From a multicultural upbringing in Hong Kong to her breakout role in Dead Boy Detectives, Yuyu Kitamura is more than a rising actress. She’s a thoughtful storyteller in the making. Through candid interviews and her 27 Questions feature, she opens up about identity, self-advocacy, creativity, and why her future extends far beyond acting alone.
How Yuyu Sees Her Life
A Multicultural Upbringing Shaped Who She Is
Yuyu Kitamura was born and raised in Hong Kong to Japanese parents, creating a blend of cultural identities. She calls herself a third-culture kid — not “purely” Japanese, not purely Western, but shaped by a mix of cultures. That experience taught her flexibility, openness, and perspective from different parts of the world — qualities she brings into her art.
She Feels Grateful and Lucky
Across interviews she expresses gratitude — for her parents’ support, for theatre opportunities, for her first big acting role, and even for the weird and intense parts of working on a large TV production. She sees her life experiences as privileges as well as lessons.
Life Is About Layers and Discovery
In a lighter interview she said if her life was a case file it’d be “The Case of the Russian Doll” — meaning she’s constantly unfolding new layers about herself and that she’s still early in her journey.
How She Sees Her Profession
Acting Is Her True Passion — But Not Her Only Love
She’s always known she’d act — performing on stage made her “so happy” from a very young age. But she’s also interested in directing and producing, and would like to build those skills too.
She also wrote, directed, produced, and starred in her own short film during COVID, showing she doesn’t just want to perform, but create stories.
She Values Representation
Yuyu has often spoken about how important it was for her to see Asians and people who looked like her on screen — and how that inspired her to pursue acting. She cites Sandra Oh and other early Asian actors as examples that shaped her belief that she could be in TV and film.
Because of this, she takes roles that honestly reflect identity and culture — not clichés.
She Works Hard to Speak Up Professionally
She’s talked about learning to advocate for herself on set — to communicate when something doesn’t feel right for her character or her comfort — and that that’s a big part of professional growth.
She Sees Collaboration and Community as Central
Whether it’s creating her own film or being on a large cohort drama like Dead Boy Detectives, Yuyu emphasizes that working with others — developing connections and trust — is one of the richest parts of her work.
How She Sees Her Future
She’s Open to Many Paths
While acting is in her heart, Yuyu also wants to move toward producing and directing. She’s curious about telling stories from behind the camera as well as in front of it.
She Chooses Growth Over Comfort
Yuyu isn’t chasing fame — she’s chasing meaningful work. She wants to challenge herself with roles that allow her to learn and grow, and projects that reflect the world honestly.
She Sees Her Role in Representation
She sees herself as part of a broader movement toward diverse, layered representation on screen. This sense of responsibility carries into her choices and how she wants audiences to connect with her work.
Vital Things We Learned from Her Interviews
She’s grounded and self-aware
She reflects honestly — about identity, privilege, confidence struggles, and how she wants to grow both personally and professionally.
She values authenticity
Whether in character choices or how she interacts on set, she strives to stay true to who she is — and encourages characters to be multi-dimensional.
She sees storytelling as a way to connect and heal
She chooses roles and projects that speak to connection, community, and human experience — not just surface entertainment.
She believes in speaking up — about boundaries, about meaning
She views advocating for herself as part of living a life she’ll be proud of.
She finds beauty in optimism and love
Her character Niko embodies light, care, and love, and Yuyu has said those qualities resonate deeply with her own life philosophy as well. Resources: Lifestyle Asia, Tatler Asia, TVovermind, The DHK, Wonderland, EnVi Media
