Sonny Chiba

Biography

Sonny Chiba (born January 23, 1939 - August 19, 2021), also known as Shin'ichi Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience. Born in Fukuoka, Chiba played a variety of sports in high school, including baseball and volleyball. He also practiced gymnastics and participated at the National Sports Festival of Japan in his third year. When he was a university student, he learned martial arts, earning a black belt in Kyokushin Karate in 1965 and later receiving a fourth degree in 1984. Chiba's career began in the 1960s, when he starred in two tokusatsu superhero shows. In his first role, he replaced Susumu Wajima as the main character Kōtarō Ran/Seven Color Mask in Seven Color Mask (Nana-iro Kamen) in the second half of the series. However, his breakthrough role was in the 1974 film The Street Fighter. Before retiring, Chiba had also appeared in a number of English language American films, including Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Fast & Furious 3: Tokyo Drift (2006). Chiba died of COVID-19 complications at the hospital in Tokyo on 19…

Movies & TV Shows

1. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) — Hattori Hanzo
2. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) — Hattori Hanzo
3. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) — Uncle Kamata
4. Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2011) — Hattori Hanzo
5. Battle Royale II: Requiem (2003) — Makio Mimura
6. Survive Style 5+ (2004) — Azama
7. Sushi Girl (2012) — Sushi Chef
8. The Street Fighter (1974) — Takuma Tsurugi
9. The Storm Riders (1998) — Lord Conqueror
10. Return of the Street Fighter (1974) — Takuma Tsurugi
11. Iron Eagle III (1992) — Horikoshi
12. Virus (1980) — Dr. Yamauchi
13. Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973) — Katsutoshi Otomo
14. The Bullet Train (1975) — Aoki
15. Message from Space (1978) — Prince Hans
16. Sister Street Fighter (1974) — Seiichi Hibiki
17. The Street Fighter's Last Revenge (1974) — Takuma Tsurguri
18. Shogun's Samurai (1978) — Jûbê Yagyû
19. Born to Be King (2000) — Ichiro Kusakari
20. Samurai Reincarnation (1981) — Jubei Yagyu
21. Wolf Guy (1975) — Akira Inugami
22. G.I. Samurai (1979) — Lt. Yoshiaki Iba
23. Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983) — Inuyama Dosetsu Tadatomo
24. Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (2002) — Yasunori Hijikata
25. Doberman Cop (1977) — Joji Kano
26. The Executioner (1974) — Ryuichi Koga
27. Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961) — Tachibana - Scientist / Space Chief
28. The Fall of Ako Castle (1978) — Fuwa Kazuemon
29. Fall Guy (1982)
30. Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon (1977) — Duke Togo (Golgo 13)
31. Explosive City (2004) — Otosan
32. Ninja Wars (1982) — Shinzaemon Yagyu
33. The Bodyguard (1973) — Naoto Kiba
34. Shogun's Shadow (1989) — Iba Shoemon
35. Shogun's Ninja (1980) — Shiranui Shogen
36. Hunter in the Dark (1979) — Samon Shimoguni
37. Terror Beneath the Sea (1966) — Ken Abe
38. The Executioner II: Karate Inferno (1974) — Ryuichi Koga
39. Immortal Combat (1994) — Jiro 'J.J.' Jintani
40. New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2: Head of the Boss (1975) — Bartender (uncredited)

Directed

1. Yellow Fangs (1990) — Director
2. Fighting Fist (1992) — Director
3. Oyaji (2007) — Director