How Sonoya Mizuno Became The Filmmaker’s Scalpel

It’s been five years since Alex Garland’s hardcore A.I feature debut delved into our collective psyche, Ex Machina. It set the stage for many members of a cast that would go on to become markee Hollywood stars; Oscar Isaac picked up Star Wars, Alica Vikander went on to win an Academy Award and Domhnall Gleeson? Well, he’s Domhnall Gleeson, of course.

However, one gem from the cast has gone on to become a very particular kind of actor, not quite a character actor but a special, technical kind of chameleon who will mold herself in whichever way the director or auteur seems fit: Sonoya Mizuno.

Vital Impressions

The Japanese, English, Argentinian actor, Sonoya Mizuno, brought to life the other A.I character in Ex Machina with a deft touch; Kyoko is the ghost of the film. The uncanny that keeps our eyes dry. Mizuno has gone on to work with Damien Chazelle in La La Land, become a fan favourite in Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Maniac, and again carried heavy responsibilities with Alex Garland in his follow-up to Ex Machina, Annihilation. They’re reteaming a third time for his upcoming series Devs.

All the while, working steady roles in box office hits such as Disney’s Beauty & The Beast and Crazy Rich Asians. Just to top it off, she appeared in Frank Ocean’s music video for the iconic track, ‘Nikes’. So, how has Mizuno managed to juggle and accumulate such a unique career?

A New Kind of Performer

In line with her unique career, she has become a unique kind of actor, maybe, a new kind of actor. She’s yet to be cast as top billing but what she brings to each project is as important as any Emma Stone (who she’s worked with twice) or Oscar Isaac (the other actor to boast a parallel double collaboration with Garland). Her unique set of skills attained by her past experience as a ballet dancer has become a recurring strength; she played the ‘humanoid’ or ‘alien’ opposite Natalie Portman in the climatic and abstract finale of Annihilation, mesmerizing music and mirroring would make any member of the audience’s skin crawl.

The same skill was utilised in her performance in La La Land, where she plays Emma Stone’s housemate and friend Caitlin. She’s constantly a heavy feature in any project’s defining scene. In the Golden Globe Best Picture nominated Crazy Rich Asians, it’s her wedding which is the cause of celebration, and her wedding that allows the film’s technical powers in production design to shine all the brighter in a scene so visually overwhelming, there were reports of audiences gasping.

How the Scalpel Works

Her intangibility becomes, well, ‘less noticeable’ as she’s remodeled into Dr. Azumi Fujita for Netflix’s Maniac. Fukunaga claims he wanted the cast to be diverse, as it was a chance for him to do something for his culture, so he wanted to hire Japanese actors. One of them ended up being Sonoya Mizuno, who he moulds into arguably the most charismatic and visually interesting character in the series. And it’s one crazy drug-induced series. Fukunaga fuels Maniac’s wacky, stylish, retro-futurist ideals through Azumi. It’s a far cry from playing slaved artificial intelligence.

I mean, do we need to dig into Ex Machina? The quintessential dance number features Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno; nevertheless, audiences still fail to recognize her in other projects. That’s not just a character actor, that’s something a little bit more complicated – she’s a precise, sharp tool for the filmmaker to make a point with, to prove a point with.

She’s a sublime example of an actor who makes themselves in the image of the film as well as the filmmaker’s vision. So much so, unless you’re a well-read film journalist or filmmaker, despite watching her best moments on YouTube or sharing her likeness in ‘Perfect Shot’ tweets from her work in films. You still don’t know her name or her filmography; maybe you didn’t even know all these characters were played by the same person.

Mizuno’s still thirty-two, but she’s part of a generation of actors finally receiving interesting parts due to Hollywood’s growing celebration of diversity on screen. She’s evolved from a successful dancer, into a successful model and now into an exclusive and particular kind of weapon for directors to enhance their films with. She’s far more than ’emerging talent’ or a ‘solid’ character actor. It looks like an expansive yet individual career and I can’t wait to see the rest of it.

Sonoya Mizuno next appears in Alex Garland’s sci-fi thriller for FX/Fox. Devs.