Color me a can of Delmonte crushed pineapple in heavy syrup and serve me up with a chilled fork! Oh, c'mon. Who wouldn't want to be devoured by "Badge No. 223"? You know, the painfully attractive, lovesick cop with a peculiar fancy for canned pineapples dated May 1st? For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about and still haven't seen Takeshi Kaneshiro's heart-warming performance in Wong-Kar Wai's 1994 cult classic "Chungking Express," you don't deserve to be enlightened. Perhaps one of "the" finest profiles to ever grace the silver screen, 26-year-old Takeshi Kaneshiro is an international phenomenon.

Like Tiger Woods, whose fresh talent and unique race-mix has caused quite a stir in the world of sports, Takeshi has had an equally enigmatic and concentric effect in the world of Asian entertainment. Oh, by the way, this man is so fine. Born to a Taiwanese mother and Japanese father, Takeshi is definitely a delicious, exotic mix. Add on some depth to Takeshi's handsome-boy portfolio with the ability to sing and act. Did I fail to mention that this former Prada poster boy speaks Taiwanese (like a native), Mandarin (fluently), Japanese (as if he were a traveling scholar), Cantonese (with a darling accent), and English (with ease)? This might offer some explanation why critics have heralded the Eastern import, if not for his acting ability, but his keen intellect. His intelligence extends beyond his mere acting and singing ability. He's smart about what projects he takes. Takeshi is grateful for the luxury of being "picky" with his projects. "Basically my main concern is whether or not the role is challenging. Making a Chinese movie or a Japanese movie is the same to me. I just want to make some good movies and hope that audiences appreciate them."

With over 10 CDs, 25 movies to his credit, and the voiceover work for the game "Bio-Hazard," this young man has been and continues to be busy. This past Monday Takeshi's new television drama aired Asia-wide. On April 15, 2000, Takeshi's new movie "Space Traveler" will be released in Japan. As for satisfying all of his different audiences, "I think it would be great if more and more people could see my work, no matter [if] it's in Chinese or Japanese. As long as people see it and they like it, I would feel very happy." His work on "Bio-Hazard" was inspired by his computer-game fanaticism. Takeshi had mentioned that some of his most entertaining moments have come from the time he has spent on the Internet. Sometimes he will log onto a chat with an alias. That's right ladies, you may have already chatted with Takeshi and didn't even know it. I've got goose bumps.

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