Akira Takarada facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Akira Takarada
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| 宝田 明 | |
Takarada in 1956
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| Born | April 29, 1934 Chongjin, North Hamgyong, Chōsen (nowadays North Korea)
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| Died | March 14, 2022 (aged 87) Tokyo, Japan
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| Occupation | Actor, Tarento |
| Years active | 1954–2022 |
| Spouse(s) |
Akiko Kojima
(m. 1966; div. 1984) |
| Children | Michiru Kojima (daughter) |
| Japanese name | |
| Kanji | 宝田 明 |
| Hiragana | たからだ あきら |
| Romanization | Takarada Akira |
Akira Takarada (Japanese: 宝田 明, Hepburn: Takarada Akira, April 29, 1934 – March 14, 2022) was a famous Japanese actor. He was best known for his roles in the exciting Godzilla film series.
Life and Career
Akira Takarada was born in Korea, which was under Japanese rule at the time. He also lived for a while in Manchuria, China. His father worked as an engineer. Because of his travels, Akira learned to speak both Mandarin Chinese and English.
In 1948, Takarada moved to Japan with his family. He joined a film company called Toho in 1953. His first small role was in a movie called And Then the Liberty Bell Rang.
His big break came when he was chosen to play Hideto Ogata, a navy diver, in the very first Godzilla movie in 1954. He became a very popular actor at Toho. People liked his good looks and his charming, smart characters.
Akira Takarada continued to appear in many Godzilla films. These included Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), and Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966). He returned to the series later in his career with Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). He also starred in other science-fiction movies from Toho, like King Kong Escapes (1967).
Takarada was once set to play a main role in a musical version of Gone with the Wind in 1970. However, he had an accident while filming another movie and couldn't be in the musical.
He was a special guest at several fan conventions called G-Fest. He attended G-Fest in 2010, 2012, 2016, and 2019. He even received awards there, like the Mangled Skyscraper Award and the G-FAN Lifetime Achievement Award. Fans often called him "The Godfather of G-FEST." In 2013, he filmed a small scene for the 2014 Godzilla movie, but his part was later cut from the final film.
Famous Roles
Akira Takarada had a long and successful acting career. Here are some of his notable roles:
Movies
- Godzilla (1954) as Hideto Ogata
- Half Human (1955) as Takeshi Iijima
- The Last War (1961) as Takano
- Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) as News Reporter Ichirō Sakai
- Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) as Astronaut K. Fuji
- Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966) as Yoshimura
- King Kong Escapes (1967) as Lieutenant Commander Jirō Nomura
- Latitude Zero (1969) as Doctor Ken Tashirō
- Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) as Jōji Minamino
- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) as Natarō Daigo
- The Great Buddha Arrival (2018) as Storyteller
- Dance with Me (2019) as Machin Ueda
Television Shows
Akira Takarada also appeared in many TV dramas, including:
- Shiratori Reiko de Gozaimasu! (1993)
- Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1998)
- Saka no Ue no Kumo (2009)
- Carnation (2011)
Voice Acting and Other Works
Takarada was also a talented voice actor, lending his voice to characters in both live-action and animated films.
- He voiced Jafar in the Japanese versions of Disney's Aladdin (1992) and The Return of Jafar.
- He also voiced Jafar in the Kingdom Hearts video games.
- He was the voice of Ratigan in Disney's The Great Mouse Detective.
- He performed in stage musicals like My Fair Lady and South Pacific.
- He even voiced Henry for the Tokyo Disneyland attraction, Country Bear Jamboree.
See Also
In Spanish: Akira Takarada para niños
