Mako
(1933 - 2006)He is a very charismatic Asian actor who made an impact in his debut film, "The Sand Pebbles." A tall, wiry man with very expressive, smiling eyes and often a shaved or buzzed head, his versatility allows for him to be cast in many different genres. He can play it straight or eccentric and a look at his film credits clearly illustrates this. He was born Makoto Iwamatsu on December 10, 1933 in Kobe, Japan. He lived with his grandparents as a child in Japan while his parents studied art in the United States. When the U.S. went to war with Japan, Mako's parents worked with the U.S. Office of War Information. At the end of World War II they were granted U.S. residency by Congress and Mako later joined his parents in New York. His dream was to be an architect and he studied architecture in college. During a stint in the U.S. Army in the 1950s he appeared in USO shows and did some acting in shows for military personnel where he developed a love and talent for the theatre. After the service he scrapped his plans to be an architect and joined the famed Pasadena Playhouse where he honed his acting skills. He later auditioned for parts in many stage and television productions where he enjoyed moderate success. It was his casting in the 1966 film "The Sand Pebbles" with Steve McQueen, as Po-Han, where he made his mark and received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor. His other film credits include: "The Ugly Dachshund" (1966) as Kenji; "The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell" (1968) as Calvin Coolidge Ishimura; "The Great Bank Robbery" (1969) as Secret Agent Fong; "The Hawaiians" (1970) as Mun Ki; "Chinmoku" (1971) as Mako Iwamatsu; "The Island at the Top of the World" (1974) as Oomiak; "Prisoners" (1975) as Sgt. Nguyen; "The Killer Elite" (1975) as Yuen Chung; "The Big Brawl" (1980) as Herbert; "Under the Rainbow" (1981) as Nakomuri; "The Bushido Blade" (1981) as Enjiro; "An Eye for an Eye" (1981) as James Chan; one of my favorite of his roles "Conan the Barbarian" (1982) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Akiro, the Wizard; "Testament" (1983) as Mike, in a poignant role which demonstrated his acting abilities; "Conan the Destroyer" (1984) again as Akiro; "P.O.W. the Escape" (1986) as Capt. Vinh; "Armed Response" (1986) as Akira Tanaka; "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" (1988) as Jimmy Sakuyama; "The Wash" (1988) as Nobu Matsumoto; "Silent Assassins" (1988) as Oyama; "The Bird People in China" (1998) as Shen; "An Unremarkable Life" (1989); "Fatal Mission" (1990) as Trang; "Pacific Heights" (1990) as Toshio Watanabe; "The Perfect Weapon" (1991) as Kim; "Strawberry Road" (1991) as Frank Machida; "My Samurai" (1992) as Mr. Tszing; "Nightingale" (1992) as Narrator; "Sidekicks" (1992) as Mr. Lee; as "Robocop 3" (1993) as Kanemitsu; "Rising Sun" (1993) as Yoshida-San; "Red Rising Sun" (1993) as Buntoro Iga; "Cultivating Charlie" (1994) as Katsu; "Highlander III: The Sorcerer" (1994) as Nakano; "Midnight Man" (1995) as Buun Som; "Crying Freeman" (1995) as Shido Shimazaki; "Sworn to Justice" (1996) as Mr. Young; "Balance of Power" (1997) as Matsumodo; "Seven Years in Tibet" (1997) with Brad Pitt, as Kungo Tsarong; "Kyohansha" (1999) as Police; "Talk to Taka" (2000) as Mr. Hiro; "Rugrats in Paris" (2000) as voice of Mr. Yamaguchi; "She Said I Love You" (2001) as Straw Hat; "Pearl Harbor" (2001) as Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto; "Bulletproof Monk" (2003) as Mr. Kojima; "Lionheart" (2003) as Grumdjum; "Medal of Honor: Rising Sun" (2003) as Matsaka Shima; "Cages" (2005) as Tan; "Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005) as Sakamoto and "Rise" (2006) as Poe, his last film. On TV he was a regular on "Hawaiian Heat" (1984) as Maj. Taro Oshira and he has also appeared in some excellent TV movies including: "Farewell to Manzanar" (1976); "When Hell Was in Session" (1979); "Girls of the White Orchid" (1983); "Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes" (1990) and "Riot" (1997). He also guest starred on such series as: "McHale's Navy"; "I Dream of Jeannie"; "The Green Hornet"; "F Troop"; "The Time Tunnel"; "I Spy"; "The F.B.I."; "Kung Fu"; "The Big Valley"; "Hawaii 5-O"; "M*A*S*H"; "Wonder Woman"; "The A-Team"; "The Equalizer"; "Frasier"; "Monk" and "Martial Law." Like many actors, he has not had scripts equal to his talent but added much to any production he was involved in. He became a naturalizes American citizen in 1956. He married Shizuko Hoshi, an actress/dancer, and they had two daughters, Sala and Mimosa. He headed the East West Players, a prestigious organization of Asian-American actors. Was also nominated for a Tony Award for the play "Pacific Overtures." He died of esophageal cancer on July 21, 2006 at the age of 72 at his home in Somis, California.
From Great Character Actors, Page 5.
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