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

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Jun Kunimura at IMDb