Amin Abbas

DUBAI: Legendary Japanese actor Akira Takarada, known for his roles in multiple Godzilla franchise movies, passed away on Monday at the age of 87.

Takarada was in and out of the hospital in the past few years. On March 10, he showed up in a wheelchair at a stage greeting for the movie Yononaka ni Taete Sakura no Nakariseba. His condition suddenly worsened on March 13, leading to his death the next day.

The actor was born on April 29, 1934. He entered the entertainment world of as part of TOHO’s “New Face” program in April 1953.

The late Takarada was a veteran of the Japanese Godzilla movies, firstly in the original Godzilla (1954) movie as Hideto Ogata, as well in the sequels Mothra vs. Godzilla, Invasion of Astro-Monster, and Godzilla Versus the Sea Monster. His last Godzilla movie was Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004. He was also in a deleted scene in the 2014 Godzilla movie.

In an exclusive interview with Arab News Japan last year, Takarada shared insight into some of the Western movies and pop culture films that inspire him.

Takarada said: “I was still a child who experienced the mass exodus of Japanese from Manchuria of the China continent after the war in 1946” and confessed that life was very hard and he struggled even when returning to Japan but found that movies offered him inspiration.

“My favorite Japanese movie is Seven Samurai because the leading actor Mr. Toshiro Mifune had lived almost the same situation in Manchuria before and after the war, so he was like a big brother for me. We had a tight bond. Coincidentally, we had both mega-hit movies in 1954, which were Samurai, and Monster movies from Japan,” Takarada added.

Takarada shared how one of his favorite movies is Fiddler on the Roof because of the underlying theme of hope. He also expressed gratitude at being given the opportunity to act in this film.

Takarada’s favorite anime was Grave of the Fireflies from Studio Ghibli as he appreciated the theme of brotherhood prevalent throughout.

Takarada was known for playing one of the main characters, Hideto Ogata, in the original Godzilla (1954) movie, sharing how Toho Films saw potential in him to play the role, and this made him “very pleased.”

Takarada was also well known for doing the voice of Jafar from Disney’s animated feature Aladdin across Disney’s platforms and has done dubbings for many other foreign titles.

Read more: Japanese actor who starred in original Godzilla movie shares insight on his role