Yukio Someno
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Biography
After Yasuaki Kurata, he was probably the most sought after Japanese villain in the kung-fu genre back in the 70's. More intense, than he was deadly, he's starred in some very good roles, which showcased his skills. I think I may have first seen him in Dragon's Never Die, where he was pretty good as a Samurai (one of his normal character-parts). Then in None But The Brave with Cheng Pei-Pei, where his role amounted to about a cameo.
But that didn't stop him from gaining more roles in major kung-fu films. He's worked at Shaw Bros' on such films as The Swift Knight, The Thunderbolt Fist, and Chang Cheh's epic, The Boxer Rebellion - in one of his bigger Shaw roles. In Independent films like - Devil Woman and Bruce & Iron Finger - he left an impression, but not the kind that would have you hungry for more. Those performances were saved for films like Magnificent Boxer and Thunder Fist, where he displayed enough talent, to appear in the follow-up film, He Walks Like A Tiger (both starring Alex Lung).
Not normally the type of guy you'd cast as the main villain, but he did a very good job in the film, Thunder Kick. Here, he got to show everything from acting ability, to his use of weaponry (tonfa, long staff). His kill-factor goes up just the same and he can be a pretty convincing villain and just as entertaining, as a lot of other second-class villains, but not a great one - Wang Jang-Li or Whang In-Sik. His output of work may not have been greater than some, but it was definitely better than most, which is the reason he has left his mark on the genre, where most could remember his face, but not his name.