’s mind. So David Weil growing up, it’s stories that his grandma had passed down to him.  

Anything you can tease about a possible Season 2?

LO: I wish I could  —  I know nothing to be honest! There’s a lot of room for seasons to come. As far as I know they didn’t intend this as a limited series. 

Hunters is available to stream on Amazon Prime now.