'Game of Thrones" star Sean Bean is well-known for dying in almost everything he stars in. If you had to find a Japanese equivalent, though, it would certainly be Kengo Kora.
Since his 2006 big-screen debut, the Kumamoto native has featured in around 50 films, averaging almost four a year. Notable titles include box-office hit "Shin Godzilla," Tran Anh Hung's adaptation of Haruki Murakami's novel "Norwegian Wood" ("Noruwei no Mori") and Hirokazu Kore-eda's award-winning "Shoplifters" ("Manbiki Kazoku").
Showing no signs of slowing down, the 31-year-old's latest role is a star turn in "Love's Twisting Path" ("Tajuro Jun Aiki"), a film by sword-fighting maestro Sadao Nakajima. The beautifully shot period drama, which opens nationwide next month, is set in Kyoto during the final years of the Edo Period (1603-1868) as the bloody battle between pro-emperor activists and supporters of the Tokugawa regime draws to a close.