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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

242

Gender

Male

Birthday

1939-01-23

Day of Death

2021-08-19 (82 years old)

Place of Birth

Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Also Known As

Синъити Тиба

Shinichi Chiba

Sadaho Maeda

Sonny Chiba

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 August 2021, at the age of 82. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sonny Chiba, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Acting

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

2003

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

as

Hattori Hanzo

The Storm Riders

1998

The Storm Riders

as

Lord Conqueror

Battle Royale II: Requiem

2003

Battle Royale II: Requiem

as

Makio Mimura

The Executioner

1974

The Executioner

as

Ryuichi Koga

The Killing Machine

1976

The Killing Machine

as

Doshin So

Invasion of the Neptune Men

1961

Invasion of the Neptune Men

as

Tachibana - Scientist / Space Chief

Judo Life

1963

Judo Life

as

Explosive City

2004

Explosive City

as

Otosan

Two Lives, Two Yakuza

1964

Two Lives, Two Yakuza

as

Shinichi Matsuhashi

Fall Guy

1982

Fall Guy

as

Karate Bear Fighter

1975

Karate Bear Fighter

as

Mas Oyama

Karate Bullfighter

1975

Karate Bullfighter

as

Sensei Masutatsu Oyama

Karate for Life

1977

Karate for Life

as

Sensei Masutatsu Oyama

Shogun's Samurai

1978

Shogun's Samurai

as

Jûbê Yagyû

The Street Fighter

1974

The Street Fighter

as

Takuma Tsurugi

Return of the Street Fighter

1974

Return of the Street Fighter

as

Takuma Tsurugi

Deadly Outlaw: Rekka

2002

Deadly Outlaw: Rekka

as

Yasunori Hijikata

Sushi Girl

2012

Sushi Girl

as

Sushi Chef

The Kamikaze Guy

1966

The Kamikaze Guy

as

Mitarai Ken

Survive Style 5+

2004

Survive Style 5+

as

Azama

Hunter in the Dark

1979

Hunter in the Dark

as

Samon Shimoguni

Roaring Fire

1981

Roaring Fire

as

Mr. Magic

Sister Street Fighter

1974

Sister Street Fighter

as

Seiichi Hibiki

Police Precinct Part 17

1961

Police Precinct Part 17

as

Detective Nakagawa

Police Precinct: 15 Year Old Woman

1961

Police Precinct: 15 Year Old Woman

as

Detective Nakagawa

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon

1977

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon

as

Duke Togo (Golgo 13)

Robot Detective: The Movie

1973

Robot Detective: The Movie

as

Keitaro Shinjo

Night Bitch

1966

Night Bitch

as

Tatsuo Otsuki

The Fall of Ako Castle

1978

The Fall of Ako Castle

as

Fuwa Kazuemon

A Kamikaze Cop

1970

A Kamikaze Cop

as

Hayata Shiro

Samurai Reincarnation

1981

Samurai Reincarnation

as

Jubei Yagyu

The Bodyguard

1973

The Bodyguard

as

Naoto Kiba

Karate Warriors

1976

Karate Warriors

as

Shuuhei Sakata

G.I. Samurai

1979

G.I. Samurai

as

Lt. Yoshiaki Iba

The King

1962

The King

as

The Golden Bat

1966

The Golden Bat

as

Dr. Yamatone

The Triple Cross

1992

The Triple Cross

as

Chiba

The Bushido Blade

1981

The Bushido Blade

as

Prince Ido

Kabamaru the Ninja Boy

1983

Kabamaru the Ninja Boy

as

Iga no Saizo

Immortal Combat

1994

Immortal Combat

as

Jiro 'J.J.' Jintani

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

2004

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

as

Hattori Hanzo

Wolf Guy

1975

Wolf Guy

as

Akira Inugami

New Shadow Warriors

2003

New Shadow Warriors

as

Hattori Hanzo I

New Shadow Warriors II

2003

New Shadow Warriors II

as

Hattori Hanzo I

Fighting Fist

1992

Fighting Fist

as

Supt. Yamada

The Great Okinawa Yakuza War

1976

The Great Okinawa Yakuza War

as

Seigou Kunigami

Dragon Princess

1976

Dragon Princess

as

Kazuma Higaki

Shogun's Shadow

1989

Shogun's Shadow

as

Iba Shoemon

Shogun's Ninja

1980

Shogun's Ninja

as

Shiranui Shogen

Born to Be King

2000

Born to Be King

as

Ichiro Kusakari

Unification Of Japan

2013

Unification Of Japan

as

Seizo Gonda

Asakusa no kyōkaku

1963

Asakusa no kyōkaku

as

Shinsuke Hayama / Shintaro

Body Count

1995

Body Count

as

Makato

Unification Of Japan 2

2013

Unification Of Japan 2

as

Seizo Gonda

Akumyoh 2

2001

Akumyoh 2

as

Legend of the Eight Samurai

1983

Legend of the Eight Samurai

as

Inuyama Dosetsu Tadatomo

Sure Death 4

1987

Sure Death 4

as

Bunshichi

Soul of Chiba

1977

Soul of Chiba

as

Mu Yun Tek

Classmates

1967

Classmates

as

Second Sublieutenant Hanzawa

The Last Kamikaze

1970

The Last Kamikaze

as

Captain Mishima

Take a Chance

2015

Take a Chance

as

Musashi

The Noise

2015

The Noise

as

The Awesome Circus Bastard

1984

The Awesome Circus Bastard

as

Maejima Daigaku

Tale of Japanese Burglars

1965

Tale of Japanese Burglars

as

Lawyer Ohki

Iron Eagle III

1992

Iron Eagle III

as

Horikoshi

Army Intelligence

1968

Army Intelligence

as

Kazuo Yamamoto

Bodyguard Kiba 2

1973

Bodyguard Kiba 2

as

Naoto Kiba

Game of Chance

1966

Game of Chance

as

Bungo Endo

Jail Breakers

1976

Jail Breakers

as

Wataru Kangi

Virus

1980

Virus

as

Dr. Yamauchi

Doberman Cop

1977

Doberman Cop

as

Joji Kano

Shingo's Ten Duels

1990

Shingo's Ten Duels

as

Umei Tamon

Biohazard: The Stage

2015

Biohazard: The Stage

as

Ezra Sennett

Ninja Wars

1982

Ninja Wars

as

Shinzaemon Yagyu

Hokuriku Proxy War

1977

Hokuriku Proxy War

as

Kanai Hachiro

The Last True Yakuza

1985

The Last True Yakuza

as

Ryozo Kano

Four Sisters

1962

Four Sisters

as

Shinkichi Hayami

Kamikaze, the Adventurer

1981

Kamikaze, the Adventurer

as

Daisuke Kamikaze

Saito Dosan: Rage of Power

1991

Saito Dosan: Rage of Power

as

Mitsutsugu Akechi

The Legend of Space Sheriff Gavan

2012

The Legend of Space Sheriff Gavan

as

Space Sheriff Voicer

Yakuza G-Men

1965

Yakuza G-Men

as

Toru Sasayama

Oyaji

2007

Oyaji

as

Ryudo Numata

The Horrible Obsessions

1972

The Horrible Obsessions

as

Haruo Kikuchi

The Rickshaw Man’s Son

1967

The Rickshaw Man’s Son

as

Komakichi Sugimoto

Taikoki

1987

Taikoki

as

The Navy

1963

The Navy

as

Takao

Shakespeare In Tokyo

2018

Shakespeare In Tokyo

as

Calligrapher

Cabaret

1986

Cabaret

as

Yakuza boss

Message from Space

1978

Message from Space

as

Prince Hans

Sensei

1989

Sensei

as

Makoto Ushiyama

Japan's Don

1977

Japan's Don

as

Tsuneyoshi Sakota

Mid-August Commotion

1962

Mid-August Commotion

as

Dr Omori

Space Sheriff Gavan

Space Sheriff Gavan

as

Space Sheriff Voicer

Shadow Warriors

Shadow Warriors

as

Hattori Hanzō

Shotgun Marriage

Shotgun Marriage

as

Ittetsu Kotani

Takeda Shingen

Takeda Shingen

as

Takeda Nobutora

Space Sheriff Sharivan

Space Sheriff Sharivan

as

Voicer (in flashback)

Robot Detective

Robot Detective

as

Keitarō Shinjō

Nanairo Kamen

Nanairo Kamen

as

Kotaro Ran

Messenger of Allah

Messenger of Allah

as

Detective Goro Narumi / Messenger of Allah

Notes on Tokugawa Villainies

Notes on Tokugawa Villainies

as

Matsudaira Tadateru

Team Astro

Team Astro

as

Shuro

风云争霸

风云争霸

as

东方青木 / 东方白石

Yume ni Mita Hibi

Yume ni Mita Hibi

as

Sekimoto Shinsaku

Key Hunter

Key Hunter

as

風間洋介

Production

Sensei

1989

Sensei

as

Crew

Directing