Mako (actor)
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| Mako | |
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| Birth name | Makoto Iwamatsu |
| Born | December 10, 1933 Kobe, Japan  |
| Died | July 21, 2006 |
| Other name(s) | Makoto Iwamatsu |
| Notable roles | Po-Han in The Sand Pebbles Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender Aku in Samurai Jack Master Splinter in TMNT |
Makoto Iwamatsu (マコ 岩松, also 岩松 信 Iwamatsu Makoto, December 10, 1933 – July 21, 2006) was a Japanese American actor.
He was born in Kobe, Japan, the son of noted children's book author and illustrator Taro Yashima. His parents moved to the United States when he was a small child. He joined them there after World War II, joining the military in the 1950s. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1956. Many of his acting roles credited him simply as "Mako", omitting his surname.
[edit] Career
When Mako first joined his parents in the USA, he studied architecture. During his military service, he discovered his theatrical talent, and on leaving trained at the Pasadena Community Playhouse.
Mako's first cinema role was in the 1959 film Never So Few.
In 1965, frustrated by the limited roles available to himself and other Asian American actors, Mako and 6 others formed the East West Players theatre company, first performing out of a church basement. The company is one of the earliest Asian American theatre organizations, and not only provided a venue for Asian American actors to train and perform, but nurtured many Asian American playwrights. Mako remained artistic director of the company until 1989.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1966 film The Sand Pebbles, and for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for the 1976 musical Pacific Overtures. He played as Kanemitsu in Robocop 3 in 1993.
He has appeared on the TV show M*A*S*H, playing multiple roles such as a Chinese doctor, North Korean soldier, and South Korean Major.
He was also known for his role as the Wizard Akiro, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, the narrator of the two Conan movies Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer. In 2001 he appeared as Admiral Yamamoto in Pearl Harbor. In 2005, Mako had a cameo role in Memoirs of a Geisha.
He also voiced Commander Shima in the video game Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
He has played the sorcerer Nakano in Highlander III.
He has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7095 Hollywood Blvd.
One of his memorable roles was as the Chinese contract laborer Mun Ki in the 1970 epic movie The Hawaiians starring Charlton Heston and Tina Chen, whereby he spoke the famous line, "I learn you speak good English."
He was the voice actor of the evil demon Aku in the animated series Samurai Jack, and as the parody of Aku, Achoo, in Duck Dodgers, as well as Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender. He had a guest appearance in the Nickelodeon movie Rugrats in Paris as the boss of Coco. He guest-starred in the episode "A Good Day" of The West Wing as an economics professor and former rival of President Bartlet.
Mako died on July 21, 2006, aged 72, after a long period of suffering from esophageal cancer. Prior to his death, Mako had been recently confirmed to star in the newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, providing the voice of Splinter.[1] His involvement in the project was announced on July 20; one day before his death. It is known that he had done most of the voice work, but not the ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement).[2] In a recent interview with the director Kevin Munroe, it was confirmed that Mako had completed his recording before his death, and his voice will be used in the movie.[3][4]
During an Avatar: The Last Airbender episode, titled "The Tales of Ba Sing Se", which comprises several small stories about the main characters, there is a segment titled, "The Tale of Iroh." It features a dedication to Mako, as he was the voice actor for the character of Iroh.
[edit] References
- ^ TMNT at Superhero Hype
- ^ The official TMNT website
- ^ Ain't it Cool interview with director Kevin Munroe
- ^ On the Set of TMNT!
[edit] External links
- Mako at the Internet Movie Database
- Mako Iwamatsu at the Voice Chasers Database
- Mako at the Internet Broadway Database
- A 1998 interview about Pacific Overtures
Categories: 1933 births | 2006 deaths | Asian American actors | Japanese American actors | Japanese film actors | Japanese character actors | Japanese stage actors | Japanese voice actors | People from Kobe | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Naturalized citizens of the United States | M*A*S*H cast members | Throat cancer deaths | Highlander cast members | The West Wing cast members | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cast members
