In theaters now is John Maclean’s samurai revenge film, Tornado, his first movie since breaking out in 2015 with Slow West. Leading the cast is Japanese singer/actress Kōki in her first action lead role.
Tornado stars Kōki, Tim Roth, Jack Lowden, Takehiro Hira, and Rory McCann, and it’s set in 1790 Britain where a young girl from a traveling Samurai show is attacked by a group of outlaws, but they get more than they bargained for from the sword-wielding onna-musha.
I had the great fortune to spend some time chatting with Kōki about her titular role in Tornado. We talked about the grueling filming conditions, her love of Akira Kurosawa samurai movies, and the sword training she went through for the role. We also talked about her desire to do more action movies in the future after this experience. She also heaped praise on director John Maclean her co-stars who she learned a lot from. Kōki’s first major leading role was in the 2024 drama, Touch, so her acting career is just taking off.
Check out my interview with Kōki below, and my review of Tornado here! Please consider subscribing to the YouTube channel for more videos, movie reviews, and more!
