Hikari Discusses Filming Brendan Fraser in Lovely ‘Rental Family’ Film
by Alex Billington
November 19, 2025
Source: YouTube
“She’s a creator who has a strong intuition [for] the human condition – and [can do] that with sincerity, without ever being mawkish or cliche…” This lovely, uplifting new film is opening in theaters this week and I heartily recommend it. Searchlight Pictures has debuted another charming behind-the-scenes featurette for Rental Family, from the filmmaker known as “Hikari” who also directed episodes of the series “Beef” & the film 37 Seconds. Discover the joy of unexpected connections. A lonely American actor living in Tokyo starts working for a Japanese “rental family” company to play stand-in roles in other people’s lives. Along his journey, he finds surprising connections and unexpected joys within his built-in family in Japan. This humble film stars Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, with Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Gorman, & Akira Emoto. This making of featurette is all about Hikari working with Brendan Fraser, why she chose him for this role, and a bit of what she’s like working on set filming with everyone. I watched this film recently and it’s quite cozy and makes you feel all warm & fuzzy by the end. It’s entirely worth watching.
Here’s the “Hikari & Brendan” featurette for Hikari’s film Rental Family, from Searchlight’s YouTube:
You can rewatch the first official trailer for Hikari’s Rental Family movie right here for even more footage.
Set against modern-day Tokyo, Rental Family follows an American actor (Oscar winner Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find his purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his new clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that soon blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection. Rental Family is directed by the Japanese filmmaker known as Hikari (aka Mitsuyo Miyazaki), director of the film 37 Seconds previously, plus episodes of the series “Beef” from A24. The screenplay is written by Stephen Blahut and Hikari. Produced by Julia Lebedev, Eddie Vaisman, Shin Yamaguchi, and Hikari. This first premiered at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival a few months ago. Searchlight will debut Hikari’s Rental Family in US theaters nationwide starting November 21st, 2025 coming up this fall. Want to watch this?
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