‘We are so proud of her, she is an amazing girl’... Japanese actress with Navan roots stars in first feature film

A Navan family are beaming with pride as their twelve year-old granddaughter and niece Shannon Mahina Gorman stars in her debut acting role starring alongside Oscar winning actor Brendan Fraser in the film 'Rental Family', directed by Japanese filmmaker Hikari.

Shannon's grandparents, Christopher and Margaret Gorman, originally from Clusker Park in Navan, and Shannon's aunt, Linda Gorman and her partner, Michael Rennicks, attended a screening of the film at Arc Cinema in Navan last Friday 23rd January with the rest of the extended family and friends to celebrate Shannon's part in the film.

The Gorman family relocated to Lobinstown over 20 years ago, with Shannon's father, Victor Gorman, moving to Japan 26 years ago, and now living in Tokyo with his wife, Takano Gorman, Shannon and his family. Takano is also Shannon's manager.

The family brought along a signed and framed 'Rental Family' poster that Shannon autographed especially for her aunt, grandparents and extended family.

Linda, Shannon's aunt, said: “We are so proud of her, she is an amazing girl. She has no acting training and her first performance is alongside an Oscar winner and she took it all in her stride. Everyone that meets her is just besotted with her, she's so friendly and funny.”

Despite not having any formal acting training, Linda said: “Shannon was always a natural at performing in front of people, she would sing and dance and had no fear of meeting new people. Her dad Victor has always been a movie buff so he and her mum Takano knew she had talent. They signed her up with a talent agency and soon after she got a call for the audition.”

“She has received a lot of attention for her performance in the movie and has been nominated for five awards already, including Best Young Actress at the Critics Choice Awards, Best Young Performer at the Astra Film Awards and Best Youth Performance at the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards. In a recent movie review on Ireland AM, she was compared to a young Saoirse Ronan and is being hyped up to be a big star in the future. Over a thousand young girls auditioned for the role and Shannon was picked out of them.”

“We (Shannon's family) attended the BFI London Film Festival in Southbank last October and saw the film for the first time. There was a lot of film premieres at the festival that night including Hamnet and of course Rental Family. I couldn't really take the plot of the film in at the time because I was crying so much, so we are seeing Rental Family for the second time at Arc Cinema in our hometown. It was Shannon's first time walking the red carpet and being interviewed at BFI also and she enjoyed every minute of it.”

“After the movie premiere at BFI, we were escorted to a VIP party in the Soho Hotel with all the cast, crew and the director, Hikari. We got to meet Brendan Fraser and his wife, who were just so friendly and down to earth. It was an amazing experience.”

“Since the BFI London Film Festival, Shannon has done red carpet walks at the LA film festival and also the Tokyo one. She wore a beautiful green dress at BFI, to salute her Irish side, and a pair of Doc Marten's, which she loves and has worn a pair for every red carpet since!”

Shannon's grandparents Christopher and Margaret told the Meath Chronicle: “We're just so proud of Shannon, and we're looking forward to seeing what she stars in next.”

Shannon told an interviewer at the BFI London Film Festival that working on this film with Brendan Fraser was “mind-blowing” and that it has “always been her dream to be an actress since she was a baby” but she never thought that her very first job would be with “such an amazing cast.”

She continued by saying that “when I auditioned for the role in Rental Family, I didn't think I would have a lot of lines in the film. When I read the script, I just thought it was so beautiful. At first, I questioned whether I could do this job or not, and then I thought, 'I can do this. I can work hard for this.' The movie turned out so beautiful. I loved the camera work and everyone's acting. My favourite part of being in the film was that I got to wear loads of different clothes that I don't get to usually wear. I got to meet a lot of new people and go to new places I'd never been before.”

“Looking at the poster, I get emotional because it's my first job. Brendan (Fraser) is so funny, caring and kind backstage. He brought the character out in me on camera. He is so talented.”

“I hope I can continue to be an actress. Maybe a dancer, a singer and a model, too! I would love to do all kinds of movies and musicals.”

When asked what Shannon would do after a day of filming to come out of character, she said: “I would go home, relax and talk to my mum and dad to try and become Shannon again, instead of my character, Mia. I just tried to go back to my own life because I also have school.”

When asked about her first meeting with Brendan Fraser, Shannon said: “When I first met Brendan, I was really surprised because he was so tall, and my dad is tall, but Brendan is taller than my dad. He was really caring about people on the set. It was really nice to meet him for my first job.”

Linda, Shannon's aunt, told the Meath Chronicle: “Brendan really took Shannon under his wing. He helped her during the filming with hitting her mark and other acting tips. He has openly said in many interviews that he was amazed by how she took to it so naturally. In nearly every interview he has done he has mentioned her and gives her the highest praise. Even Victor, Shannon's dad, and Brendan have become good friends.”

Shannon plays Mia Kawasaki in the heartwarming comedy-drama, which first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6th September 2025. The film centres around American actor Phillip Vanderploeg (Brendan Fraser), who is living in Tokyo and is constantly looking for roles in new projects.

He is hired by a rental family agency which requires him to play stand-in family members and friends for strangers.

Philip (Brendan Fraser) ends up standing in as Mia's (Shannon Mahina Gorman) estranged father.

In fulfilling his role, Philip begins to form genuine connections, blurring the lines between performance and reality.

Despite Shannon herself being born and raised in Japan, the film features a nod to Shannon's strong Irish roots through her character, Mia, with one scene acknowledging that Mia is “part Irish.”