Hollywood’s rising star Shioli Kutsuna coming home to Sydney

Shioli Kutsuna has a flourishing career in Japan and Hollywood, but her heart remains in her hometown of Sydney. The 25-year-old actor is back in Sydney to promote her film Oh Lucy!

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Shioli Kutsuna speaks in an Australian accent. But when she recounts her transformation from Sydney teen to Japanese star, she stumbles on how to say “travel agent” in English.

Her speech is a testament to an unusual life. Born in Forestville on Sydney’s northern beaches to Japanese-Australian parents, she moved alone to Tokyo at age 14 to pursue an acting career.

Tomorrow, the 25-year-old is back in Sydney to promote her film Oh Lucy! on the final day of the Sydney leg of the Japanese Film Festival Australia.

“In Japan, it is common for agents to host a contest to find a new talent,” Kutsuna tells BW Magazine.

Shioli Kutsuna is a Japanese-Australian actor best known for her role as Yukio in Deadpool 2

After winning the contest, Kutsuna had one month to pack up and move — alone. It was a lesson in growing up fast and she soon realised this was anything but a holiday.

She was signed to an agency while living with her grandparents and describes those early years as: “Job, after job, after job.”

Even after 12 years in Japan, it’s Australia where Kutsuna finds solace.

“I started working from the end of the year I moved. It was far and I was kind of isolated from everything,” she says.

“(In Japan) you just have no rest. You’re grateful … but you lose a sense of why you started this in the first place.”

Her mother joined her a year later and Kutsuna now lives in Tokyo with both parents and her younger brother.

“The first five years I hadn’t been back (to Sydney) and I was heartbroken the first time I went back because everybody changes and the city had changed,” she says.

“When I moved to Japan I realised I thought very differently to these people and it was difficult to blend in with people around me.”

Kutsuna in her new movie Oh Lucy! Picture: Bonnie Osborne

One example of the culture shock she faced was the concept of Japanese idols — young media personalities who are promoted for their super cute appearance and personality, in line with Japan’s Kawaii culture.

“It’s something you never really come across growing up in Sydney. Idols were shocking. Men in Japan prefer cute and super cute rather than sexy,” she says.

“I felt extremely uncomfortable to be manipulated and sold as something very different to myself.”

“It did take a long time to get to where I am with the kind of jobs that I get and what I can specifically choose and that’s not very common in Japan … Your career is set for you by your agent.”

Kutsuna says returning to Sydney with the film festival is an opportunity to show her work to family and friends.

Most movies she has done have catered to Japanese audiences alone but Oh Lucy! has broader appeal — she stars alongside Josh Hartnett of Pearl Harbor fame.

Kutsuna will star with Jennifer Aniston in an upcoming Netflix film. Picture: Rich Fury/Getty

Despite having visited Japan on childhood holidays, Kutsuna found it still took time to adjust to Tokyo life.

“To a certain degree, I feel like it’s important to try to understand the culture but trying to do that all the time kind of tired me. Now I accept things as it is,” she says.

“I think Sydney is home. I feel really relaxed when I go back home.”

Sticking to her guns in the face of agency pressure has paid off. Kutsuna worked with Ryan Reynolds and Josh Brolin in Deadpool 2, and with Jared Leto in The Outsider.

Now she’s gearing up for the release of her new Netflix film Murder Mystery next year, co-starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston.

“The way you prepare yourself (for Hollywood) is quite different to Japan. The budget is very different and I feel the actors are more independent, whereas in Japan you have your agent with you all the time,” she says.

“At first it kind of shocked me how casual everyone was. It doesn’t feel natural when Ryan Reynolds is standing in front of you and is really nice to you.”

But the northern beaches girl is settling in and has her sights firmly set on tinsel town.

“I never really imagined myself to be doing what I’m doing right now and moving to the States where actors dream to work … It’s overwhelming in a good way.”