- Naoko Mori
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Naoko Mori 
Mori at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International.Born November 19, 1971
Nagoya, JapanOccupation Actress, singer[1] Years active 1992–present Naoko Mori (森 尚子 Mori Naoko)[2] (born November 19, 1971)[3] is a British-Japanese actress known for roles as Sarah, Saffron's "odd" friend in Absolutely Fabulous, Mie Nishikawa in Casualty, and Toshiko Sato in Doctor Who and Torchwood.
Contents
Early life
Mori was born in 1971 in Nagoya, Japan, and grew up in Japan, New Jersey, USA, and London. When Mori was twelve, she moved to England.[citation needed] Her father was sent back to Japan when Mori was fifteen.[citation needed] She was then given the choice of either staying in London or moving back with her father.[citation needed] She chose to stay in England, partly because she wanted to finish her GCSEs and gain some qualifications.[4]
Her father later opened a bank account for her, handed her a cheque book and told her to find a flat or a bed sit for herself to live in.[citation needed] Mori said that being on her own at such a young age helped her to be a very independent person, although it was still a scary world to be faced so young.[citation needed]
Acting career
Mori at Comic Con 2008.
From 1993–1994, Mori had a regular role on the hospital drama Casualty as the hospital receptionist Mie Nishikawa. Film roles followed, including appearances in Spiceworld: The Movie (1997) and Topsy-Turvy (1999), and a leading role in Running Time (2000).[citation needed] Mori also appeared in the television programmes Judge John Deed (2001), Spooks (2002), Mile High (2003)[5] and Powers (2004).[6] In 1995, she had a small role as a Japanese computer hacker in the film Hackers. Mori had a major role in the 2005 BBC docu-drama Hiroshima, which contained dramatic re-enactments of the 1945 atomic bombing. Mori also provided the voice acting for the villainess Mai Hem for the game Perfect Dark Zero. She also played Mia, hostess of the short-lived game show Hot Tub Ranking the same year. The programme ran for 6 episodes.[citation needed]
Also in 2005, Mori had a small role as Dr Sato in the Doctor Who episode "Aliens of London". Producer Russell T Davies took note of her performance and decided to bring the character back as a regular in the first two series of the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood.[7] Mori's Torchwood character, Toshiko Sato, was killed in Exit Wounds, the final episode of Torchwood’s second series, but has not ruled out the possibility of returning to the show at a later date.[citation needed] She returned to the West End on November 20, 2006, when she took over the role of Christmas Eve from Ann Harada in the London production of Avenue Q, a role which she played until 14 April 2007.[8] Mori portrayed Yoko Ono in the BBC Four production Lennon Naked, which aired in the UK on Wednesday 23 June 2010.[9] The film reunited her with Christopher Eccleston, who played John Lennon, opposite whom she played Dr Sato in her Doctor Who appearance.
Personal life
Mori is a Japanese Buddhist.[10] She wanted to become a singer before she was an actress.[11]
Filmography
Year Film Role Other notes 1992 Desmond's Caroline TV Episode: Growing Pains 1992–2003 Absolutely Fabulous Sarah 11 Episodes 1993–1994 Casualty Mie Nishi-Kawa 7 Episodes 1995 Hackers Tokyo Hacker 1997 Spice World Nicola Thief Takers Minako Takahashi TV Episode: Brand Loyalty & Black Mist 1998 Bugs Melissa TV Episode: Jewel Control 1999 Psychos Mariko Harris Topsy-Turvy Miss 'Sixpence Please' 2000 Running Time Michelle 2001 Judge John Deed Mutsumi Yesayahoo TV Episode: Appropriate Response & Rough Justice 2002 Murder in Mind Naomi TV Episode: Rage Spooks Annette TV Episode: The Rose Bed Memoirs Doctors Molly Fletcher TV Episode: Feet of Clay 2003 Manchild Geisha Girl Mile High Natsumi TV Episode: Series One, Episode 13 2004 The Smoking Room Naoko 2005 Doctor Who Doctor Sato TV Episode: Aliens of London Hiroshima Shige Hiratsuka Hot Tub Ranking Mia 6 Episodes 2006 Little Miss Jocelyn Beautician TV Episode: Series One, Episode 5 2006–2008 Torchwood Toshiko Sato Two full series 26 Episodes 2010 Lennon Naked Yoko Ono [12] 2011 Private Practice Patricia Ramsey TV Episode: If You Don’t Know Me By Now References
- ^ "Avenue Q - royal Variety Performance" YouTube
- ^ "グローバルキャスティング： 映画・テレビドラマ・CMのオーディション・エキストラ募集情報 [Global Casting: Movies; Television Drama; CM Auditions; Extras Recruitment Information]" (in Japanese). Global Casting. Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061017153425/http://www.g-casting.com/voice/naokomori.html. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
- ^ "Torchwood pushes all the right buttons for Naoko" (Press release). BBC Television. 2006-11-03. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk48/feature_torchwood.shtml. Retrieved 2006-11-03.[dead link]
- ^ "The Wright Stuff - Naoko Mori and the papers" YouTube video
- ^ "Episode Guide". Mile High fansite. http://www.mile-high.co.uk/episodeguides.php?id=13. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ Action TV Online - Powers episode guide
- ^ "Torchwood's latest members". BBC Press Office. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/04_april/24/torchwood.shtml. Retrieved 2006-04-24..
- ^ "Avenue Q preview review". http://www.nowt2do.co.uk/review.php?id=89. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
- ^ "FATHERHOOD SEASON - Lennon Naked" 23 June 2010, BBC
- ^ Gordon, Carole (2007-01-01). "Interview with Torchwood star Naoko Mori". Eclipse Magazine. Archived from the original on January 6, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070106022351/http://www.eclipsemagazine.com/channel/hollywood_insider/interview_with_torchwood_star_naoko_mori. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
- ^ "Interview: NAOKO MORI from TORCHWOOD (Part One)" at Daemon's TV web site
- ^ "Former Doctor Who to play John Lennon". CBC News. 27 November 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2009/11/27/eccleston-lennon.html. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
External links
Categories:- 1971 births
- Living people
- British people of Japanese descent
- British television actors
- British Buddhists
- People from Nagoya
- British female singers
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