In April 2008, Moore was confirmed to be joining the cast as the courtesan Alexandra. Interviewed at the 2009 Middle East International Film Festival, Moore described Bunraku as a "big action adventure". "It has tremendous special effects," she enthused. In May 2008, Harrelson and Perlman were announced to be joining the cast. Harrelson is set to play The Bartender, one of the protagonists while Perlman was signed to the role of Nicola the Woodcutter, powerful warrior and crime boss, who is the central focus of vengeance for the film's protagonists. Bunraku marks the first time that Moore and Harrelson have worked together since the 1993 film Indecent Proposal. When asked in a 2010 interview how he had managed to sign two international stars like Harrelson and Moore onto an experimental film, Moshe explained "They really liked [Moshe's film] Holly and responded immediately to the Bunraku script." McKidd plays Killer No. 2, the right-hand man of Nicola and a deadly assassin. Describing his character in a 2010 interview, McKidd said "I play a very effeminate, master killer who's almost like a Fred Astaire tap-dancing his way through the movie. It's so different than anything I've done." McKidd further revealed "It'll be a very interesting film. Moshe, who also directed, wrote what I thought was one of the strangest scripts I'd ever read, especially because the story takes place in an in-depth CGI universe. It's very allegorical – a mixture of a samurai film and a western in a virtual origami universe where everything is made of folding paper, and there's a lot of martial arts in it...I thought Bunraku was interesting enough to be in. I play the main killer of the movie who's hunting down Hartnett's character under the instruction of Ron Perlman's character, Nicola. They've been doing the effects for the last 19 months. But then this is an independent film, not Avatar. I'm really excited to see Bunraku." On April 23, 2008, Japanese singer Gackt was confirmed for the role of Yoshi, a samurai warrior seeking vengeance against Nicola. Although he has starred in Japanese television drama and feature films, Bunraku was his first acting experience in an international-flavored movie. Gackt came to the attention of Moshe through his role in the 2007 television historic drama Fūrin Kazan, a year-long series produced by NHK. In this series, he portrayed the heroic warlord Uesugi Kenshin, winning him accolades, not