Rinko Kikuchi Wiki: 5 Facts To Know About 'Pacific Rim Uprising' Actress

If you've recently seen 'Pacifc Rim Uprising', then chances are, you're familiar with Rinko Kikuchi. The actress is best known for her role as Mako Mori in the 'Pacific Rim' films. Read on and get to know more about Rinko Kikuchi, a Japanese star in Hollywood. Know more about her life, her career, and her net worth in this article.

Rinko Kikuchi was born and raised in the city of Hadano in Kanagawa prefecture. Her birthday is on January 6, 1981. Kikuchi has two other siblings who are older than she is.

Rinko Kikuchi began her career as an actress after being discovered by an agent at the age of 15. She made her film debut at age 18 in 'Will to Live' and since then, Kikuchi has continued to act in more Japanese films and television shows. Two of Kikuchi's films in her home country of Japan gained attention in other countries. The first was 2001's 'Hole in the Sky' which was featured at the Rotterdam Film Festival. The second one was 2004's 'The Taste of Tea' which was featured at the Cannes Film Festival.

Here is a photo showing two character that Rinko Kikuchi portrayed. Ryo Katsuragi from the Japanese series 'Liar Game 2' and Mako Mori from the American film 'Pacific Rim.'

Wondering how Rinko Kikuchi found her way to Hollywood? Here's the story of her rise to fame. A Japanese producer, Yoko Narahashi, helped Kikuchi land a role in the 2006 film 'Babel.' That film was shot in different countries including the US, Mexico, Morocco, and Japan. Kikuchi was featured in the story line that took place in Japan. Although Kikuchi had no speaking lines in this film (she played a deaf-mute girl), she received a lot of attention for her performance. In fact, Kikuchi gained nominations from many award-giving institutions including the Screen Actors Guild, the Golden Globes, and the Academy. After a successful performance in 'Babel', Kikuchi appeared in more films and TV series in Japan. Not long after, she landed a role in another American film, 'The Brothers Bloom'. She played the role of Bang Bang, an expert in explosives. Kikuchi appeared alongside Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, and Mark Ruffalo. Kikuchi continued to gain more success in Japan with films like 'Norwegian Wood' and 'At River's Edge'. In 2013, Kikuchi became a part of the film 'Pacific Rim' which turned out to be her most successful film in Hollywood. She gained worldwide popularity for her character Mako Mori, a Jaeger pilot who battles Kaiju monsters alongside Charlie Hunnam's character. Unlike her first two international films, Kikuchi had a lot of speaking lines as Mako Mori in 'Pacific Rim'. Director Guillermo del Toro explained the idea behind Kikuchi's character: "I was very careful how I built the movie. One of the other things I decided was that I wanted a female lead who has the equal force as the male leads. She's not going to be a sex kitten, she's not going to come out in cutoff shorts and a tank top, and it's going to be a real earnestly drawn character." Del Toro also expressed how he was impressed by how Kikuchi never complains about the physical challenges of filming this production. In the same year, Kikuchi was featured in another American film, '47 Ronin'. The film is about a mixed race warrior played by Keanu Reeves. Kikuchi played the role of a sorceress in '47 Ronin'. Kikuchi also appeared in a Spanish drama film called 'Endless Night' in 2015. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival but it did not receive positive reviews. This 2018, Kikuchi reprises her role as Mako Mori in 'Pacific Rim Uprising'. 'Pacific Rim' fans will surely look forward to seeing the actress in this exciting sequel. And here's another thing that fans will look forward to. It was announced recently that Rinko Kikuchi will be joining the cast of the HBO series 'Westworld.'

Here is a photo of Rinko Kikuchi from "Pacific Rim Uprising".

Rinko Kikuchi is married to fellow Japanese actor Shota Sometani. Kikuchi and Sometani got married in 2014 and welcomed their first child together in 2016. Currently, Kikuchi's net worth is $10 million dollars. The massive success of 'Pacific Rim' has undoubtedly contributed to the actress' financial wealth.

We've already talked about Rinko Kikuchi's background, career, and net worth. Curious to know more? Here are five more interesting facts about Kikuchi. 1. Kikuchi was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in 'Babel'. But here's the interesting bit - that was only the fifth time an actor got nominated for a non-speaking role. Kikuchi portrayed a deaf-mute character in that film. 2. Kikuchi's husband, Shota Sometani, is 12 years younger than her. But their age difference did not stop them from being happily married. 3. To prepared for her role in 'Pacific Rim', she had to become better at speaking English. Kikuchi improved her English skills by watching the TV series 'The Voice.' 4. Aside from acting, Kikuchi also knows Japanese sword fighting and horseback riding. She learned those skills when she was a child. 5. We all know her as Rinko Kikuchi, but the actress' real first name is Yuriko.