Bin Furuya is a Japanese actor and suit actor, best known for his portrayal of the titular character in the 1966 series Ultraman. He would would later portray Amagi in the sequel series Ultraseven. His real name is Satoshi Furuya, spelt with the same kanji.[1]
In 2022, he was a motion capture actor for Ultraman in Shin Ultraman and the character's CGI model was based on him.[2]
Career[]
Furuya appeared in many Toho films prior to starring in Ultraman. Wanting to become a film star, he was reluctant to be the suit actor for Ultraman.[3] Suit acting was an uncommon profession at the time, and he was called a "stuffed toy actor" .[4] After playing Ragon and Kemur in Ultra Q, he did not want to suit act anymore,[5] and was unsure of how the alien should act,[6] but was convinced by the staff. He was chosen by Tohl Narita, who designed Ultraman, after liking his portrayal of Kemur.[5] The suit was tailor-made for his body.[5] Furuya requested to be uncredited for portraying Ultraman, but was credited anyway.[3]
Tohl Narita wanted him play Ultraseven too, but he turned the role down as he was already going to portray Amagi.[5] Although he was pleased to be able to show his face,[7] he later stated he would have liked to have played both roles.[5] After this, Furuya retired from acting and established Bin Promotion, a management company to organize appearances at events.[8] The company closed in 1991.
During the 1990s, Furuya, burdened with debt and feeling guilty, cut off contact with acquaintances and worked at a building cleaning company. Due to his distance from the entertainment industry, he was out of the public eye for a long time.[9]
In 2007, Furuya saw an article about a Tohl Narita art exhibition in the newspaper and decided to attend. He signed the visitor's guestbook at the event. The news of his attendance eventually reached Ruri Narita, the widow of Narita, who then contacted Furuya by phone. A few weeks later, Furuya resumed contact with Yuriko Hishimi, Hiroko Sakurai, and Tsuburaya Productions. In November 2007, Hishimi confirmed the reunion with Furuya in a blog post[10], and Furuya return to acting in 2008.[8]
Furuya wrote about his experiences and hardships as Ultraman's suit actor in a book called A Man Who Became Ultraman ,[11] which released on December 21, 2009.
Furuya's portrayal of Ultraman was popular, especially overseas, so he frequently makes guest appearances at conventions and events.[4] In 2013, at the age of seventy, Bin Furuya put on the latest Ultraman suit at the Tokyo International Film Festival.[12][13][14] In 2016, he established a successor to Bin Promotion called Shin Bin Promotion.[8]
In 2022, a body scan of Furuya was done to produce a S.H.Figuarts figure for Ultraman.[5] He had to lose 9 kilos in a month to prepare for the scan.[5]
Roles[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Ultra Q | Imperial Palace spectator[6] | Episode 4 "Mammoth Flower" Uncredited |
| Kemur[6] | Suit Episode 19 "Challenge from the Year 2020" | ||
| Ragon[6] | Suit Episode 20 "The Undersea Humanoid Ragon" | ||
| Smuggler Hachi | Episode 24 "The Idol of Goga" Uncredited | ||
| The Birth of Ultraman | Ultraman | Suit | |
| Ultraman | |||
| Hotel employee | Episode 10 "The Mysterious Dinosaur Base" Uncredited | ||
| 1967 | Zoffy[6] | Suit Episode 39 "Farewell, Ultraman" Uncredited | |
| Ultraseven | Amagi | ||
| 1968 | Operation: Mystery | Akihiko Muraki | Episode 10 "Radio Waves Summoning Death" |
| Fight! Mighty Jack | Apple Doctor | Episode 21 "Rip Off the Ghost's Mask" | |
| 2009 | Mega Monster Battle Ultra Galaxy: The Movie | Resident of the Land of Light | Humanoid form |
| 2011 | Ultra Zone | Akio | Sketch "Ragon Gives Back" (ep. 12) |
| 2022 | Shin Ultraman | Ultraman | Motion capture actor |
Other Roles[]
- Mothra - Reporter/Infant Island Dancer
- The Last War - Kasagi Maru sailor
- Gorath (1962) - Reporter (uncredited)
- King Kong vs Godzilla - JSDF Correspondent
- Atragon - JSDF Soldier
- Mothra vs Godzilla - Police Officer
- Dogora - JSDF Soldier
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster - Researcher / Matsumoto Evacuee / Observation Platform Tourist / Police Officer
- Frankenstein vs Baragon - Man in Okayama Crowd
- Invasion of Astro-Monster - Xilien
- The War of the Gargantuas - Coast Guard Official
- Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit - Officer Takamine
- Earth Defense Widow
- Daikaiju Mono (2016) - Kamikura Defense Secretary
- The Great Buddah Arrival - Kazuyoshi Edamasa
- Nezura 1964 - Eiji Tsuburaya
- Yatsuashi
Gallery[]
Miscellaneous[]
![A group photo of the Ultraseven cast, taken in 1987[15]](/wiki/File:UG_20th.jpg "UG 20th.jpg (243 KB)")
![A group photo of the Ultraseven cast, taken in 2011[16]](/wiki/File:UG_44th.jpg "UG 44th.jpg (116 KB)")
![Furuya and other Ultraseven actors at the Ultraseven 55th anniversary event at TSUBURAYA CONVENTION 2023.[17]](/wiki/File:UG_2023.jpg "UG 2023.jpg (1.49 MB)")
References[]
- ↑ https://shinbin-pro.jp/artists
- ↑ https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2237085/full/
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://tokusatsujapan.com/bin-furuya-the-original-ultraman-actor-finally-undisguised-1/
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASNDR5RDFNDNUCLV006.html
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 https://tokusatsunetwork.com/2022/02/tamashii-nation-interview-with-original-ultraman-suit-actor-bin-furuya/
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASNDR5HLMNDRULZU009.html
- ↑ https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASNDR6SXSNDNUCLV007.html
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 https://shinbin-pro.jp/about
- ↑ https://www.asahi.com/articles/DA3S14725914.html
- ↑ https://blog.goo.ne.jp/anneinfi/e/c32d63ea72fe0beefe301b16f783c2eb
- ↑ https://tokusatsujapan.com/the-original-ultraman-actor-satoshi-furuyas-autobiography-1/
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-2142
- ↑ http://www.moegame.com/sfx/archives/201310191954.html
- ↑ https://tokusatsujapan.com/tokusatsu-show-ultraman-bin-furuya-the-man-who-became-ultraman-again/
- ↑ https://x.com/ichikawakon/status/1591039316486422531
- ↑ https://hochi.news/articles/20221207-OHT1T51167.html?page=1
- ↑ https://x.com/tsuburayaprod/status/1728705190575092040