Rinko Kikuchi
Rinko Kikuchi is an acclaimed Japanese actress, celebrated for her compelling performances in both Japanese and international cinema. Born on January 6, 1981, in Hadano, Kanagawa, Kikuchi began her journey in the entertainment industry at the age of fourteen after being recruited by an agency. She gained prominence with her role as Chieko Wataya, a deaf and mute teenager, in the Oscar-nominated film "Babel" (2006), for which she received critical acclaim and multiple award nominations, making her the first Japanese woman in five decades to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Kikuchi's career continued to flourish with roles in notable films such as "Pacific Rim" (2013) and "Norwegian Wood" (2010), where she showcased her versatility and emotional depth. Apart from her film work, she has been active in television, including a part in HBO's "Westworld" and the series "Tokyo Vice." Her performances are characterized by their emotional intensity and sensuality, contributing to her popularity in the global film landscape. In her personal life, Kikuchi is married to actor Shōta Sometani and is a mother of two. Overall, Rinko Kikuchi stands out as a significant figure in the entertainment industry, bridging cultural gaps through her artistry.
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Subject Terms
Rinko Kikuchi
Actor
- Born: January 6, 1981
- Place of Birth: Hadano, Japan
Contribution: Rinko Kikuchi is an award-winning Japanese actor known primarily for her roles in Babel (2006), Pacific Rim (2013), and Yoku (2023).
Background
Rinko Kikuchi was born on January 6, 1981, in Hadano, Kanagawa, Japan, forty miles southwest of Tokyo. She and her two older brothers were raised by their mother in Yokohama. As a child Kikuchi had ambitions to be an archaeologist, but when she was fourteen she was recruited by a Japanese entertainment agency and began modeling, acting, singing, and dancing. Early on she acted in television shows and commercials and pursued modeling. Kikuchi's other interests included traditional Japanese dance, fencing, archery, and samurai movies.
Career
In 1999 Kikuchi was cast in the Japanese film Ikitai (Will to Live). Director Kaneto Shindō, happy with her performance, cast her in his next movie, Sanmon Yakusha (2000), as well. Kikuchi's next role in Sora no Ana (Hole in the Sky, 2001) was popular among Japanese audiences and set Kikuchi on the path to becoming a star. She went on to roles in many Japanese films, including Paradise in 2001 and Cha no aji (The Taste of Tea) in 2004, and costarred in a television series called Churasan (2001–7).
Kikuchi got her big break in the 2006 film Babel, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. In the film Kikuchi plays a tormented deaf and mute teenager named Chieko Wataya, delivering a memorable and affecting performance despite not speaking one line over the course of the film. Kikuchi fought for the role, competing against several deaf women and auditioning over the course of a full year. She also studied sign language for over a year in preparation for the film. Although hers is a relatively small role, her performance garnered considerable praise from critics. Kikuchi won several awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe for best supporting actress. Kikuchi was also the first Japanese woman in five decades to be nominated for an Oscar. Perhaps most importantly, her success in Babel launched Kikuchi's career outside Japan and made her internationally known.
After her success in Babel, Kikuchi landed many other roles in both Japanese and international films. She appeared in Norwegian Wood in 2010, a movie adaptation of the 1987 novel by Haruki Murakami. In it she plays Naoko, the girlfriend of a man who commits suicide, leaving her to spiral into depression and madness through the course of the film. Kikuchi credits her role in Babel for helping her land such a high profile, emotionally charged part, though she was initially passed over and fought for it because of her love for the novel. After filming Norwegian Wood Kikuchi moved to New York City and began taking English lessons.
In 2013 Kikuchi appeared in Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro. The big-budget action movie centers on two soldiers (played by Kikuchi and Charlie Hunnam) who together operate a legendary battle robot, known as a Jaeger, in order to combat the Kaiju, monsters that start appearing from the ocean. For her role in Pacific Rim, which she described as the "most physically demanding" of her career, Kikuchi trained in martial arts for two months.
Meanwhile, Kikuchi continued her work in television with a role in the comedy Moteki in 2010 and parts in several Japanese television movies between 2010 and 2012. She also maintained a modeling career along with her acting. She appeared in Vogue magazine, modeled jewelry for Louis Vuitton, and occasionally modeled clothes and accessories for Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent.
Kikuchi appeared alongside Keanu Reeves in the American film 47 Ronin, released in December 2013. The next year she starred in Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014), directed by David Zellner, earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best actress. Other film roles included Nobody Wants the Night (a.k.a. Endless Night, 2015) and the science fiction movie Terra Formars (2016). In 2018 she reprised her Pacific Rim role in a supporting part in the sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising. She also remained active in television, joining the cast of the science fiction series Westworld in its second season in 2018. Kikuchi assumed the role of Eimi, a supervisor, on the HBO Max series Tokyo Vice in 2022.
Also in the 2020s, Kikuchi starred in several films. In 2022, she had a supporting role in the comedy/drama What to Do with the Dead Kaiju? In 2023, she played the lead in Yuko, a film about a young woman who, after giving up on her dreams, stays mostly in her apartment for twenty years but must leave when her estranged father dies. During the same year, Kikuchi starred in the romantic comedy In Love and Deep Water. In this film, a butler and a mysterious woman try to solve a murder mystery while aboard a cruise ship. Kikuchi landed a small role in the 2024 film Ano Hito ga Kieta (My Drama List).
Impact
Rinko Kikuchi is one of the few Japanese actresses to have achieved popularity among an international audience. She is known for her highly emotionally charged and sensual performances.
Personal Life
Kikuchi dated Spike Jonze, the director of several well-known movies, including Being John Malkovich (1999). She married fellow actor Shōta Sometani in 2014, and the couple had their first child together in 2016 and a second child in 2018.
Bibliography
Bowles, Scott. "The Women of Babel Shared Screen, Not Scenes." USA Today 21 Nov. 2006: 3D. Print.
Kikuchi, Rinko. "Babel Role Simply 'Had to Be Me.'" Interview by Kaori Shoji. Japan Times. Japan Times, 19 Apr. 2007. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.
Kikuchi, Rinko. "Rinko Kikuchi: The Interview." Interview by Eva Wiseman. Observer Magazine 26 Feb. 2011: 44. Print.
Kikuchi, Rinko. "Rinko Kikuchi Is Definitely Not a Weirdo." Interview by Kevin Maher. Times [London] 4 Mar. 2011: 43. Print.
Kikuchi, Rinko. "Rinko Kikuchi Revels in Battling Monsters in Pacific Rim." Interview by Stephen Schaefer. Boston Herald. Boston Herald, 9 July 2013. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.
Palmer, Caroline. "The Interpreter: A Japanese Ingenue Makes Her Dazzling Debut on the American Screen." Vogue Nov. 2006: 230. Print.
"Rinko Kikuchi." IMDb, 2019, www.imdb.com/name/nm0452860/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Schwartz, Terri. "Pacific Rim Still Shows Idris Elba and Rinko Kikuchi." IFC. AMC Networks, 28 Dec. 2012. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.
Spines, Christine. "Rinko Kikuchi." Entertainment Weekly 2 Feb. 2007: 56. Print.
Zheng, Jane. "Rinko Kikuchi." The Wow, 17 Apr. 2024, www.wowmag.co.uk/archive/rinko-kikuchi. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.