Jun Kunimura

Jun Kunimura 國村隼
Jun Kunimura in 2019
Born	Yoshihiro Yonemura (1955-11-15) 15 November 1955 (age 70) 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
Transcriptions Romanization Kunimura Jun
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
Transcriptions Romanization Yonemura Yoshihiro

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.

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
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		[3]
	Dead End Run	Jun
2004	Half a Confession	Manabu Uemura
	Kill Bill: Volume 2	Boss Tanaka		[3]
	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
	Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair	Boss Tanaka		[3]
	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	Hideo Harada
	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
	Ten Years Japan [4]	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			[5]
2023	The Roundup: No Way Out	Ichijo-gumi's Chairman	South Korean film	[6]
	The Boy and the Heron	The Parakeet King (voice)		[7]
	Tokyo Cowboy	Wada		[8]
2024	Bushido	Yorozuya Genbei		[9]
	The Yin Yang Master Zero	Kamo no Tadayuki		[10]
2025	Trillion Game	Kazuma Kokuryū		[11]
2026	Golden Kamuy: Assault on Abashiri Prison	Heiji Koito		[12]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2000	Aikotoba wa Yūki	Kagetora Anzai
2008	Andō Natsu	Umekichi Yasuda
2009	Clouds Over the Hill	Kawakami Soroku		[13]
2009	Kochikame	Kanda Myojin	Episode 1	[14]
2012	Carnation	Kiichi Hanamura	Asadora
	Taira no Kiyomori	Fujiwara no Tadazane	Taiga drama	[15]
2014	Alice no Toge
2015	Keisei Saimin no Otoko Part 3	Takashi Miki	TV movie
2016	Shizumanu Taiyō
	Ishikawa Goemon	Toyotomi Hideyoshi
2017	Hello, Detective Hedgehog
2019–2021	The Naked Director	Iori Furuya	2 seasons
2020	Gift of Fire	Bunsaku Arakatsu	TV movie
2021	Bullets, Bones and Blocked Noses	Section chief	Miniseries	[16]
	Japan Sinks: People of Hope	Professor Tōru Sera		[17]
	Isoroku Yamamoto in London	Tsuneo Matsudaira	TV movie	[18]
2022	The 13 Lords of the Shogun	Ōba Kagechika	Taiga drama	[19]
	Modern Love Tokyo	Yoshimoto	Episode 5	[20]
2023	Trillion Game	Kazuma Kokuryū		[21]
2024	Sunny	Yuki Tanaka		[22]
2025	Asura	Kotaro		[23]
	Himitsu – Top Secret	Kiyotaka Kainuma		[24]
	The Laughing Salesman	Kataru Kaode	Episode 10	[25]
	Simulation: Defeat in the Summer of 1941	Daido Itakura	Miniseries	[26]
TBA	Shōgun	Goda	Season 2	[27]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2016	37th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Supporting Actor	The Wailing	Won	[28]
		Popular Star Award		Won	[29]
	25th Buil Film Awards	Best Supporting Actor		Nominated
2017	11th Asian Film Awards	Best Supporting Actor		Nominated

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. "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 December 2025.
4. Kerr, Elizabeth (8 October 2018). "'Ten Years Japan': Film Review - Busan 2018". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 5 October 2025. Cast: Satoru Kawaguchi, Kinuo Yamada, Motomi Makiguchi; Jun Kunimura, Seiya Okawa, Pako
5. "アイ・アム まきもと". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 December 2025.
6. "犯罪都市 NO WAY OUT". eiga.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
7. 「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. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
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14. "こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所". TV drama database (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 December 2025.
15. "平清盛の出演者・キャスト一覧". The Television. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
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17. "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!. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
18. "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. Archived from the original on 31 March 2025. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
19. "NHK大河「鎌倉殿の13人」国村隼が大庭景親役". Nikkan Sports. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
20. "『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. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
21. 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. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
22. Petski, Denise (26 October 2022). "Sunny: Rashida Jones' Apple TV+ Dark Comedy Series Rounds Out Cast With Joanna Sotomura, 4 More". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
23. "Netflix『阿修羅のごとく』に本木雅弘、松田龍平、藤原季節、内野聖陽、國村隼、松坂慶子ら 豪華共演キャスト発表". Crank-in! (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
24. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (16 December 2024). "Live-Action Himitsu - Top Secret Series' Teaser Reveals More Cast". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
25. "ロバート秋山「笑ゥせぇるすまん」各話タイトル&出演者発表、喪黒福造アクスタもドーン!と登場". Natalie (in Japanese). 10 July 2025. Archived from the original on 12 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
26. "総力戦研究所が舞台の「シミュレーション」追加キャストに仲野太賀、岩田剛典ら15名". Natalie (in Japanese). 16 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
27. "水川あさみ&窪田正孝、『SHOGUN』で結婚後初の夫婦共演 シーズン2の続投&新キャスト発表". Oricon (in Japanese). 13 November 2025. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
28. "'Inside Men,' 'The Wailing' Top Korea's Blue Dragon Awards". Variety. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
29. "'Inside Men,' 'The Wailing' Top Korea's Blue Dragon Awards". Variety. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2016.

External links

• Jun Kunimura at IMDb