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, the United States, 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.
Jun Kunimura 國村隼 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jun Kunimura in 2019 | |||||
| Born | Yoshihiro Yonemura 15 November 1955 Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan | ||||
| Occupation | Actor | ||||
| Years active | 1976–present | ||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 國村 隼 | ||||
| Hiragana | くにむら じゅん | ||||
| Katakana | クニムラ ジュン | ||||
| |||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 米村 喜洋 | ||||
| Hiragana | よねむら よしひろ | ||||
| Katakana | ヨネムラ ヨシヒロ | ||||
| |||||
Early life and education
editKunimura 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
editKunimura 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 in Hollywood with Western directors such as Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, and Roland Emmerich.[2] He has also collaborated with prominent Japanese filmmakers including Takashi Miike, Hideaki Anno, Lee Sang-il, 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
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Tidal Wave | Shoichi | |
| 1981 | Gaki Teikoku | Choi | |
| 1989 | Black Rain | Yashimoto | 1st non-Japanese film |
| 1991 | Au Revoir, Mon Amour | Keiji | |
| The Blue Jean Monster | Kai | ||
| Ōte | Emisu | ||
| 1992 | Hard Boiled | Teahouse Gunman | 1st Hong Kong Film |
| 1993 | All Under the Moon | Tada | |
| 1994 | Treasure Hunt | Yamamoto | 2nd Hong Kong Film |
| Tokarefu | Det. Takahashi | ||
| 1995 | Heisei musekinin-ikka: Tokyo de luxe | Yoichi | |
| 1996 | Somebody Up There Likes Me | Japanese Trainer | 3rd Hong Kong Film |
| 1997 | Suzaku | Kōzō Tahara | |
| Wild Life | Ijima | ||
| Ningen isu | Shoichiro Shimizu | ||
| 1998 | Begging for Love | Saburo Wachi | |
| The Story of PuPu | Kijima | ||
| 1999 | Keiho | Shibata Toshimitsu | |
| Audition | Yasuhisa Yoshikawa | ||
| Mayonaka made | Noriyuki | ||
| 2000 | Ryûsei | Kirishima | |
| Dokuritsu shônen gasshô-dan | Michio's Father | ||
| Chaos | Inspector Hamaguchi | ||
| Face | Kenta Kariyama | ||
| Gojoe | Suzaku-hougan | ||
| 2001 | Desert Moon | Kosugi | |
| Ichi the Killer | Funaki | ||
| Ye long | The Contractor | ||
| 2002 | Misutâ rûkî | Yang | |
| Hi wa mata noboru | Koide | ||
| Tomie: Forbidden Fruit | Kazuhiko Hashimoto | ||
| The Laughing Frog | Akio Yoshizumi | ||
| Alive | Kojima | ||
| Sorry | Sei's Father | ||
| 2003 | Hoshi ni negaio | Jin Kirishima | |
| Samurai Resurrection | Saemon Jinno | ||
| 9 Souls | Yamamoto | ||
| Tsuribaka Nisshi 14 | Kawashima | ||
| Kill Bill: Volume 1 | Boss Tanaka | ||
| Dead End Run | Jun | ||
| 2004 | Half a Confession | Manabu Uemura | |
| Kill Bill: Volume 2 | Boss Tanaka | ||
| Umizaru | Admiral Masaki Igarashi | ||
| 69 | Sasaki | ||
| Vital | Hideyoshi Ooyama | ||
| Blood and Bones | Yong-sang Jo | ||
| Lady Joker | Satoru Hirase | ||
| Godzilla: Final Wars | Major Komuro | ||
| 2005 | Fuyu no Undoukai | Kitazawa Ryousuke | |
| Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean | Matoi Tokioka | ||
| Negotiator: Mashita Masayoshi | Kataoka | ||
| Hanging Garden | Dan Kyobashi | ||
| 2006 | Limit of Love: Umizaru | Masaki Igarashi | |
| Hana | Isekan | ||
| Baruto no Gakuen | Takagi | ||
| Sinking of Japan | Kyosuke Nozaki | ||
| Children | Shugoro Kihara | ||
| Tsubakiyama Kacho no Nanokakan | Daisuke Ichikawa | ||
| 2007 | Three for the Road | Rental Salesman | |
| Silk | Umon | ||
| 2008 | Team Batista no Eikō | Gonta Takashina | |
| Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess | Nagakura | ||
| God's Puzzle | Murakami | ||
| Paco and the Magical Book | Kinomoto | ||
| Yesterdays | Akihiko Yanagida | ||
| K-20: Legend of the Mask | Genji | ||
| Miyagino | Sharaku | ||
| 2009 | King of the Escape | Kanemura | |
| Mt. Tsurugidake | Seiichiro Yaguchi | ||
| 2010 | Saru Lock the Movie | Ogasawara | |
| After the Flowers | Jinzaemon Terat | ||
| My Darling Is a Foreigner | Noriyuki Oguri | ||
| Sunshine Ahead | Tatsuhei Hiki | ||
| Outrage | Ikemoto | ||
| Here Comes the Bride, My Mom! | Akira Murakami | ||
| Saya Zamurai | The Lord | ||
| Aibou: The Movie II | Muneo Hasegawa | ||
| 2011 | Synchronicity Shinju Tenshi | Ai's Father | |
| Moonlight Mask | The Impresario | ||
| Monsters Club | Mr. Kakiuchi | ||
| 2012 | Reunion | Yoshito Shibata | |
| 2013 | A Story of Yonosuke | Mr. Yosano | |
| The Incredible Truth | Sato Tsuyoshi | ||
| Like Father, Like Son | Kazushi Kamiyama | ||
| The Wind Rises | Hattori (voice) | Japanese-language version | |
| A Boy Called H | Yoshimura | ||
| Why Don't You Play in Hell? | Muto | ||
| Unforgiven | Masaharu Kitaoji | ||
| Asa Hiru Ban | Asamoto | ||
| 2014 | Dakishimetai: Shinjitsu no Monogatari | Toshiro | |
| The World of Kanako | Dr. Tsujimura | ||
| Parasyte: Part 1 | Det. Hirama | ||
| 2015 | Attack on Titan | Kubal / Colossal Titan | |
| At Home | Genji | ||
| Parasyte: Part 2 | Det. Hirama | ||
| The Big Bee | Nakatsuka | ||
| 2016 | Kokoro | Daisuke | |
| Chihayafuru Part 1 | Hideo Harada | ||
| Chihayafuru Part 2 | |||
| The Wailing | The Japanese Man | South Korean film | |
| Shin Godzilla | Chief of Staff Masao Zaizen | ||
| Fueled: The Man They Called Pirate | Takumi Ukawa | ||
| 2017 | Hamon: Yakuza Boogie | Katsuji Shimada | |
| Mumon: The Land of Stealth | Kitabatake Tomonori | ||
| JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Chapter I | Ryohei Higashikata | ||
| Manhunt | Yoshihiro Sakai | Chinese-Hong Kong-Japanese Co-Produced Film | |
| Fullmetal Alchemist | Tim Marcoh | ||
| Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura | Chief Daibutsu | ||
| 2018 | Punk Samurai Slash Down | Shuzen Oura | |
| The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan | Toshio | ||
| Our Departures | Setsuo Okuzono | ||
| Chihayafuru Part 3 | Hideo Harada | ||
| Jû-nen: Ten Years Japan | Shigeta | Segment: "Itazura dômei" | |
| 2019 | The Great War of Archimedes | Marshal Admiral Osami Nagano | |
| Taro the Fool | Oda | ||
| The Witness | Takashi Hirayama | ||
| Midway | Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo | ||
| 2020 | Step | ||
| Minamata | Junichi Nojima | ||
| Tracing Her Shadow | |||
| Poupelle of Chimney Tow | Dan (voice) | ||
| 2021 | Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction | Daisaku Nikaidō | |
| Gift of Fire | |||
| Zokki | |||
| Suicide Forest Village | |||
| Kate | Kijima | ||
| 2022 | Just Remembering | Nakaido | |
| I Am Makimoto | |||
| 2023 | The Roundup: No Way Out | Ichijo-gumi's Chairman | South Korean film[3] |
| The Boy and the Heron | The Parakeet King (voice) | [4] | |
| Tokyo Cowboy | [5] | ||
| 2024 | Bushido | Yorozuya Genbei | [6] |
| The Yin Yang Master Zero | Kamo no Tadayuki | [7] | |
| 2025 | Trillion Game | Kazuma Kokuryū | [8] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Aikotoba wa Yūki | Kagetora Anzai | Fuji TV | ||
| 2008 | Andō Natsu | Umekichi Yasuda | TBS | ||
| 2009 | Saka no Ue no Kumo | Kawakami Soroku | NHK | ||
| 2012 | Carnation | Kiichi Hanamura | NHK | Asadora | |
| Taira no Kiyomori | Fujiwara no Tadazane | NHK | Taiga drama | [9] | |
| 2014 | Alice no Toge | TBS | |||
| 2015 | Keisei Saimin no Otoko Part 3 | Takashi Miki | NHK | TV movie | |
| 2016 | Shizumanu Taiyō | Wowow | |||
| Ishikawa Goemon | Toyotomi Hideyoshi | TV Tokyo | |||
| 2017 | Hello, Detective Hedgehog | TBS | |||
| 2019–2021 | The Naked Director | Iori Furuya | Netflix | 2 seasons | |
| 2020 | Gift of Fire | Bunsaku Arakatsu | NHK | TV movie | |
| 2021 | Bullets, Bones and Blocked Noses | Section chief | NHK | Miniseries | [10] |
| Japan Sinks: People of Hope | Professor Tōru Sera | TBS | [11] | ||
| Isoroku Yamamoto in London | Tsuneo Matsudaira | NHK | TV movie | [12] | |
| 2022 | The 13 Lords of the Shogun | Ōba Kagechika | NHK | Taiga drama | [13] |
| Modern Love Tokyo | Yoshimoto | Amazon Prime Video | Episode 5 | [14] | |
| 2023 | Trillion Game | Kazuma Kokuryū | TBS | [15] | |
| 2024 | Sunny | Yuki Tanaka | Apple TV+ | [16] |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Won [17] | |
| Popular Star Award | Won [18] | |||
| 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | 11th Asian Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ "Akumade hishatai de aritai". Dōraku. Asahi Shinbun. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ "Konkai no "Gokujō Kūkan"". BS Asahi. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ "犯罪都市 NO WAY OUT". eiga.com. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ 「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.
- ^ "TOKYO COWBOY". Hawaii International Film Festival. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "草なぎ剛×白石和彌「碁盤斬り」に清原果耶、中川大志、斎藤工、小泉今日子、國村隼ら". Natalie. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "陰陽師0". eiga.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Live-Action Trillion Game Film's 2nd Teaser Reveals More Returning Cast". Anime News Network. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ "平清盛の出演者・キャスト一覧". The Television. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "オダギリジョー脚本・演出のドラマ「オリバーな犬」NHKで放送、主演は池松壮亮". Natalie. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "國村隼『日本沈没』出演 "田所博士"香川照之と対立する重要キャラ". Crank-in!. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ "香取慎吾主演『倫敦ノ山本五十六』追加キャストに高良健吾&片岡愛之助ら メインビジュアルも公開". Oricon. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ "NHK大河「鎌倉殿の13人」国村隼が大庭景親役". Nikkan Sports. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ "『モダンラブ・東京』新キャストに高良健吾、三浦透子ら 本予告＆キービジュアルも公開". Real Sound. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ ドラマ「トリリオンゲーム」ドラゴンバンク経営者・黒龍役は國村隼、長瀬役は竹財輝之助. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ Petski, Denise (26 October 2022). "Sunny: Rashida Jones' Apple TV+ Dark Comedy Series Rounds Out Cast With Joanna Sotomura, 4 More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ "'Inside Men,' 'The Wailing' Top Korea's Blue Dragon Awards". Variety. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ^ "'Inside Men,' 'The Wailing' Top Korea's Blue Dragon Awards". Variety. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
External links
edit- Jun Kunimura at IMDb