"I want to keep the existence of Chiaki Kuriyama a blur."
Chiaki Kuriyama (born October 10, 1984 in Tsuchiura, Japan) is a Japanese actress best known in the west for her roles as Gogo Yubari in Kill Bill and Takako Chigusa in Battle Royale.
Born in Tsuchiura, Japan, she was a child model during the boom in the mid-'90s. She got her start as an actress with the films Shikoku and Ju-on note . Her role in Battle Royale caught the eye of Quentin Tarantino who cast her in her iconic role in Kill Bill.
She has also studied ballet and gymnastics and released a few albums.
Short Filmography:
- Oyayubihime
- The Great Yokai War
- Ju-on
- Kill Bill
- Battle Royale
- Azumi 2: Death or Love
- Library Wars
Voicework:
- Star Trek (2009): Uhura
- Dawn of the Seeker: Cassandra
- Yakuza: Dead Souls: Misuzu Asagi
Music:
- "Cold Finger Girl": Opening song for Level E
- "Ryusei no Namida": Opening song for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
- Circus: Her first album.
Tropes relevant to this actress:
- Chronically Killed Actor: She has a habit of being killed in her movies (and in some TV shows).
- Shikoku: Her death is what drives the story as her mad mother attempts to resurrect her.
- Battle Royale: Shot in the back and dies in the arms of her friend Hiroki.
- Kill Bill: A showstopper duel against the Bride pits Katanas Are Just Better against Epic Flail. The Bride wins, by virtue of a board (with a nail in it) to the head. Ow.
- Azumi 2: Death or Love: Repeatedly slashed by Azumi after being revealed as The Mole.
- Ju-On: The Curse: Killed by Toshio (off-screen).
- The Great Yokai War: Impaled with Extreme Prejudice by the Big Bad in order to further a magical ritual.
- 24 Japan: She's shot and killed by Genba Shido after she's revealed to be The Mole for terrorists in CTU.
- Cute and Psycho: She pulls off psychotic extremely well. Such as:
- Battle Royale, being cut in the face sends her into a berserk rage.
- Oyayubihime, Sayako shrinks the boy she likes and is trying to force him to love her back. When her friend Aya discovers the truth Sayako shrinks Aya as well and proceeds to torment her for amusement. Eventually, Aya makes an attempt to escape and a cold-blooded Sayako steps on her, collects her body in tissue, and tosses her in the garbage.
- Kill Bill, Gogo is a teenage bodyguard, wearing a school uniform, that the Bride introduces by calling her young and insane.
- Ink-Suit Actor: Misuzu Akagi, from Yakuza: Dead Souls, is modeled after her.
- Promoted Fanboy: After she made an interview with Gantz mangaka, Oku Hiroya, and telling him she was a huge fan, she ended in the manga as a character named "Kill Bill".
- Typecast: In her own words, she is always seen as "the scary one".
