Jun_Kunimura

Jun Kunimura

Jun Kunimura

Japanese actor


Jun Kunimura (國村 隼, Kunimura Jun, born Yoshihiro Yonemura (米村 喜洋, Yonemura Yoshihiro); 15 November 1955) is a Japanese actor who has performed in Japan, Hollywood and Hong Kong. He won Best Supporting Actor and the Popular Star Award at the 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards for his performance in the South Korean horror film The Wailing, directed by Na Hong-jin.

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Early life and education

Kunimura was born Yoshihiro Yonemura (米村 喜洋 Yonemura Yoshihiro) in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, but his family moved to Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture soon after, before moving again to Osaka when he was two years old. He graduated from a theatre program operated by the Osaka Broadcasting Corporation, a theatre company owned and operated by a local NHK affiliate. He has cited actor Yūsaku Matsuda as an influence.

Career

Kunimura began his acting career with a bit part in Shirō Moritani's 1973 disaster film Tidal Wave. He went on to appear in the TV dramas Ayu no Uta and Yôi don, before holding his first starring role in Kazuyuki Izutsu's Gaki Teikoku.[1] Throughout the late 80s and early 90s, he appeared in a number of Hong Kong-produced films, including a prominent cameo role in John Woo's Hard Boiled, as a Triad gunman in the film's opening teahouse shootout. In 1989, he starred in his first American film, Black Rain. The Ridley Scott-helmed Yakuza action film was shot on-location in Kunimura's hometown of Osaka, and starred his mentor Yūsaku Matsuda.

Kunimura is known internationally for his work with Western directors such as Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, and Roland Emmerich.[2] He has collaborated with prominent Japanese filmmakers like Takashi Miike, Lee Sang-il, Hideaki Anno, and Ryuhei Kitamura. In 2016, he starred in Na Hong-jin's Korean horror film The Wailing, which earned him critical and popular acclaim. It earned him the Best Supporting Actor and Popular Star Awards at the 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards, making him the first-ever non-Korean and Japanese actor to be nominated for the award.

Filmography

Film

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Television

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Awards and nominations

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References

  1. "Akumade hishatai de aritai". Dōraku. Asahi Shinbun. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  2. "Konkai no "Gokujō Kūkan"". BS Asahi. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  3. "犯罪都市 NO WAY OUT". eiga.com. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  4. 「君たちはどう生きるか」ストーリー、声優、主題歌が明らかに. Eiga Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  5. "TOKYO COWBOY". Hawaii International Film Festival. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  6. "陰陽師0". eiga.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  7. "平清盛の出演者・キャスト一覧". The Television. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  8. "'Inside Men,' 'The Wailing' Top Korea's Blue Dragon Awards". Variety. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  9. "'Inside Men,' 'The Wailing' Top Korea's Blue Dragon Awards". Variety. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.

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