I haven’t seen Shigeaki Kubo’s new movie Golden Kamuy as it’s only just released in Japan theaters last month. Still, the distributors over there were kind enough to release a behind-the-scenes featurette showing lead actor Kento Yamazaki training for the lead role of a legendary late-Meiji era soldier.
That meant reteaming with the ever accountable Yuji Shimomura, longstanding in the field of Japanese stunts and action on film and having collaborated with Yamazaki already on Shinsuke Sato’s Kingdom franchise and Netflix series “Alice In Borderland”. Serving as action director on Golden Kamuy, clearly it’s a partnership that provides both with plenty of experience with each other in the rigorous training, prep and teamwork to make the on-screen action possible.
And not for nothing either. A reel like this is especially worth checking out as exemplary for the kind of rehearsals committed actors like Yamazaki are readily engaged in, especially with his next efforts to be seen this year in Onmyoji Zero and this summer’s Kingdom: Return Of The Great General.
Indeed, we stan Yamazaki. Enjoy!
