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One of Toho's most recognizable actors during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1950's and '60s, Akira Takarada was born and raised in Japanese-occupied Chongjin, North Korea, after Japan's invasion of the area. His family returned to mainland Japan after World War II in 1948. At the age of 19, in April of 1953, Takarada joined Toho's New Face program where he trained at the studio's acting institute. Fourteen months after joining the institute, Takarada was given his first on screen role with Toho's biographical film And Then the Liberty Bell Rang (1954).
Takarada's jump to super stardom started not long after his acting career did, as one of his first roles was the lead in Ishiro Honda's box office hit Godzilla (1954) as Hideto Ogata. Still young in his career, Takarada stood out from the crowd for his good looks, given the nickname "Mr. Handsome" and often appearing as the romantic lead in films such as A Rainbow Plays in My Heart: Part 1 (1957) and The Capital of Beauty (1957).
Although finding success as a heartthrob, Takarada slightly re-envisioned himself as a cocky, sometimes comedic and slightly cynical character actor, embracing his less admirable qualities in the subject titled Freeloader (1962) and also as the rough but good natured reporter Ichiro Sakai in Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964). The actor also made a name for himself as the character Hoshino Andrew, a James Bond spoof that appeared in Iron Finger (1965) and Booted Babe, Busted Boss (1968). Following a series of roles in 1969, including his all-English speaking role in Latitude Zero (1969) and his very last appearance that year in Mito Komon Manyuki (1969), Takarada left the spotlight just as the Japanese film industry itself started to dwindle due to the continued advent of television.
Over a decade later, Takarada appeared once again on the big screen in the film The Legend of Plumeria (1983). His career then enjoyed a mini-resurgence in the decade that followed, becoming a favorite of director Juzo Itami in movies such as Tales of a Golden Geisha (1990) and Minbo (1992). He was also active with Disney, cast as Jafar in the Japanese version of Aladdin, doing a lot of voice work for the company. However, Takarada always had a soft spot for Godzilla, reappearing in the franchise for Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) for the Heisei series and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) for the Millennium series, and embracing the fandom at conventions for the character and his films. Takarada was also set to appear in Legendary Pictures 2014 Godzilla film, but had his scene removed. |
