Biography
A native of Chicago, IL, Japanese-American actress Suzy Nakamura originally harbored desires and plans to be a professional dancer, but positive acting experiences in a number of Windy City theatrical productions, including Mame and H.M.S. Pinafore, prompted her to shift focus. During her third year of college, she impulsively decided to audition for the famed Second City comedy troupe in Chicago and was selected, which inspired her to drop out of school and tour around the country with that ensemble on a full-time basis.
Nakamura took her next step by moving to Los Angeles and securing representation; numerous guest spots and recurring roles on series including
The West Wing and
Curb Your Enthusiasm followed, though the tyro actress also placed a heavy emphasis on big-screen roles, with deft supporting turns in projects including
Mike Figgis' experimental drama
Timecode (2000), director Gary David Goldberg's romantic comedy
Must Love Dogs (2005), and
Christopher Guest's mockumentary
For Your Consideration (2006). Also in 2006, the producers of the offbeat sitcom
Help Me Help You (starring
Ted Danson and Jere Burns) tapped Nakamura to play Inger, a young woman grappling with major social dysfunction on the bumpy road to romance. Unfortunately, that program was canceled not long after it premiered; Nakamura followed it up with one of the lead roles in the comedic horror mockumentary
American Zombie. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide