How do you “make it” in Hollywood? It’s a question millions of hopefuls ask themselves every year, though the answer remains hopelessly elusive. Is there a wikiHow guide to help you? Can you watch a crash course on YouTube? Do you just survive on passion for the art form? Or maybe you need to take a DNA test and find out you’re a long-lost relative of the Coppolas.
Actor Karen Fukuhara is not a distant relative of a Hollywood dynasty; however, she did have supportive immigrant parents from Japan who, while unaware of the workings of Hollywood, enrolled her in acting classes during her childhood.
“I didn’t come from an industry family,” Fukuhara admits. “It was a hobby of mine. I loved doing it. I went to the Santa Monica playhouse and put on some plays there. [But] I don’t think I took it seriously until after college.”
Fukuhara made her debut to general audiences in 2016’s “Suicide Squad” as the silent and dangerous Kanta. Since then, she has been busy playing the fan-favorite vigilante Kimiko Miyashrio in the gorey and satirical Amazon Prime Video series “The Boys.” But, like countless other Hollywood hopefuls, her success didn’t come overnight. Throughout her childhood, Fukuhara auditioned continuously for commercials and even took on a few steady hosting gigs — one of them being Disney Channel’s entertainment news show “Movie Surfers,” which got kids of all ages behind-the-scenes access to movie sets, press junkets and even red carpets.
“My first junket and red carpet was ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean.’ I remember being incredibly nervous; I had to look down at my notes for every question,” Fukuhara reminisced. “It really taught me work ethic because if I…
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