Rila Fukushima turns from runways to swordplay

• Japanese model Rila Fukushima transitions to acting with the new movie %27The Wolverine%27
• She plays Yukio%2C a bodyguard who helps Logan on his Japanese mission
• Hugh Jackman helped her on her acting performance as well as looked out for her on set

The Marvel comic-book character Yukio gets a makeover from black-clad assassin to manga-inspired bodyguard in the new movie The Wolverine.

And if anyone knows about good fashion sense, it's the Japanese actress who plays Yukio, Rila Fukushima.

After a decade as an international model, Fukushima is transitioning to acting, co-starring with Hugh Jackman. She didn't pick a romantic comedy or drama for her mainstream debut, though — she cuts a sharp profile as the sword-wielding Yukio, whose banter with Jackman's Logan is as deadly as her blade.

"I normally watch a lot of art-house (movies), and I didn't see myself doing action films," says Fukushima, who has appeared in music videos and been a fashion blogger. "Once in a while, when I was doing the action, my brain, my mind and how I think and feel were connected. Just sometimes. And then I felt so good about it. I'm like, 'Oh, that's why action stunts are so much fun!' "

Yukio works for powerful Master Yashida, whose relationship with Logan goes back to World War II. When Logan comes to Japan and gets embroiled in drama and violence, Yukio — with her red hair and hip outfits — steps in to help and finds that they're from similar cloth.

"After she meets Logan, she starts to show her emotions more and is trying to prove herself," adds Fukushima, who says she's in her late 20s. "She's an outsider like Logan, and they understand each other because they're both soldiers. They're carrying each other but also arguing with each other."

Jackman consistently impressed Fukushima as an actor, but also as a man who has a strong handle on Japanese culture. During the weeks they filmed in Japan, Jackman took the time to climb Mount Fuji — "I was born and raised in Tokyo, and I've never climbed Mount Fuji," she says. Plus, Jackman looked out for Fukushima on the set.

"At the end of the movie, I was like, 'Thank you so much, Hugh,' " she recalls. "He said, 'You don't have to thank me. If you have an experience in the future and there is someone who needs help, you can just help that person out, and I'll be really happy.' It was really nice to hear something like that."