Margaret Qualley was cast in Death Stranding after dancing in a commercial, reveals Kojima

Few names in the gaming industry have such an intense relationship with cinema as Hideo Kojima. Known for turning his projects into interactive cinematic experiences, the creator of the Death Stranding franchise has now revealed an unusual detail about the casting process: actress Margaret Qualley landed her role as Mama after being seen dancing in a perfume commercial.

The commercial in question was released in 2016, promoting the Kenzo fragrance, directed by Spike Jonze and featuring the track Mutant Brain, composed by Sam Spiegel, Jonze's brother. In the video, Qualley delivers an explosive and choreographed performance, full of intense facial expressions and unconventional body movements.

"I saw this and offered her the role," wrote Kojima in a social media post. A fan's response was direct: “That is probably the least surprising thing I've ever heard from you”.

In the Death Stranding universe, Mama is a brilliant engineer trapped in an invisible BT, living in physical isolation but maintaining deep emotional connections. The complexity of the role required an actress with absolute mastery of body language, something that the performance in the commercial already demonstrated.

Margaret Qualley, who has also appeared in films like The Substance and Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood, not only brought Mama to life, but also played her twin sister, Lockne, in the same game — raising the possibility of her return in Death Stranding 2, not yet confirmed.

Kojima's fascination with movie stars is nothing new. He has a habit of following emerging talents and often posts images of video calls with actors and actresses, as he did with Emma Purnell from the Fallout series. In his Twitter biography, he states: “70% of my body is made of movies,” which helps to understand why his casting choices follow such unusual and personal paths.

In addition to Death Stranding, Kojima is involved in the production of a film adaptation of the game, with no release date yet, and continues to cultivate his image as the most cinephile developer in the industry.