 In 2006, Kikuchi was chosen by Japanese film producer Yoko Narahashi for the Alejandro González Iñárritu film "Babel", where she played Chieko Wataya, a troubled, deaf teenage girl, for which she received international attention.She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.Kikuchi was the fourth person in Academy Award history to be nominated for a role in which she does not speak.