Kuranosuke Sasaki

is a Japanese actor, known primarily for his roles in Japanese television drama.

Biography He was born into a family of a sake brewery in Kyoto, Japan. After graduating from Kobe University and resigning from an advertising agency, he played an active part in a Japanese theatrical group called "Planet Pistachio," as a stage actor, from 1990 to 1998.

He later extended the range of activities to TV dramas and movies, and has played important roles in many works in Japan. He made his film debut starring in Mamiya Kyodai in 2006, and his TV series debut starring in Gira Gira in 2008.

When Sasaki was a freshman and received a phone call from his college company to decide on a stage name, his father suggested the name Kuranosuke, with a double meaning; for Kura, a sake cellar/brewery for their sake brewery, and for Ōuchi Kuranosuke, a famous historical drama role.

Sasaki's initial plan was to join the family business of sake brewing as the eldest son when he graduated from college. Learning sales strategy at an advertisement company was also part of his plan.

Talking about his stage expressiveness, theatre scholar Octavian Saiu praised Sasaki for a unique ability to convey emotions through words as well as silences.

Selected filmography

TV series

Movies Year Title Role Notes Ref 2003 Bayside Shakedown 2 Densha Otoko Hisashi 2005 Summer Time Machine Blues Kōtarō Hoseki 2006 Kenchō no hoshi Keita Sakurai Mamiya kyodai Akinobu Mamiya Lead role Rainbow Song Shinsuke Higuchi 2007 Tsukigami Sahei Bessho Tsubaki Sanjūrō Kimura 2008 700 Days of Battle: Us vs. the Police Chūzai-san After School Masayuki Kitazawa 20th Century Boys : Beginning of the End Fukubē 2009 20th Century Boys 2 : The Last Hope Fukubē 20th Century Boys 3 : Redemption Fukubē Daremo mamotte kurenai Kōji Umezawa 2010 Ōoku Fujinami 2011 Gaku Masato Noda 2013 A Boy Called H 2014 Samurai Hustle Naito Masaatsu Lead role 2015 Solomon's Perjury 1: Suspicion Fujino Solomon's Perjury 2: Judgment Fujino Till Death Do Us What? Kōta Shimizu Lead role 2016 The Inerasable Yoshiaki Hiraoka Samurai Hustle Returns Naito Masaatsu Lead role 2017 Flower and Sword Maeda Toshiie March Comes in Like a Lion Kai Shimada Hamon: Yakuza Boogie Yasuhiko Kuwabara Lead role A Beautiful Star Katsumi Kuroki 2018 We Make Antiques! Sasuke Noda Lead role Akira Shimada Narrator Documentary 2022 The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai Koyama Ryōun Homestay Osamu Kobayashi The Hound of the Baskervilles: Sherlock the Movie Reiji Etō 2023 We Make Antiques! Osaka Dreams Sasuke Noda Lead role Shylock's Children Michiharu Kuroda Godzilla Minus One Seiji Akitsu 2024My Home Hero: The MovieTetsuo TosuLead role Emergency Interrogation Room: The Final Movie Hiromichi Morishita 2026 Kyoto Hippocrates Lead role Nameless Kunieda F(r)iction Kato Bayside Shakedown: N.E.W Ikuto Kitaoka Godzilla Minus Zero Seiji Akitsu Four Outs Iwahashi 2027 Samurai Hustle: Full Throttle Naito Masaatsu Lead role

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work(s) Result 201538th Japan Academy Film Prize Best Actor Samurai Hustle

Advertisements Television 2016 Suntory non-alcohol beverage 2016 Kansai Electric Power Company