Cannes Best Actress Tao Okamoto Finds Her Breakthrough Role 

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At the Cannes Film Festival, which closed on May 23 local time, Tao Okamoto, 41, became the first Japanese actor to win the Best Actress Award. She shared the prize with French actress Virginie Efira, 49, her co-star in Ryusuke Hamaguchi's All of a Sudden.

How did an actress still little known in Japan come to land the starring role?

From Japan to the World as a Model

Okamoto began modeling in Japan at 14. Standing 176 centimeters tall, she took her career overseas in 2006, moving to France and appearing at Paris Fashion Week.

She later built an international career as a top model under the name "TAO." In 2013, she made her screen debut in the American film The Wolverine. Only recently, in 2023, did she shift her base of operations back to Japan.

Based on an Exchange About Illness and Life

All of a Sudden is based on a book of the same name, a collection of letters between philosopher Maoko Miyano, whose cancer had metastasized, and anthropologist Maho Isono, as they reflected on illness, life, and mortality.

For the Japan-France co-production, director Ryusuke Hamaguchi shifted the setting to the suburbs of Paris. He also reworked the characters as Marie-Lou, the director of a care facility played by Virginie Efira, and Mari, a stage director with terminal cancer played by Tao Okamoto.

Everything the Role Required

According to Hamaguchi, who also wrote the screenplay, Okamoto was the first cast member chosen after the script was completed.

"At first, I couldn't think of a Japanese actor who could handle Mari's abstract dialogue while also performing a substantial amount of it in French," Hamaguchi said.

Then he learned that Okamoto was now based in Japan and invited her to audition.

"Okamoto has worked internationally and learned English as a second language, so I thought she might already be accustomed to acquiring new languages," Hamaguchi said.

"More than that, her natural way of speaking is incredibly charming," Hamaguchi said. "She can handle highly abstract conversations, but she also has a childlike smile. I felt she had everything the character of Mari required."

"Above all, Tao herself felt a strong connection with Mari. Her enthusiasm was enormously reassuring, and I became convinced that no one else could play the role."

Chemistry Across Culture and Language

Okamoto was offered the role in November 2024. "I was fortunate to begin preparing 10 months before filming," she said. "During that time, I was able to read through the script with Hamaguchi almost every week and carry out specialized research related to the film."

After seeing the finished work, Okamoto said she was pleased that her bond with Efira had translated so clearly to the screen.

"There was a comfort and trust in my relationship with Virginie that went beyond culture and language," she said. "Because I felt that naturally, even when the cameras weren't rolling, I'm happy it came through so clearly in the film as the chemistry between the two of us."

Okamoto also praised the film itself.

"When I watch my own performances, I usually can't help picking them apart," she said. "But this time, I was able to follow Mari almost objectively, to the point that I forgot I was the one playing her. I could simply take in the film as a work in its own right."

"The film contains many themes, but I believe it will resonate with each viewer in some part of their heart."

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(Read the article in Japanese.)

Author: Keiko Mizunuma

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