JAPANESE actress Koyuki is best remembered as a samurai's wife in the Tom Cruise flick The Last Samurai in 2004.

Then, there was talk of her pursuing a Hollywood career like her Japanese co-stars Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada, but it didn't happen.

Now, things may start to change.

Quiet for some time now, Koyuki, 31, re-emerged recently to star in the manga-adapted English action-thriller Blood: The Last Vampire. It is widely touted as Korean babe Jeon Ji Hyun's Hollywood debut.

Koyuki's role? A 300-year-old vampire that is the biggest enemy of Ji Hyun's vampire-slayer role.

Sponichi Annex reported that Koyuki's character is not included in the original manga, but was added specially to challenge the vampire hunter.

The two babes will reportedly fight each other in a climatic battle scene, and interestingly, there was also talk of rivalry between them on the set.

Sina.com reported that Koyuki arrived in Yunnan, China, for filming in June with an entourage of more than 10, including assistants and an interpreter, whereas JiHyun had only seven people with her.

Not to be outdone, Ji Hyun (or perhaps her manager) immediately called for backup, so another team of assistants flew in from Korea two days later to show others who the leading lady is.

But, in front of the media, the two beauties heaped praises on each other.

Koyuki told Chinese reporters that the main reason she joined the film is to get a chance to work with Ji Hyun, who responded that she is happy to work with Koyuki after seeing how beautiful and stylish she was in The Last Samurai.

Incidentally, the duo have many things in common - both started out modelling before crossing over to act, and both are popular with product advertisers.

Koyuki added that she found the filming experience interesting as she got to do action scenes and listen to all the languages they used on the set - director Chris Nahon is French and male lead Xu Qifeng, who plays JiHyun's first love, is a Mandarin-speaking newbie from China.

Koyuki's enthusiasm is understandable, as the movie marks her first acting project in two years.

Apart from endorsing products on TV, the statuesque beauty has kept a low profile in Japan due to management company problems, Sunday Mainichi had reported earlier this year.

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Electric Newpaper

Lol I want to see Jeon ji hyun kick koyuki's @SS LOL . i'm kidding of course, but i am rooting for jeon ji hyun just because I've seen her more recently and liked her more than koyuki. That's just me though Its funny how ji hyun called in more assistants to make her entourage larger lol.

This post was last modified: 09-13-2007 04:26 AM by Rondillo.