Born on New Year's Day in 1937, began her film career appearing in thrillers and mystery films, but as the 1960s progressed, her good looks and pleasant demeanor made her a favorite of director Ishirô Honda and thus she became Toho's go-to gal when it came to befriending or being menaced by aliens and monsters of all kinds, in a range of sci-fi and horror films.
Mizuno emerged from her stint with monsters as one of Japan's most popular actresses and moved away from the horror and sci-fi genres as the 1970s progressed.
With a career that has spanned more than five decades at this point, she remains much-loved among the Japanese movie-going public and continues to act in films up to the present day. While she personally never put much weight on her early career co-starring with giant monsters and special effects, she returned to face Godzilla once more in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (2002) and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), two entries in the Toho Company's "Millenium" series.
I really really identified with her as a kid. I remember watching those Japanese movies and thinking "wow, a beautiful brown-eyed actress!" because pretty much all models and actresses when I was a kid were blue-eyed except for Natalie Wood. I always thought she was so graceful and classy.
ReplyDeleteShe has a sweetness about her that is very appealing. And she had some of my favorite costars in her early career! Fantastic choice, Steve!
ReplyDelete