For most actresses, playing the female lead in a Hollywood movie is a pipe dream, achieved only by a tiny minority who were lucky enough to get their break, usually after years of auditions and hard work. Eriko Hatsune, though, wonders why she’s an actress at all. This year Hatsune appeared as the female lead in “Emperor,” alongside Matthew Fox and Tommy Lee Jones, playing Aya Shimada, a Japanese exchange student in the U.S., whose relationship with General Bonner Fellers (Fox) helps him to understand the Japanese perspective on World War II.

BLOUIN ARTINFO Japan sat down with Hatsune in her native city to discuss how a shy, seemingly unambitious young lady, with next to no self-promotion, made her way to the big screen.