Yasuaki Kurata
Actor
Biography
Yasuaki Kurata (born March 20, 1946), a.k.a David Kurata, is a Japanese actor specializing in action movies. An accomplished martial artist, he has dan ranks in karate (5th degree), judo (3rd degree), and aikido (2nd degree). He is perhaps best known for his extended battle against Jet Li in Fist of Legend and for his villainous role in So Close. He is fluent in Cantonese.
Kurata's home town is Sakura-mura, Niihari District, Ibaraki (now part of Tsukuba). Having studied performing arts at Nihon University and Toei Theater School, he began to work as an actor in the late 1960s. In 1971, Kurata made his Hong Kong debut in the Shaw Brothers Studio kung-fu movie Angry Guest . Since then he has appeared in numerous other films and TV series within the genre. In addition to his work as an actor, Kurata runs the stunt agency Kurata Promotion (established 1976 under the name Kurata Action Club), teaches at a private college (the University of Creation, Art, Music & Social Work), is chief advisor to the All Japan Nunchaku League, and in 2004 published a book, Hong Kong Action Star Kōyūroku.
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Filmography
Fist of Legend
as Fuimo Funakoshi 1994
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen
as Chikaraishis Vater 2010
Blood: The Last Vampire
as Kato Takatora 2009
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
as Takei 1985
Shinjuku Incident
as Taro Watagawa 2009
So Close
as Master 2002
Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars
as Parachute Assassin 1985
Manhunt
as Hideo Sakaguchi 2017
Eastern Condors
as Vietnamese Captain 1987
Iceman: The Time Traveler
as Bei Tiao 2018
God of War
as Kumasawa 2017
Golden Job
as Morimoto 2018
The Return of Sister Street Fighter
as Go Kurosaki 1975
The Seventh Curse
as Captain Ho 1986
Heroes of the East
as Takeno 1978
Millionaires' Express
as Japanese Ninja 1986