Rinko Kikuchi (born January 6, 1981 in Hadano, Japan), born Yuriko Kikuchi, is a Japanese actress. She is best known in the West for her roles in Pacific Rim and The Brothers Bloom. She was the first Japanese actress in 50 years to be nominated for an Academy Award, for her role as a deaf-mute girl in Babel.
Abridged Filmography
- Babel as Chieko Wataya
- Assault Girls as Lucifer
- The Sky Crawlers as Suito Kusanagi
- The Brothers Bloom as Bang Bang
- Norwegian Wood as Naoko
- Pacific Rim and Pacific Rim: Uprising as Mako Mori
- 47 Ronin as the Witch
- Kumiko The Treasure Hunter as Kumiko
- TerraforMARS as Asuka Moriki
- Westworld as Akane
Tropes that apply to this actress:
- Doing It for the Art: She campaigned hard for her role in Babel, going through a year-long audition process and taking lessons in sign language on her own just to show how serious she was.
- Dye Hard: She's been blonde, auburn, dark haired with blue streaks...
- Facial Dialogue: She has proven herself talented at this, taking three silent roles.
- Ms. Fanservice: She has done plenty photoshoots to show her body.
- Production Posse: She was part of Kaneto Shindo's in her early career, and participated in two of Mamoru Oshii's projects.
- Surprisingly Good English: She's started taking English lessons At New York.
- Type Cast: As a mute or stoic girl.
