Rinko Kikuchi (born Yuriko Kikuchi, January 6, 1981 in Hadano, Japan) 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 (2006) as Chieko Wataya
- The Sky Crawlers (2008) as Suito Kusanagi (voice only)
- The Brothers Bloom (2008) as Bang Bang
- Assault Girls (2009) as Lucifer
- Norwegian Wood (2010) as Naoko
- Pacific Rim (2013) and Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) as Mako Mori
- 47 Ronin (2013) as the Witch
- Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014) as Kumiko
- Terrafor MARS (2016) as Asuka Moriki
- Westworld (2016) as Akane
- Tokyo Vice (2022) as Eimi Maruyama
- What To Do With The Dead Kaiju (2022) as Colonel Sen Masago
Tropes that apply to this actress:
- Awesome, Dear Boy: 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. Her films also has fanservice scenes such as Babel and Map of the Sounds of Tokyo.
- Production Posse: She was part of Kaneto Shindo's in her early career, and participated in two of Mamoru Oshii's projects.
- Typecast: As a mute or stoic girl.
