Kazuki Kitamura (born July 17, 1969) is a highly versatile Japanese actor renowned for his distinctive, sharp features and his ability to seamlessly transition between flamboyant comedic roles and menacing villainous turns. He first gained major recognition in the late 1990s and early 2000s through collaborations with director Takashi Miike, notably in Ley Lines (1999), and later earned international acclaim for his role as Boss Tanaka in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003). Kitamura is a household name in Japan due to his work in hit franchises like Galileo, where he plays the detective Shunpei Kusanagi, and the unique comedy Neko Samurai, where his portrayal of a stoic ronin obsessed with a white cat became a fan favorite.