Karen Fukuhara Discusses How Kimiko’s Muteness Shaped Her Interpretation and Development: “I quickly realized that sign language is a language and those words can be powerful although not verbal”

The Boys is one of the most popular superhero series globally, and its fourth season recently concluded on July 18, 2024. While initial reactions were mixed, the show gained momentum and earned a Certified Fresh rating with high scores.

The fourth season was filled with fascinating and surprising moments. Although we’ve discussed many characters, Kimiko—who had a particularly shocking moment in the season finale—hasn’t been a major focus until now. This report aims to address that.

In this article, we’ll cover Karen Fukuhara’s recent appearance on the “I’ve Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario” podcast. During the interview, Fukuhara shared intriguing details about Kimiko, the audition process, and insights into her personal life.

As mentioned, Karen Fukuhara appeared on the “I’ve Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario” podcast, where she was asked about Kimiko’s muteness. Fukuhara generously shared her insights and reflections on this aspect of the character, discussing how it has influenced Kimiko’s evolution and development.

TD: Were you hoping that eventually the character would become verbal, Like, was that a big thing for you in the initial stages of reading for this role and going out for it?

KF: Definitely was a big question throughout and at the top of my mind, especially when the theories started. In Season One, she doesn’t speak at all, not even sign language, and yeah, I think I had a conversation with Kripke about it, but we weren’t sure what direction he was going to take it in. Yeah, I had no idea. In the original comic books, she really never speaks until the very, very end, and so I knew that it would be, like… would have not happened. There was a high chance that she would have never spoken in our version of the show, and I was okay with that, though, especially after Season Two, when sign language was introduced and she is building this connection with Frenchie and also revisiting her past, I quickly realized that sign language is a language and those words can be powerful although not verbal.

TD: You know, it’s funny because being someone who, of course, is verbal and is able to speak, and I imagine, like for me – I’m an Italian from New Jersey that never shuts up – so I feel like I would accidentally be speaking when I’m not supposed to. Like, did you have moments for you let out a noise or a sound or a word and you were like, ‘Oh shit, no, no, no, no, we have to cut’?

KF: Yes, it usually happens when Frenchie is saying a funny line because Tomer usually has all of the… all of the funny moments in our scenes, and he’s genuinely like one of the funniest people I know and so… and his delivery is just like comedy gold. So yeah, I do find myself laughing in some of the scenes.

Yeah, it’s some of my favorite ones. Try to remember… in the earlier seasons, I couldn’t stop laughing at his line when he says Katniss, it’s like ‘Ketney’s’. And he couldn’t remember it, too, because he had never… I think he had never seen The Hunger Games. And they added that catness line at the very last minute on the day, and… I think it was maybe Kripke who was directing it. He said, ‘Hey, can you add this line?’, and to where it comes up to me, and he’s like ‘What is Katniss ?’, like ‘Who is Katniss ?’. And so, he… but yeah, it was like a really funny moment because he also, like, had no idea for minute. Oh, another one that I’ve loved was ‘He’s trying to get in my asshole,’ with the termite. That was one of my favorites of this.

TD: That’s o funny, and that made you like slightly break character and make a sounder a laugh or something, for sure?

KF: For sure. Luckily it’s usually when I’m not on camera.

This perspective is definitely intriguing, and Fukuhara shared some compelling insights. To listen to the entire podcast, follow this link. Do you have thoughts to share? Leave a comment below!

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