Mako (actor)

was a Japanese-American actor, credited mononymously in almost all of his acting roles as simply Mako (マコ), pronounced "MAH-ko". His career in film, on television, and on stage spanned five decades and 165 productions. He was an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Tony Award nominee.

Born and raised in Kobe, Mako moved to the United States after the Second World War, where his dissident parents had moved to escape political persecution. After serving with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he trained in acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and later co-founded the East West Players. His role as Po-Han (his second credited role on film) in the 1966 film '' The Sand Pebbles'' saw him nominated for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.

His other various roles included Kichijiro in the 1971 film adaptation of ''Silence'', Oomiak "The Fearless One" in '' The Island at the Top of the World'' (1974), Akiro the Wizard in ''Conan the Barbarian'' (1982) and ''Conan the Destroyer'' (1984), and Kungo Tsarong in '' Seven Years in Tibet'' (1997). He was part of the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's 1976 Broadway musical ''Pacific Overtures'', which earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Later in his career, he became well known for his voice-acting roles, including Mr. Yamaguchi in '' Rugrats in Paris: The Movie'', Aku in the first four seasons of '' Samurai Jack'' (2001–04), and Iroh in the first two seasons of '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (2005– 06).

He died on July 21, 2006, at the age of 72 from esophageal cancer.

Early life and education

Mako was born Makoto Iwamatsu in Kobe, Japan,Mako, 72; Actor Opened Door for Asian Americans
''Los Angeles Times'' via Internet Archive. Retrieved December 1, 2021. the son of children's authors and illustrators Tomoe Sasako and Atsushi Iwamatsu, better known by their pen names Mitsu and Taro Yashima. In 1939, his parents, who were political dissidents, moved to the United States, leaving Mako in the care of his grandmother. Because his parents lived on the East Coast, they were not interned during World War II; instead they opted to work for the U.S. Office of War Information and were later granted residency. They arranged for him to join them in 1949, when he was fifteen years old.

Iwamatsu's father owned an art studio in New York City, and as a teenager, he became acquainted with painter Hiroshi Honda. Though he faced racial discrimination, Iwamatsu bonded with his high-school peers over baseball, and was scouted by the Cleveland Indians.

Though he had an interest in dramatics, Iwamatsu did not believe an artistic career was financially viable, and enrolled in the Pratt Institute School of Architecture while working in his father's print shop.

He later enlisted in the U.S. Army in November 1953 and served until October 1955, during which he performed in plays for his fellow soldiers.Mako: the Japanese-American actor who fought racist stereotypes
''The Japan Times'' via Internet Archive. Retrieved December 1, 2021. He then trained at the Pasadena Playhouse and adopted the mononym Mako, as he found most people had difficulty pronouncing his full name. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1956.

Career

Film

Mako's first film role was in '' Never So Few'' (1959). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as engine-room worker Po-Han in the film '' The Sand Pebbles'' (1966). His other roles include the Chinese contract laborer Mun Ki in the epic movie ''The Hawaiians'' (1970) starring Charlton Heston and Tina Chen; Oomiak, the Inuk guide, in Disney's '' The Island at the Top of the World'' (1974); Yuen Chung in the film ''The Killer Elite'' (1975) directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring James Caan, Robert Duvall, and martial artist Takayuki Kubota; the sorcerer Nakano in '' Highlander III: The Sorcerer''; Jackie Chan's uncle/''sifu'' in Chan's first American movie ''The Big Brawl'' (1980); the wizard Akiro opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the two Conan movies ''Conan the Barbarian'' and ''Conan the Destroyer''; the confidant to Chuck Norris' rogue cop in the thriller '' An Eye for an Eye'' (1982); and the Japanese spy in the comedy '' Under the Rainbow''. In 1990, he had a minor role in the psychological thriller ''Pacific Heights'' along with Matthew Modine, Melanie Griffith, and Michael Keaton; Yoshida-san in '' Rising Sun''; Mr. Lee in ''Sidekicks''; Kanemitsu in '' RoboCop 3'' (1993); and Kungo Tsarong in '' Seven Years in Tibet'' (1997).

He also appeared in some Japanese television dramas and films, such as Masahiro Shinoda's '' Owls' Castle'' and Takashi Miike's '' The Bird People in China''.

Mako was cast as the historic Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in the epic drama ''Pearl Harbor'' (2001). He also had a role in ''Bulletproof Monk'' (2003). In 2005, Mako had a cameo role in '' Memoirs of a Geisha''. Mako's last leading role was in the film '' Cages'' (2005), written and directed by Graham Streeter. He voiced Master Splinter in the film '' TMNT'', released posthumously in 2007 as his final credited role.

Theater

In 1965, frustrated by the limited roles available to Asian-American actors, Mako and six others formed the East West Players theater company, first performing out of a church basement. During the company's 1981 season, to coincide with the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians' hearings on redress, Mako exclusively produced plays about the Japanese-American incarceration. He remained artistic director of the company until 1989.

Mako's Broadway career included creating the roles of the Reciter, the ''shōgun'', and the Chicago-based inventor of the rickshaw, in the original 1976 production of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical ''Pacific Overtures'', for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. Mako's landlord at the time, Jerry Orbach, was also nominated for his role in ''Chicago''; both lost, however, to George Rose from the revival of ''My Fair Lady''. Mako recalled being awoken at 4:30 in the morning after the Tony ceremony by Orbach, who was shouting from the floor below: "Hey, Mako! What the fuck happened? I can't believe it; we lost to a fucking revival!". Mako reprised the role and directed the musical's production with the East West Players, and further reprised the role in a production at the San Jose Civic Light Opera in 1991. He also starred in the limited run of the play '' Shimada'' in 1992.

Television

Mako appeared on the television series ''McHale's Navy'' nine times between 1962 and 1965 playing Imperial Japanese officers, soldiers, and sailors. In 1965, he appeared on ''Gidget'' as a member of a rival surf group. He appeared as Low Sing, challenging Bruce Lee's character Kato in ''The Green Hornet'' episode " The Preying Mantis" (1966). Mako's biggest television role to date came in 1967 in ''The Time Tunnel'', playing a sadistic soldier during the last months of World War II. That same year, Mako also appeared in an episode of the satirical comedy show ''F Troop''.

Mako in appeared in " The Tide," a 1973 episode of ''Kung Fu'' as Wong Ti Lu. In 1974, he appeared in the '' Ironside'' episode "Terror on Grant Avenue". He appeared as a Japanese chef in the ''Columbo'' episode "Murder Under Glass" (1978). He was the blind philosopher Li Sung in two episodes of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (1978–79). From 1974 to 1980 he appeared on the television series ''M*A*S*H'', playing multiple roles such as a Chinese doctor, a North Korean soldier, a South Korean medical doctor, and a South Korean lieutenant.

Mako was featured in a season three episode of '' The Facts of Life'', entitled "The Americanization of Miko" (1982). He also appeared on an episode of '' Magnum, P.I.'' entitled "The Arrow That Is Not Aimed" (1983). That same year he played the character Lin Duk Coo in an episode of ''The A-Team''. He guest-starred in a 1987 episode of ''Tour of Duty'' as a Vietnamese scout. Mako guest starred opposite James Hong, Russell Wong and Elizabeth Sung on the popular action series '' The Equalizer'' as the ruthless gangster Jimmy Thanarat in the 1988 episode, " Riding the Elephant."

He guest-starred in a 1994 episode of season one of ''Frasier''.

He guest-starred in the ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' episodes "Heart of the Dragon" (1997) and "Black Dragons" (2000), and in the Nickelodeon film '' Rugrats in Paris: The Movie'' (2000) as Coco's boss. He appeared on ''Charmed'' in 2003, creating magic for Chris (played by Drew Fuller). He guest-starred in the 2005 ''The West Wing'' episode " A Good Day" as an economics professor and former rival of President Bartlet. That same year, he was a guest star in the ''Monk'' episode "Mr. Monk vs. The Cobra."

Voice actor

He was the voice of Aku, the main antagonist in the animated series '' Samurai Jack'' for the first four seasons produced from 2001 to 2004, and again in the series finale, which used his original audio. He also voiced Achoo (a parody of Aku) and the annoying alarm clock Happy Cat in a ''Samurai Jack''-parodying episode of '' Duck Dodgers'' entitled "Samurai Quack". He provided the introductory voice for the ending theme of '' Dexter's Laboratory'' and voiced Iroh in the first two seasons of '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' from 2005 to 2006.

Video games

Mako made his video-game debut with the role of the goblin Grubjub in '' Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader'' (2003). In the same year, he also voiced General Han Yu Kim in '' True Crime: Streets of LA'', Masataka Shima in '' Medal of Honor: Rising Sun'', and various voices in '' Secret Weapons Over Normandy''. In 2004, Mako voiced the narrator in the game ''Wrath Unleashed'', and Aku in '' Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku''.

Personal life

Mako was married to actress Shizuko Hoshi, with whom he had two daughters (both of whom are actresses) and three grandchildren.

Death

Mako died in Somis, California, on July 21, 2006, at the age of 72, from esophageal cancer. Prior to his death, he had completed voice work for '' TMNT'' as the voice of Splinter, with the film being dedicated to him.

The ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' season-two episode " The Tales of Ba Sing Se" is dedicated to Mako. In the sequel series ''The Legend of Korra'', main cast member Mako (voiced by David Faustino) is named after him.

After Mako's death, Greg Baldwin replaced him as Aku in ''Samurai Jack'' and Iroh in ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of Korra''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

*
*
*
A 1998 interview
about Pacific Overtures

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mako
1933 births
2006 deaths
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American male actors
American dramatists and playwrights of Japanese descent
American male actors of Japanese descent
American male dramatists and playwrights
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American military personnel of Japanese descent
American theatre directors of Japanese descent
Deaths from esophageal cancer in California
Japanese emigrants to the United States
Japanese male film actors
Japanese male stage actors
Japanese male voice actors
Male voice actors from Kobe
Military personnel from New York City
Military personnel from New York (state)
Naturalized citizens of the United States
United States Army personnel of the Korean War