Akira Takarada
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| Akira Takarada | |
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 Akira Takarada - detail from movie poster of Japanese movie Godzilla (1954) |
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| Born | April 29, 1934 Harbin, China |
| Years active | 1949 to today |
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Akira Takarada (宝田 明 Takarada Akira?) (born April 29, 1934, in Harbin, China) is a Japanese film actor most prominent in the Showa Era.
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[edit] Overview
Takarada's father worked as an engineer on the South Manchuria Railway. After the war, he remained in Harbin, China, the city of his birth. He is able to speak Mandarin Chinese and English.
He made his film debut in 1949 with a small role in When the Liberty Bell Rang and after several small roles came his big break as navy diver Hideto Ogata in the original Godzilla (1954). He became a popular actor at Toho for his good looks and charismatic, sophisticated character. He continued his association with the Godzilla series in Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), and Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966). He returned to the series in 1992 with Godzilla vs. Mothra and appeared again in Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). Other Toho science-fiction/special-effects films in which he appeared include Half Human (1958), The Last War (1961), Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965), King Kong Escapes (1967), and Latitude Zero (1969).
Toho prepared a musical production of Gone with the Wind with Broadway composer-lyricist Harold Rome for its new Teigeki theater in 1970. Entitled Scarlett, Takarada was originally scheduled to play the role of Rhett Butler. However, injuries sustained in an accident in which he fell off a bulldozer while filming prevented him from participating in this stage production. [1]
Today he is still well-known in Japan through his appearances in TV dramas, quiz shows and commercials.
[edit] Kaiju Filmography
[edit] Voice Roles
[edit] Video Games
[edit] Dubbing
- Jafar (Jonathan Freeman): Aladdin, The Return of Jafar, Disney's House of Mouse
- Ratigan (Vincent Price): The Great Mouse Detective
[edit] Reference citations
- ^ Rome, Florence (1971). The Scarlett Letters. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-46171-1., p.154.
[edit] References
- Rome, Florence (1971). The Scarlett Letters. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-46171-1.
