is a Japanese actor who has performed in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. 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.

Early life and education

Kunimura was born Yoshihiro Yonemura (米村喜洋 ''Yonemura Yoshihiro'') in Yatsushiro,

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

, but his family moved to

Amagasaki 270px, Amagasaki Castle 270px, Aerial view of Amagasaki city center 270px, Amagasaki Station is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 455,555 in 223,812 households, and a population de ...

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

soon after, before moving again to

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

when he was two years old. He graduated from a theatre program operated by the

Osaka Broadcasting Corporation is an AM radio station of National Radio Network (NRN) in Osaka, Japan. It is a company of the Donuts group, which owns 34% of the shares in the company with the Sankei Shimbun, part of the Fujisankei Communications Group owning 15.9% of the b ...

, a theatre company owned and operated by a local

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

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''. 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 John Woo Yu-sen ( zh, t= ; born 22 September 1946) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Award ...

's ''

Hard Boiled ''Hard Boiled'' ()Elder, 2005, pg. xxviii is a 1992 Hong Kong action thriller film directed by John Woo from a screenplay by Gordon Chan and Barry Wong based on a story written by Woo. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, an ...

,'' 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 Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

-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

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

, and

Roland Emmerich Roland Emmerich (; born 10 November 1955) is a German-American filmmaker. Emmerich is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the movie industry. His films, most of which are Eng ...

. He has also collaborated with prominent Japanese filmmakers including

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over 100 feature film, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films span a variety of different genres, ranging from violent and surrealism, b ...

Hideaki Anno is a Anime, Japanese animator, filmmaker, Film producer, producer, and voice actor. His most celebrated creation, the Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), ''Evangelion'' franchise, has had a significant influence on the anime television industr ...

, 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

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunimura, Jun Japanese male film actors Japanese male television actors 1955 births Living people Actors from Kumamoto Prefecture 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors People from Yatsushiro, Kumamoto