I’ve been working with Spanish, French, some more American, and Japanese directors. And then I realized I have to study English, and that’s why I moved to New York two years ago. – Rinko Kikuchi
Fashion is really interesting to me, but I’m not a professional model, so I’m focusing my career on acting. – Rinko Kikuchi
I love New York. I’m taking English lessons there for the first time. I used to live in Tokyo, but I needed something new. I’m really close to my family. I miss them all the time, but we Skype a lot. – Rinko Kikuchi
Not all actresses know how to express their looks, I think. For me, it’s an on-again, off-again thing. I’m still struggling. – Rinko Kikuchi
I like challenges. That’s why if I read a script, and I feel, ‘Oh, I can’t do this,’ I’ll take that role, because if I feel like, ‘Oh, I can do this,’ I don’t want to take that because I can’t learn from that film. – Rinko Kikuchi
I’ve seen ‘Babel’ four times. And each time I realize anew what a monumental project that had been for me. – Rinko Kikuchi
When I was a little girl, I used to watch a lot of monster movies, like ‘Godzilla.’ All those monster movies. – Rinko Kikuchi
I grew up with a lot of monster movies, robot movies, since I was a kid. I love anime movies, like ‘Evangelion’ and ‘Ghost in the Shell.’ – Rinko Kikuchi
There’s something very… spiritual about fighting. It’s physically very challenging. It’s for killing people, after all, so it’s taught me how to look at something head on. It’s like living – confronting something. Everything for me came from films. – Rinko Kikuchi
When watching movies, I was always inspired by the performances of the cast. Of course, the story and the direction and all that intrigued me. But what actors would propel themselves to do, and be, was awesome. It was like, how could these people give so much? – Rinko Kikuchi
I don’t want to limit myself. I want to keep doing all sorts of roles. I guess what lies behind this urge is the conviction that movies have changed my life. And certain performances have inspired me to try to be someone different. – Rinko Kikuchi
On the red carpet, I need to be protected. When I wear a Chanel dress, I feel like I’ve earned the right to be there. And Karl Lagerfeld is so poetic, such an intelligent man. I like the way he has the power to draw attention. – Rinko Kikuchi
