After winning an Oscar for his incredible performance in The Whale, Brendan Fraser is back with another fantastic performance in Rental Family, Hikari's heartwarming tale of a struggling American actor in Japan who starts working for a rental family service where he is hired to play roles in other people's lives.

Ahead of the film's UK premiere as the American Express Gala at this year's London Film Festival, FILMHOUNDS caught up with the cast and crew of Rental Family on the red carpet, speaking to screenwriter Stephen Blahut as well as cast members Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto and the fabulous Shannon Mahina Gorman.

Hira told us that if he could hire someone to play someone else in his life, he'd want to “hire Brendan Fraser to be [his] buddy, to show off”. Yamamoto pondered on the boundary between lying and acting, as well as how movies helped her to deal with loneliness. And Gorman recalled what it was like working alongside Fraser in her first-ever film.

Blahut explained the process of writing with director Hikari to balance the eastern and western cultures, as well as the dramatic and comedic tones of the film; “It worked out between the two of us, having eastern and western points of view, having female and male points of view. We're just trying to find that balance for each other”.

We also had the chance to chat to LFF festival director Kristy Matheson about what drew her to Rental Family and why, when she saw the film, she knew she had to screen it at this year's festival: “It's a very special film”.

You can check out FILMHOUNDS' full interview below:

Rental Family screened at the 2025 BFI London Film Festival and will release in UK cinemas 9 January.

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