Tao Okamoto

Hugh Jackman is just the nicest person in the world. I know everybody says that, and it's almost boring to hear, but he is really, really perfect.

I remember when I was little, much younger than I was when I started modeling, people always said, 'Oh, you should be a model.' But I didn't like people telling me what to do... But I didn't plan to transform into an actress, either. It just happened.

I started modeling with a very negative part of me - I didn't really like myself or how I looked because I was very tall for a Japanese girl.

I've always loved fashion and, of course, enjoyed my experiences walking on runways, but I love watching the shows as well! Now I understand more why it's such a big deal for the industry and why people work so hard before and during fashion weeks. It's interesting to see the same things from a different angle.

I was living in Paris for, like, a year and a half, and I couldn't speak French, so it was just hard to get a baguette or a pastry or whatever. All the stores close at 6 o'clock, and they're not very into hospitality, so it's not a convenient city. It's so pretty, though, but I was raised in Tokyo, so it was hard to understand.

I remember when I saw 'X-Men' the first time, I was living in England as an exchange student, and my first boyfriend, who's an Englishman, made me watch the movie... He was very jealous that I liked Hugh Jackman so much.

I used to have a very difficult childhood because I was always the tallest girl in school, and everybody was staring at me and saying, 'You are very different.' Now, different is good.

Most of the time, as a model, I feel like I'm just a doll. They control how I should move.

I'm not good with blogs and social networks because those things come and go. By the time I am used to one thing, a new type of social media is already trending.

That's my dream: one day, I want to standing on the stage on Broadway. I sing; my dancing is terrible, but I can be trained. That's my dream. That's something I really want to work on.

I was chosen for 'Wolverine' because there weren't any other Japanese actresses available who could speak English. With 'Batman v Superman' and 'Hannibal,' I got the roles as a result of previous work I'd done, not just because of my nationality.

Modeling is exciting, but I certainly felt frustrated that I couldn't speak out or express myself. I always wanted to express my desires in some other medium.