Shioli Kutsuna

Shioli Kutsuna’s Path from Sydney to Global Screens

A childhood in the Sydney suburb of Killarney Heights set the stage before a move to Tokyo at fourteen turned acting into a profession. The Judge’s Prize at the 2006 Japan Bishōjo Contest gave her a foothold, and television parts on programs such as 7 Mannin Tantei Nitobe arrived not long after. Recognition from critics came with My Back Pages, which brought Best New Actress honors from Kinema Junpo, and the Japan Academy Film Prize later honored her as Newcomer of the Year. Representation by Oscar Promotion supported a steady run of Japanese film and drama before international casting directors took notice. Holding both Australian and Japanese nationality, she works in English and Japanese with equal comfort.

The Deadpool Films and the Mutant Yukio

International audiences first met her through the X-Men corner of the screen. Cast as the mutant Yukio in Deadpool 2 (2018), she played the upbeat partner of Negasonic Teenage Warhead opposite Ryan Reynolds and Josh Brolin. The character came back in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), carrying Yukio into the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe and reuniting her with fans who had taken to the role’s cheerful energy. English-language projects widened her reach further, including the comedy Murder Mystery and the Apple TV+ science fiction drama Invasion, where she appears as Mitsuki Yamato.

Stepping into Games with Death Stranding 2 and Final Fantasy

Interactive media brought a different kind of visibility. For Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016), she gave the Japanese voice to Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, the Oracle at the center of Square Enix’s story. Years later, Hideo Kojima cast her as Rainy in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (2025), a part built through 3D scanning, motion capture filmed in Los Angeles, and recording sessions in both English and Japanese. Kojima teased her involvement through a run of cryptic posters before confirming the casting, then shared footage of her capture and dubbing work.