Joji Yoshida got some front-and-center face time in the new movie "Battleship," but his big break turned out to be a classic example of how Hollywood works.

The aspiring Honolulu actor plays the part of Chief Engineer Hiroki of the Japanese navy. But even though Yoshida received a principal part and worked on the film from September through December, traveling to Baton Rouge, La., for additional filming, his only line was cut from director Peter Berg’s creation.

That happens all the time, so Yoshida isn’t upset. Even when you audition, nine out of 10 times someone else gets the part, he said. Still, he has a lot of face time scattered throughout "Battleship."

"Something of this magnitude, the part could have gone to someone else," he said. "Plus I know that Pete likes to work with people he has worked with before. I just feel this is going to be a steppingstone to more work with Peter in the future. I am not disappointed at all."

The lost line? It was with New Zealand actor John Tui, who plays U.S. Navy Lt. "The Beast" Lynch.

"I wish they had kept it," Yoshida said. "It was a comic-relief moment. ‘How come your mother calls you Beast?’ But I did it in a Japanese accent. He says, ‘Never mind about my mother.’"

Yoshida has had a lot of small roles on TV shows through the years as well as a part in the film "To End All Wars." Last spring he played the part of a dead guy on "Hawaii Five-0."

"Whether the scene was cut or not, this is the biggest role that I’ve gotten," Yoshida said. "Hopefully it will lead to more work."