Tomoko Karina
Tomoko Karina is a bilingual actress/ writer/ director with notable recent appearance in “Blood” directed by Golden Globe and NY Critic Choice Award nominee Robert Allan Ackerman, “Conbra Kai”(Netflix), “Save This Dance” (Hallmark Now Movie) and “A Haunting at Silver Falls 2” (Netflix). – Tomoko Karina was born in a metropolitan city of Tokyo, Japan to loving parents, her father, Mikio, who is an ambitious aspiring entrepreneur, son of ex-Geisha single mother in Kyoto, and her mother, Yoshiko, who is a sheltered classy elegant daughter of a weal\thy steel mogul. Being hugely influenced by her theater, film and history fanatic father Mikio, Tomoko grew up watching the greatest Kabuki, classic and contemporary theater, classic Hollywood films and Japanese period (samurai) dramas. Tomoko was sent to a prestigious all girl’s school near imperial palace from age of 12 to 22 till she graduates a university. In her school days, Tomoko was an entertainer, comedian, rebel and leader in an all-girl class. As she embraced the sisterhood, she learnt how to be in charge and girl can rock and rule! She always questioned authority and what is “Normal” which Japanese society always forced her behave especially in a strict girl’s school she grew up in. She appreciated and found oasis in rebellious loud rock, punk and alternative music as well as indie/ major Tokyo theater scene, classic Hollywood and Japanese films and intimate European films. at 18, a day after she graduated high school, she traveled to Los Angeles with her BFF and a fake ID. Tomoko reconfirmed within her that she belongs to Hollywood. After college, she immediately moved to Los Angeles pursuing acting, studying at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute and Play House West, then soon landed several commercial jobs but still struggling with her English. Tomoko decided to move back to Japan to explore her craft of acting that she learnt with great teachers in LA such as Anna Strasberg, Robert Carnegie and Jeff Goldblum with her native tongue, Japanese. In Tokyo, she landed major Theater and TV roles. Tomoko also found her passion in creating her own project and debuted as a theater writer/ director with her own play, “2 Lies and 3 Dreams and Hollywood”, which premiered at Theatre Atcre in Tokyo and had great success. Tomoko also wrote and directed her short film, “Camellia- Kerria- Pink”, which won the best foreign film at Brent wood and Pacific Palisades International Film Festival, semi- final at Women’s Voice now and officially selected at In Short Film Festival.
