Gerald Okamura (born 1940) is an American actor, martial artist, and stuntman, known for appearing in numerous

action films The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...

. He has acted in both mainstream blockbusters like ''

Big Trouble in Little China ''Big Trouble in Little China'' (also known as ''John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China'') is a 1986 American fantasy action-comedy film directed by John Carpenter, and starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong. The ...

'' and

B-movies A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...

such as '' Samurai Cop''.

Early life

Okamura was born in

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

in 1940. He began studying

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

at the age of 13. He enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

after graduating high school, where he was deployed to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and was introduced to

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

. After his discharge, he moved to Los Angeles, where he enrolled in Jimmy H. Woo's

San Soo Kung Fu San Soo (功夫散手) is a Chinese-American martial art. It is based on techniques from all over China, both Northern and Southern Chinese martial arts systems. Etymology The specific or proper name of this art is Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hu ...

school, eventually earning a 5th-degree black belt. Okamura has also trained in

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship ex ...

and

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

, and is a designer of various types of weaponry.

Career

Okamura began doing

stunt A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...

s in 1975, getting his first credited role in 1980. Since then he has appeared in 39 feature films, notably ''

'', '' Samurai Cop'', '' Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance'', '' Ninja Academy'', '' 9½ Ninjas!'', ''

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes. It is about long and up to about wide, and surrounds most of the Pa ...

'', ''

Blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

'', and '' G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra''. Other roles he's played are Kai-Ogi in ''

Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers ''Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers'' is a ''Power Rangers'' mini-series set immediately after the end of the third season of ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers''. As with the third season of ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', this mini-series adapted fo ...

'', a sensei in ''

Power Rangers Wild Force ''Power Rangers Wild Force'' is a television series and the tenth season of Power Rangers. It is also the anniversary season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 25th Super Sentai series ''Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger'', which itself ...

'', and Chao Chong in ''

VR Troopers ''VR Troopers'' is a syndicated live-action superhero-adventure television series produced and distributed by Saban Entertainment from 1994 to 1996. The show tried to profit from the fascination with virtual reality in the mid-1990s as well as t ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okamura, Gerald 1940 births Living people American aikidoka American male judoka American kendoka American male film actors American people of Japanese descent American stunt performers American male taekwondo practitioners People from Hilo, Hawaii Male actors from Hawaii 20th-century American people 20th-century American sportsmen