The Real Inspiration Behind 'Rental Family'

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The plot of Rental Family, directed by HIKARI and starring Brendan Fraser, reads almost like science fiction. Out of necessity, Phillip (Fraser), an out-of-work American actor living in Tokyo, takes a job as a rental companion. The position requires him to fill in as whatever the person employing him may need to accomplish a goal in their personal life. Phillip might work as a man crying at a funeral to make the dead seem more significant, or something far more involved, like a best friend, or even a father to a young daughter. But rental companion services aren’t just real, but a considerable industry in Japan, where the first companion service, the Japan Efficiency Corporation, launched in 1991.

Fraser was shocked by the concept when he first read the screenplay, just before the 2023 awards season which would culminate with him winning an Oscar for The Whale. “The notion of it was peculiar,” says Fraser, “but when I read the screenplay, I thought it was wonderful, because of how it provides for people who are bereft of connection. It allows for a surrogacy to fill a void of needs that we humans, whether we admit it or not, have, to feel less lonely and more connected to our loved ones, even if those people are not available to us. Sometimes it’s enough just to have people look you in the eye and know that you exist.” He adds that by HIKARI’s count, more than 300 such businesses currently operate in Japan.

The film’s producers, Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev, had a similar initial reaction, but came to understand how such services met a need. “There’s nobody in our lives who isn’t missing someone,” says Lebedev. “We’re coming up on the holidays, and a lot of people struggle with that. I think the sentiment of wanting someone in your life who can listen to you and empathize with you or give you a different perspective feels very universal.”