Hakuryu (白竜, 白龍, Hakuryū, born 3 October 1952) is a Japanese actor and musician. He has appeared in more than 60 films since 1984. He formerly belonged to the entertainment company Cream International.

Career

Hakuryu is a second-generation Korean resident of Japan (zainichi), whose real name is Jun Jung-il (Korean: 전정일; Hanja: 田貞一).^[1] He formed and played in an amateur band in high school and later started the Hakuryu band in 1978 with the aim of becoming a professional musician, making his debut with the single EP "Ariran no Uta / Shinparamu" (アリランの唄 / シンパラム) released in 1979. With a harshness and solemnity that most young people don't possess, and an outlaw-like quality that coexists inside and out, he began his career in 1984 with Yoichi Sai's theatrical film Someone Will Be Killed, and although his main focus has been on yakuza films and V-Cinema, he has appeared in such films as Takeshi Kitano's Violent Cop.^[2]

Currently, he has many roles in yakuza films as the number two of an organization, such as a young leading subordinate, with the characters being ruthless, cold-hearted schemers. His first anime voice acting performance was in Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor, where he played the role of Yukio Tonegawa. He also wrote, composed and performed the ending theme for the series, "Requiem for the Underdogs" (負け犬達のレクイエム, Makeinu-tachi no Rekuiemu).

He often wears sunglasses in the media and also designs sunglasses for the "Hakuryu" brand. He appeared on 13 July 2014 episode of "ARIYOSHI'S Meeting for Reviewing" (Nippon TV) and reflected on the fact that he likes sunglasses too much. His house was also shown to the public, where his extreme love for sunglasses was shown on-air.

Selected filmography

References

External links

• Hakuryu on Facebook
• Hakuryu on Twitter
• Hakuryu at IMDb