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Haruo Nakajima(1929-2017)

  • Actor
  • Stunts
  • Transportation Department
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Haruo Nakajima gave his famous "Godzilla attack" pose at Godzilla's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during Monsterpalooza 2011
Haruo Nakajima was born on 1 January 1929 in Yamagata, Japan. He was an actor, known for Seven Samurai (1954), Godzilla (1954) and Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972). He died on 7 August 2017 in Japan.
BornJanuary 1, 1929
DiedAugust 7, 2017(88)
BornJanuary 1, 1929
DiedAugust 7, 2017(88)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win total

Photos17

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Known for

Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Yoshio Inaba, Daisuke Katô, Isao Kimura, Seiji Miyaguchi, Takashi Shimura, and Keiko Tsushima in Seven Samurai (1954)
Seven Samurai
8.6
  • Bandit
  • 1954
Akihiko Hirata, Momoko Kôchi, Takashi Shimura, and Akira Takarada in Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla
7.6
  • Gojira
  • Power Station Worker
  • 1954
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Gigan
5.7
  • Gojira
  • Background Comic Editor
  • JSDF Officer
  • 1972
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
King Kong vs. Godzilla
5.7
  • Godzilla
  • Faro Islander of the monitoring base
  • 1962

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor



  • Peter Sallis in M.U.G.E.N (1999)
    M.U.G.E.N
    7.1
    Video Game
    • 1999
  • Hiroshi Fujioka and Ayumi Ishida in Submersion of Japan (1973)
    Submersion of Japan
    5.6
    • Prime Minister's Chauffeur
    • 1973
  • Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
    Godzilla vs. Gigan
    5.7
    • Gojira
    • Background Comic Editor
    • JSDF Officer
    • 1972
  • Showa hito keta shachô tai futaketa shain: Getsu-getsu kasui moku kinkin
    • 1971
  • Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
    Godzilla vs. Hedorah
    6.1
    • Godzilla (Kaiju)
    • Citizen appealing government to Hedora
    • Officer (uncredited)
    • 1971
  • Ame wa shitteita (1971)
    Ame wa shitteita
    • Investigator (uncredited)
    • 1971
  • Showa hito keta shachô tai futaketa shain (1971)
    Showa hito keta shachô tai futaketa shain
    • Solar Electric Security Guard (uncredited)
    • 1971
  • Haruo Nakajima in Space Amoeba (1970)
    Space Amoeba
    5.4
    • Gezora - Kameba
    • 1970
  • Chibira Kun
    TV Series
    • Tongari
    • Gabagorow
    • 1970–1971
  • All Monsters Attack (1969)
    All Monsters Attack
    3.9
    • Gojira
    • 1969
  • Mito Kômon man'yûki
    7.6
    • Guest at the Bank (uncredited)
    • 1969
  • Nippon ichi no danzetsu otoko
    • Man at gambling (uncredited)
    • 1969
  • Battle of the Japan Sea (1969)
    Battle of the Japan Sea
    6.4
    • Staff of the First Fleet (uncredited)
    • 1969
  • Latitude Zero (1969)
    Latitude Zero
    5.9
    • Flying Lion
    • Giant Rat
    • 1969
  • Burakku comedi (1969)
    Burakku comedi
    • 1969

Stunts



  • Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
    Godzilla vs. Gigan
    5.7
    • stunt choreographer
    • 1972
  • Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
    Godzilla vs. Hedorah
    6.1
    • stunt choreographer
    • 1971
  • Haruo Nakajima in Space Amoeba (1970)
    Space Amoeba
    5.4
    • stunt double: Akira Kubo
    • underwater stunts
    • 1970
  • All Monsters Attack (1969)
    All Monsters Attack
    3.9
    • stunt choreographer
    • 1969
  • Latitude Zero (1969)
    Latitude Zero
    5.9
    • stunt choreographer
    • underwater stunts
    • 1969
  • Destroy All Monsters (1968)
    Destroy All Monsters
    6.4
    • stunt choreographer
    • 1968
  • 'Little Man' Machan and Seiji Onaka in Son of Godzilla (1967)
    Son of Godzilla
    5.2
    • stunt choreographer
    • 1967
  • Ultraman (1967)
    Ultraman
    7.3
    • stunts
    • 1967
  • Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
    Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
    5.6
    • stunt choreographer
    • 1966
  • The War of the Gargantuas (1966)
    The War of the Gargantuas
    6.2
    • stunt coordinator (uncredited)
    • 1966
  • Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
    Invasion of Astro-Monster
    6.2
    • special effects stunt choreography
    • 1965
  • Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965)
    Frankenstein vs. Baragon
    5.5
    • stunt choreographer
    • 1965
  • Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster (1964)
    Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster
    6.5
    • stunt choreographer
    • 1964
  • Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
    Mothra vs. Godzilla
    6.5
    • stunt choreographer
    • 1964
  • King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
    King Kong vs. Godzilla
    5.7
    • stunt choreographer
    • 1962

Transportation Department



  • Haisukûru gôsutobasutâzu (1995)
    Haisukûru gôsutobasutâzu
    5.1
    Video
    • vehicles
    • 1995
  • Rhapsody in August (1991)
    Rhapsody in August
    7.2
    • transportation
    • 1991

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 6¼″ (1.68 m)
  • Born
    • January 1, 1929
    • Yamagata, Japan
  • Died
    • August 7, 2017
    • Japan(complications from pneumonia)
  • Spouse
    • ?? - January 17, 2017 (her death, 1 child)
  • Other works
    Book "Monster Life: Haruo Nakajima, The Original Godzilla Actor". Yosensha, Japan
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 2 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Invented the Godzilla film character from scratch and developed it by going to a zoo to study how elephants and bears moved. He said, "It was important to show the pathos of the creature, which could only smash everything in its way". The theme of his Godzilla was grand and complex, addressing universal human problems, as it spoke to a Japan that still remembered wartime suffering. "If Godzilla can't walk properly, it's nothing but a freak show," he said in a 2014 interview with the Associated Press at his suburban Tokyo apartment, proudly sitting among photos of himself as a young man and Godzilla figures. "It's not some cowboy movie," he said. He recalled that the rubber suit he wore was so hot that the sweat he wrung from his shirt would fill half a bucket. In the original movie, directed by Ishirô Honda with an unforgettable film score by Akira Ifukube, Godzilla surfaces from the Pacific Ocean suddenly, a mutation resulting from nuclear testing in the area. Until recently, Nakajima was a star guest at film festivals and events, He had been scheduled to be featured at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October, 2017. In the 2014 interview, he said, "I am the original, the real thing, My Godzilla was the best".
  • Nicknames
    • Mr. Godzilla
    • The Hardest Working Man in Showbusiness

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