Takehiro Hira, perhaps best known to North American audiences for his Emmy-nominated work in FX’s Shogun, has joined the cast of Karoshi, a unique action thriller from Lionsgate.
Teo Yoo, who broke out with A24’s romantic drama Past Lives is toplining the feature that will also star Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo and 1923 actress Isabel May. Takashi Doscher, who was behind the 2019 post-apocalyptic thriller Only, wrote the script and is directing.
The project has producers with a notable pedigree. Chad Stahelski, Alex Young and Jason Spitz, who produce the John Wick franchise for Lionsgate, are producing with their 87Eleven Entertainment. The banner has a first-look deal with the studio.
Plot and character details are being kept hidden amid the cherry blossoms, but the project is being described as a corporate thriller with a samurai twist. The story is set in a Japanese-influenced New York City and features a revenge element. In Japanese, “karoshi” refers to an unexplained sudden death related to overwork.
Sources say that Hira is a villain of the piece.
Production on Karoshi will begin in June.
In Shogun, Hira played Japanese warlord Ishido Kazunari, one of the main antagonists of the acclaimed historical drama. For this performance, Hira was nominated for an Emmy and Critic’s Choice Award in the category of outstanding supporting actor in a drama series.
Earlier this year, Hira was seen in Guy Maddin’s Rumours opposite Cate Blanchett and played the Japanese prime minister in Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World. Among his upcoming work are role in Lionsgate’s crime movie Tornado and Searchlight’s Rental Family opposite Brendan Fraser. He will also reprise his role in Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Hira is repped by Principal Entertainment LA and Jackoway, Austen
