Sonny Chiba

Acting

Born Jan 23, 1939

From Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Died Aug 19, 2021

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.

Sonny Chiba

Known For

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

The Storm Riders

Battle Royale II: Requiem

The Bullet Train

Born to Be King

Virus

Legend of the Eight Samurai

Samurai Reincarnation

Filmography — Acting

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

The Storm Riders

Battle Royale II: Requiem

The Bullet Train

Born to Be King

Virus

Legend of the Eight Samurai

Samurai Reincarnation

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

Message from Space

Tokyo-Seoul-Bangkok Drug Triangle

Shogun's Samurai

Shogun's Ninja

The Street Fighter

The Fall of Ako Castle

Japan's Don

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima

Shogun's Shadow

G.I. Samurai

Deadly Outlaw: Rekka

Fall Guy

The Street Fighter's Last Revenge

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2: Head of the Boss

Sister Street Fighter

Tale of Japanese Burglars

The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf

Dead Angle

Hunter in the Dark

The Last Kamikaze

Memoir of Japanese Assassinations

Four Sisters

Wolf Guy

Ninja Wars

Return of the Street Fighter

Karate Warriors

Karate for Life

Invasion of the Neptune Men

Black Jack: The Visitor in the Eye

The Triple Cross

Japanese Humanity and Justice

The Last True Yakuza

Hokuriku Proxy War

Wandering Ginza Butterfly: She-Cat Gambler

Gang Loyalty and Vengeance

Karate Bear Fighter

Cabaret

Dragon Princess

Classmates

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno

Takeda Shingen

Mid-August Commotion

The Bodyguard

The Horrible Obsessions

Jail Breakers

The Killing Machine

Yakuza Warfare

The Decisive Power of Aikido

The Executioner

A Kamikaze Cop

Saito Dosan: Rage of Power

Karate Bullfighter

Bodyguard Kiba 2

The Noise

The Legend of Space Sheriff Gavan

Sure Death 4