Knights of the Zodiac Star Reveals His Family's Hilarious Advice

The anime world is growing exponentially as time passes. With anime and manga raking in some serious cash, it should come as no surprise that the medium has caught the eye of Hollywood. Knights of the Zodiac, or Saint Seiya: The Beginning, is Sony Pictures' next big anime adaptation and we had the opportunity to chat with some of the film's stars about the creation of the film.

Specifically, Comicbook.com was able to talk with stars Famke Janssen (Guraad), Nick Stahl (Cassios), Madison Iseman (Athena), Mark Dacascos (Mylock), and Diego Tinoco (Nero) about the movie and their roles as a part of this shonen series brought to life. Tinoco, who fans might know for his roles in Teen Wolf and On My Block, shared a hilarious personal story about his role as Nero The Phoenix Knight. When offered the role, Diego's family had some thoughts of their own to share with him. 

Family of The Zodiac

Comicbook.com had the opportunity to ask Diego what it was like tackling a beloved anime franchise and working to create a live-action adaptation of the source material, "I wasn't familiar with this anime specifically, but I grew up with Dragon Ball Z. I was aware of how big of an impact it had on me and how big of an impact anime has on culture as a whole. When I called my family back in South America and Mexico, they let me know, 'You're playing an iconic superhero, don't miss this up!'" 

Diego then continued, noting that he attempted to bring something new to his role as Nero, "At the end of the day, you have to make this your own. No one wants to see a mock imitation, they want to see a new story and I think that the writers were looking to make. I think a new story is something that we, as actors, were trying to bring to life and we'll see how fans like it." 

The live-action take on the world of Saint Seiya stars the likes of Mackenyu, Famke Janssen, Madison Iseman, Diego Tinoco, Mark Dacascos, Nick Stahl, and Sean Bean, Knights of the Zodiac is teased by Toei Animation and Stage 6 Films as such, "Produced by Toei Animation and based on the international anime sensation, Knights of the Zodiac brings the Saint Seiya saga to the big screen in live-action for the first time. Seiya (Mackenyu), a headstrong street teen, spends his time fighting for cash while he searches for his abducted sister. When one of his fights unwittingly taps into mystical powers he never knew he had, Seiya finds himself thrust into a world of warring saints, ancient magical training, and a reincarnated goddess who needs his protection. If he's to survive, he will need to embrace his destiny and sacrifice everything to take his rightful place among the Knights of the Zodiac."

Knights of The Zodiac opens in North America on May 12th.