Mako (actor)

For other uses, see Mako.

Makoto Iwamatsu (岩松 信, Iwamatsu Makoto, December 10, 1933 – July 21, 2006) was a Japanese-American actor, credited mononymously in almost all of his acting roles as simply Mako (マコ). 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.

Mako
岩松 信
Mako in 1986
Born	Makoto Iwamatsu (1933-12-10)December 10, 1933 Mikage, Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan
Died	July 21, 2006(2006-07-21) (aged 72) Somis, California, U.S.
Other names	Mako Iwamatsu
Citizenship	Japan United States
Alma mater	Pratt Institute School of Architecture Pasadena Playhouse
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1959–2006
Spouse	Shizuko Hoshi
Children	2
Parent(s)	Taro Yashima (father) Mitsu Yashima (mother)
Japanese name
Kanji	岩松 信
Hiragana	いわまつ まこと
Katakana	イワマツ マコト
Transcriptions Romanization Iwamatsu Makoto

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.^[1] 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^[2] and the Golden Globe Award^[3] 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),^[4] 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.^[5][6]

Early life and education

Mako was born Makoto Iwamatsu in Kobe, Japan,^[7] 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.^[8][9] 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.^[7] They arranged for him to join them in 1949, when he was fifteen years old.^[10]

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.^[10]

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.^[10][11][12]

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.^{[5][7][8][13]} 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.^[7][8]

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).^[8] 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 Inuit 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.^[14] 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.^[15] 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!".^[16] Mako reprised the role and directed the musical's production with the East West Players,^[17] and further reprised the role in a production at the San Jose Civic Light Opera in 1991.^[18] 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, playing Imperial Japanese officers, soldiers, and sailors. In 1965, he appeared on Gidget as a member of a rival surf group. He appeared as Lo Sing, challenging Bruce Lee's Kato character in The Green Hornet episode "The Preying Mantis". 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. He appeared in an episode of the series Kung Fu as Wong Ti Lu in 1972.

He later 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. 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. He also appeared on an episode of Magnum, P.I. entitled "The Arrow That Is Not Aimed" (1983). Mako also appeared in an episode of F Troop. He played the character Lin Duk Coo in an episode of The A-Team, and was featured in season three, episode 13 of The Facts of Life, entitled "The Americanization of Miko". He guest-starred in an episode of season one of Frasier and in an episode of Tour of Duty as a Vietnamese scout. He guest-starred in The West Wing episode "A Good Day" as an economics professor and former rival of President Bartlet.

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 was a guest star in the Monk episode "Mr. Monk vs. The Cobra" (2005).

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.^[5]

Death

Mako died in Somis, California, on July 21, 2006, at the age of 72, from esophageal cancer.^[5] Prior to his death, he had completed voice work for TMNT as the voice of Splinter, with the film being dedicated to him.^[19][20][21]

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

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Never So Few	Soldier in Hospital	Uncredited
1965	McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force	Japanese Submarine Captain	Uncredited
1966	The Ugly Dachshund	Kenji
	The Sand Pebbles	Po-Han	Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor[22] Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor — Motion Picture[23]
1968	The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell	Calvin Coolidge Ishimura
1969	The Great Bank Robbery	Secret Agent Fong
1970	The Hawaiians	Mun Ki
	Fools	Psychiatrist
1971	Silence	Kichijiro
1972	Yokohama Mama	Rooster	Voice, short
1974	The Island at the Top of the World	Oomiak
1975	Prisoners	Sergeant Nguyen
	The Killer Elite	Yuen Chung
1980	The Big Brawl	Herbert
	Hito Hata: Raise the Banner	Oda
1981	Under the Rainbow	Nakomuri
	An Eye for an Eye	James Chan
	The Bushido Blade	Enjiro
1982	Conan the Barbarian	Akiro The Wizard
1983	Testament	Mike
	The Last Ninja	Aitaro Sakura
1984	Conan the Destroyer	Akiro The Wizard
1986	Behind Enemy Lines	Captain Vinh
	Armed Response	Akira Tanaka
1988	Silent Assassins	Oyama
	Tucker: The Man and His Dream	Jimmy
	The Wash	Nobu Matsumoto
1989	An Unremarkable Life	Max Chin
1990	Pu guang ren wu	Trang
	Taking Care of Business	Mr. Sakamoto
	Pacific Heights	Toshio Watanabe
1991	The Perfect Weapon	Kim
	Strawberry Road	Frank Machida
1992	My Samurai	Mr. Tszing
	Sidekicks	Mr. Lee
1993	RoboCop 3	Mr. Kanemitsu
	Rising Sun	Mr. Yoshida
1994	Cultivating Charlie	Katsu
	Red Sun Rising	Buntoro Iga
	A Dangerous Place	Sensei
	Highlander III: The Sorcerer	Nakano
1995	Midnight Man	Buun Som
	Crying Freeman	Shudo Shimazaki
1996	Balance of Power	Todo Matsumoto
	Sworn to Justice	Mr. Young
1997	Sacred Trust	Mr. Jordan
	Seven Years in Tibet	Kungo Tsarong
1998	The Bird People in China	Shen
1999	Alegría	Adult Momo
	Kyohansha	Police
	Owls' Castle	Toyotomi Hideyoshi
2000	Talk to Taka	Mr. Hiro	Short
	Rugrats in Paris: The Movie	Mr. Yamaguchi	Voice[24]
2001	Pearl Harbor	Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
2002	Cruel Game	Straw Hat
2003	Bulletproof Monk	Mr. Kojima
	Bus Story	Father Christmas	Short
2005	Cages	Tan
	Memoirs of a Geisha	Sakamoto
2007	TMNT	Master Splinter	Voice; posthumous release; dedicated in memory[24]
	Rise: Blood Hunter	Poe	Posthumous release (final film role)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	The Lloyd Bridges Show	Takahashi	Episode: "Yankee Stay Here"
1962–1963	Ensign O'Toole	Various Roles	3 episodes
1962–1965	McHale's Navy	Various Roles	9 episodes
1963	The Gallant Men	Frank Fakuda	Episode: "One Puka Puka"
	77 Sunset Strip	Iko Nakayama	Episode: "Stranger from the Sea"
1964	Arrest and Trial	Kyoto	Episode: "Signals of an Ancient Flame"
1964–1965	Broadside	Japanese Commander / Captain Osato	2 episodes
	Burke's Law	Pete / 'Happy' Tuava	2 episodes
1965	I Dream of Jeannie	Kato	Episode: "Jeannie and the Marriage Caper"
	Gidget	Casey	Episode: "The War Between Men, Women and Gidget"
	The Wackiest Ship in the Army	T. Vushikori / Captain Kulijame	2 episodes
1965–1966	I Spy	Jimmy / Baby Face	3 episodes
1966	The Green Hornet	Low Sing	Episode: "The Praying Mantis"
1966–1968	The F.B.I.	Angry Youth / Yoshimura	2 episodes
1967	The Time Tunnel	Lieutenant Nakamura	Episode: "Kill Two by Two"
	F Troop	Samurai Warrior	Episode: "From Karate with Love"
	Vacation Playhouse	Simba	Episode: "Alfred of the Amazon"
1968	The Big Valley	Wong Lo	Episode: "Rimfire"
1970	The Challenge	Yuro	Television film
1971	If Tomorrow Comes	Tadashi	Television film
1972	The Streets of San Francisco	Kenji	Episode: "Pilot"
	Room 222	Mr. Shigematsu	Episode: "Just Call Me Mr. Shigematsu"
	Anna and the King	Sanum	Episode: "The King and the Egg"
1973	Kung Fu	Wong Ti Lu	Episode: "The Tide"
	Love, American Style	Jack	Episode: "Love and the Fortunate Cookie"
1974–1980	M*A*S*H	Various Roles	4 episodes
1974	Ironside	Phil	Episode: "Terror on Grant Avenue"
	Mannix	Tami Okada	Episode: "Enter Tami Okada"
	Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders	Tao Gan	Television film
1976	Hawaii Five-O	Kazuo Tahashi	Episode: "Legacy of Terror"
	Farewell to Manzanar	Fukimoto	Television film
	Visions	Masu Murakami	Episode: "Gold Watch"
1977–1982	Quincy, M.E.	Mr. Yamaguchi / John Moroshima	Episode: "Touch of Death"
1978	Columbo	Kanji Ousu	Episode: "Murder Under Glass"
1978–1979	The Incredible Hulk	Li Sung	2 episodes
1979	Supertrain	Kirby	Episode: "Pirouette"
	Wonder Woman	Mr. Brown	Episode: "Going, Going, Gone"
	Salvage 1	Toshiro	Episode: "Shangri-la Lil"
	When Hell Was in Session	Major Bai	Television film
	A Man Called Sloane	Tanaka	Episode: "Samurai"
1981	Fantasy Island	Kwong Soo Luke	Episode: "The Heroine; The Warrior"
1982	Voyagers!	Slave Auctioneer	Episode: "The Travels Of Marco...And Friends"
	Bring 'Em Back Alive	Tanako	Episode: "The Pied Piper"
	The Facts of Life	Mr. Wakamatsu	Episode: "The Americanization of Miko"
	Romance Theatre	Shibata	5 episodes
1983	The Gallant Men	Frank Fakuda	Episode: "One Puka Puka"
	The Last Ninja	Mantaro Sakura	Pilot
	The A-Team	Lin Duk Coo	Episode: "Recipe for Heavy Bread"
	Magnum, P.I.	Tozan	Episode: "The Arrow That Is Not Aimed"
	Greatest American Hero	Master of Flowers	Episode: "Thirty Seconds Over Little Tokyo"
	Faerie Tale Theatre	Gardener / Minister	Episode: "The Nightingale"
	Girls of the White Orchid	Mori	Television film
1984	Hawaiian Heat	Major Taro Oshira	11 episodes
1986	Kung Fu: The Movie	The Manchu	Television film
1987	Ohara	Toshi	Episode: "Toshi"
	Spenser: For Hire	Tommy Nguyen	Episode: "My Brother's Keeper"
	Tour of Duty	Tran	Episode: "Sitting Ducks"
1988	The Equalizer	Jimmy Thanarat	Episode: "Riding the Elephant"
1990	Murder in Paradise	Captain Kilalo	Television film
	Paradise	Kao	Episode: "Dangerous Cargo"
	The Paradise Club	Mr. Yamamoto	Episode: "The Rotherhithe Project"
	Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes	Sergeant Moritaki	Television film
1991	Lovejoy	Toshiro Tanaka	2 episodes
1992	Nightingale	Narrator	Voice, television film
1993	Shaky Ground	Nakamura	Episode: "Stayin' Alive"
1994	Frasier	Sam Tanaka	Episode: "Author, Author"
1994–1996	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Li Sung	2 episodes
1995	Platypus Man	Mr. Loo	Episode: "Dying to Live"
1996–2003	Dexter's Laboratory	Narrator	Voice, 13 episodes[24]
1997–2000	Walker, Texas Ranger	Dr. Henry Lee / Edward Song	2 episodes
1997	Riot	Mr. Lee	Television film; segment: "Gold Mountain"
1998	JAG	Ichiro Higashimori	-
1999	Martial Law	Master Reng	2 episodes
1999	7th Heaven	Henry Muranaka	Episode: "Dirty Laundry"
2000	The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne	Kajimori	Episode: "The Inquisitor"
2001	Diagnosis Murder	Lee Moy	Episode: "The Red's Shoes"
2001–2004	Samurai Jack	Aku, Hermit	Voice, 24 episodes[24]
2003	Lost at Home	Mr. Li	Episode: "Good Will Hunting"
	Black Sash	Master Li	6 episodes
	What's New, Scooby-Doo?	The Ancient One	Voice, episode: "Big Appetite in Little Tokyo"
	Charmed	Sorcerer	Episode: "Love's a Witch"
2003–2005	Duck Dodgers	Happy Cat, Achoo	Voice, 4 episodes[24]
2004	The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy	Narrator	Voice, episode: "A Kick in the Asgard"[24]
2005	Monk	Master Zi	Episode: "Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra"
	The West Wing	Yosh Takahashi	Episode: "A Good Day"
	Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!	Master Offay	Voice, episode: "Monster Battle Club Now!"
	Sokoku	Leo	Television film
2005–2006	Avatar: The Last Airbender	Uncle Iroh, additional voices	Voice, 30 episodes[24]

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role	Notes
2003	Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader	Grumdjum
	True Crime: Streets of LA	General Han Yu Kim[24]
	Medal of Honor: Rising Sun	Commander Masataka Shima
	Secret Weapons Over Normandy	Imperial Japanese Voices #1
2004	Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku	Aku[24]
	Wrath Unleashed	Narrator[25]
2020	Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time	Aku	Archival audio[24]