# Jun Kunimura

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.

## 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'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. 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 |
| 1973 | Tidal Wave | Shoichi | |
| 1981 | Gaki Teikoku | Choi | |
| 1989 | Black Rain | Yashimoto | 1st non-Japanese film |
| 1991 | Au Revoir, Mon Amour | Keiji | |
| 1991 | The Blue Jean Monster | Kai | |
| 1991 | 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 |
| 1994 | 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 | |
| 1997 | Wild Life | Ijima | |
| 1997 | Ningen isu | Shoichiro Shimizu | |
| 1998 | Begging for Love | Saburo Wachi | |
| 1998 | The Story of PuPu | Kijima | |
| 1999 | Keiho | Shibata Toshimitsu | |
| 1999 | Audition | Yasuhisa Yoshikawa | |
| 1999 | Mayonaka made | Noriyuki | |
| 2000 | Ryûsei | Kirishima | |
| 2000 | Dokuritsu shônen gasshô-dan | Michio's Father | |
| 2000 | Chaos | Inspector Hamaguchi | |
| 2000 | Face | Kenta Kariyama | |
| 2000 | Gojoe | Suzaku-hougan | |
| 2001 | Desert Moon | Kosugi | |
| 2001 | Ichi the Killer | Funaki | |
| 2001 | Ye long | The Contractor | |
| 2002 | Misutâ rûkî | Yang | |
| 2002 | Hi wa mata noboru | Koide | |
| 2002 | Tomie: Forbidden Fruit | Kazuhiko Hashimoto | |
| 2002 | The Laughing Frog | Akio Yoshizumi | |
| 2002 | Alive | Kojima | |
| 2002 | Sorry | Sei's Father | |
| 2003 | Hoshi ni negaio | Jin Kirishima | |
| 2003 | Samurai Resurrection | Saemon Jinno | |
| 2003 | 9 Souls | Yamamoto | |
| 2003 | Tsuribaka Nisshi 14 | Kawashima | |
| 2003 | Kill Bill: Volume 1 | Boss Tanaka | |
| 2003 | Dead End Run | Jun | |
| 2004 | Half a Confession | Manabu Uemura | |
| 2004 | Kill Bill: Volume 2 | Boss Tanaka | |
| 2004 | Umizaru | Admiral Masaki Igarashi | |
| 2004 | 69 | Sasaki | |
| 2004 | Vital | Hideyoshi Ooyama | |
| 2004 | Blood and Bones | Yong-sang Jo | |
| 2004 | Lady Joker | Satoru Hirase | |
| 2004 | Godzilla: Final Wars | Major Komuro | |
| 2005 | Fuyu no Undoukai | Kitazawa Ryousuke | |
| 2005 | Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean | Matoi Tokioka | |
| 2005 | Negotiator: Mashita Masayoshi | Kataoka | |
| 2005 | Hanging Garden | Dan Kyobashi | |
| 2006 | Limit of Love: Umizaru | Masaki Igarashi | |
| 2006 | Hana | Isekan | |
| 2006 | Baruto no Gakuen | Takagi | |
| 2006 | Sinking of Japan | Kyosuke Nozaki | |
| 2006 | Children | Shugoro Kihara | |
| 2006 | Tsubakiyama Kacho no Nanokakan | Daisuke Ichikawa | |
| 2007 | Three for the Road | Rental Salesman | |
| 2007 | Silk | Umon | |
| 2008 | Team Batista no Eikō | Gonta Takashina | |
| 2008 | Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess | Nagakura | |
| 2008 | God's Puzzle | Murakami | |
| 2008 | Paco and the Magical Book | Kinomoto | |
| 2008 | Yesterdays | Akihiko Yanagida | |
| 2008 | K-20: Legend of the Mask | Genji | |
| 2008 | Miyagino | Sharaku | |
| 2009 | King of the Escape | Kanemura | |
| 2009 | Mt. Tsurugidake | Seiichiro Yaguchi | |
| 2010 | Saru Lock the Movie | Ogasawara | |
| 2010 | After the Flowers | Jinzaemon Terat | |
| 2010 | My Darling Is a Foreigner | Noriyuki Oguri | |
| 2010 | Sunshine Ahead | Tatsuhei Hiki | |
| 2010 | Outrage | Ikemoto | |
| 2010 | Here Comes the Bride, My Mom! | Akira Murakami | |
| 2010 | Saya Zamurai | The Lord | |
| 2010 | Aibou: The Movie II | Muneo Hasegawa | |
| 2011 | Synchronicity Shinju Tenshi | Ai's Father | |
| 2011 | Moonlight Mask | The Impresario | |
| 2011 | Monsters Club | Mr. Kakiuchi | |
| 2012 | Reunion | Yoshito Shibata | |
| 2013 | A Story of Yonosuke | Mr. Yosano | |
| 2013 | The Incredible Truth | Sato Tsuyoshi | |
| 2013 | Like Father, Like Son | Kazushi Kamiyama | |
| 2013 | The Wind Rises | Hattori (voice) | Japanese-language version |
| 2013 | A Boy Called H | Yoshimura | |
| 2013 | Why Don't You Play in Hell? | Muto | |
| 2013 | Unforgiven | Masaharu Kitaoji | |
| 2013 | Asa Hiru Ban | Asamoto | |
| 2014 | Dakishimetai: Shinjitsu no Monogatari | Toshiro | |
| 2014 | The World of Kanako | Dr. Tsujimura | |
| 2014 | Parasyte: Part 1 | Det. Hirama | |
| 2015 | Attack on Titan | Kubal / Colossal Titan | |
| 2015 | At Home | Genji | |
| 2015 | Parasyte: Part 2 | Det. Hirama | |
| 2015 | The Big Bee | Nakatsuka | |
| 2016 | Kokoro | Daisuke | |
| 2016 | Chihayafuru Part 1 | Hideo Harada | |
| 2016 | Chihayafuru Part 2 | Hideo Harada | |
| 2016 | The Wailing | The Japanese Man | South Korean film |
| 2016 | Shin Godzilla | Chief of Staff Masao Zaizen | |
| 2016 | Fueled: The Man They Called Pirate | Takumi Ukawa | |
| 2017 | Hamon: Yakuza Boogie | Katsuji Shimada | |
| 2017 | Mumon: The Land of Stealth | Kitabatake Tomonori | |
| 2017 | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Chapter I | Ryohei Higashikata | |
| 2017 | Manhunt | Yoshihiro Sakai | Chinese-Hong Kong-Japanese Co-Produced Film |
| 2017 | Fullmetal Alchemist | Tim Marcoh | |
| 2017 | Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura | Chief Daibutsu | |
| 2018 | Punk Samurai Slash Down | Shuzen Oura | |
| 2018 | The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan | Toshio | |
| 2018 | Our Departures | Setsuo Okuzono | |
| 2018 | Chihayafuru Part 3 | Hideo Harada | |
| 2018 | Jû-nen: Ten Years Japan | Shigeta | Segment: "Itazura dômei" |
| 2019 | The Great War of Archimedes | Marshal Admiral Osami Nagano | |
| 2019 | Taro the Fool | Oda | |
| 2019 | The Witness | Takashi Hirayama | |
| 2019 | Midway | Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo | |
| 2020 | Step | | |
| 2020 | Minamata | Junichi Nojima | |
| 2020 | Tracing Her Shadow | | |
| 2020 | Poupelle of Chimney Tow | Dan (voice) | |
| 2021 | Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction | Daisaku Nikaidō | |
| 2021 | Gift of Fire | | |
| 2021 | Zokki | | |
| 2021 | Suicide Forest Village | | |
| 2021 | Kate | Kijima | |
| 2022 | Just Remembering | Nakaido | |
| 2022 | I Am Makimoto | | |
| 2023 | The Roundup: No Way Out | Ichijo-gumi's Chairman | South Korean film |
| 2023 | The Boy and the Heron | The Parakeet King (voice) | |
| 2023 | Tokyo Cowboy | | |
| 2024 | Bushido | Yorozuya Genbei | |
| 2024 | The Yin Yang Master Zero | Kamo no Tadayuki | |
| 2025 | Trillion Game | Kazuma Kokuryū | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Aikotoba wa Yūki | Kagetora Anzai | |
| 2008 | Andō Natsu | Umekichi Yasuda | |
| 2009 | Clouds Over the Hill | Kawakami Soroku | |
| 2012 | Carnation | Kiichi Hanamura | Asadora |
| 2012 | Taira no Kiyomori | Fujiwara no Tadazane | Taiga drama |
| 2014 | Alice no Toge | | |
| 2015 | Keisei Saimin no Otoko Part 3 | Takashi Miki | TV movie |
| 2016 | Shizumanu Taiyō | | |
| 2016 | 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 |
| 2021 | Japan Sinks: People of Hope | Professor Tōru Sera | |
| 2021 | Isoroku Yamamoto in London | Tsuneo Matsudaira | TV movie |
| 2022 | The 13 Lords of the Shogun | Ōba Kagechika | Taiga drama |
| 2022 | Modern Love Tokyo | Yoshimoto | Episode 5 |
| 2023 | Trillion Game | Kazuma Kokuryū | |
| 2024 | Sunny | Yuki Tanaka | |
| 2025 | Asura | Kotaro | |
| 2025 | Himitsu – Top Secret | Kiyotaka Kainuma | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Wailing | Won |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Popular Star Award | The Wailing | Won |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2017 | 11th Asian Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Wailing | Nominated |