One among the few Japanese actresses in the history of cinema to be nominated for an Academy Award, Rinko Kikuchi (born Yuriko Kikuchi) has appeared in around 40 movies in the course of a career spanning over two decades. She made her feature film debut at the age of 18 in Will to Live (1999), and rose to prominence courtesy of her performance in the internationally acclaimed 2001 Japanese drama Hole in the Sky. In 2006, Kikuchi was cast alongside Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in Alenjandro Inarritu's Babel. The actress' portrayal of a deaf-mute teenage girl in the acclaimed film gained her international attention and several accolades, including Academy Awards and Golden Globes nominations for Best Supporting Actress.

Following her breakout role in Babel, Kikuchi has appeared in several Hollywood movies, notable among which are the caper comedy-drama The Brothers Bloom (2008) and the drama Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014). While Babel (2006) earned her a Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2007, Kikuchi was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her work in Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014). In 2013, the actress essayed the role of Mako Mori in the sci-fi action film Pacific Rim, a character she has since reprised in its sequel Pacific Rim Uprising (2018).