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Sonny Chiba
Life Time
23 January 1939 - 19 August 2021
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Sonny Chiba (real name – Maeda Sadao) is known as a film artist, master of martial arts and the creator of the Japanese club of horror film lovers. He was born in 1939 in Fukuoka in the family of a test pilot. The boy was raised in samurai traditions. Since childhood he was interested in classical Japanese theater and gymnastics. When he graduated from school, he was already an experienced judoka, and at university he also became interested in karate “Kyokushinkai”. In 1960, Maeda was cast in the
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Sonny Chiba (real name – Maeda Sadao) is known as a film artist, master of martial arts and the creator of the Japanese club of horror film lovers. He was born in 1939 in Fukuoka in the family of a test pilot. The boy was raised in samurai traditions. Since childhood he was interested in classical Japanese theater and gymnastics. When he graduated from school, he was already an experienced judoka, and at university he also became interested in karate “Kyokushinkai”.
In 1960, Maeda was cast in the film company Toei, which was looking for new faces. His athletic preparation made an impression and turned out to be almost a decisive factor for a positive decision. It was then that Maeda decided to become Sonny Chiba, including in the pseudonym the name of the place where he lived at the time, and the brand of Toyota Sunny-S, in which he took part in advertising. By the end of the 60s, Chiba played several roles in popular films. His name has been associated for many years with the famous films Doomed to Solitude and Street Fighter. In the 70-80s, these militants enjoyed success with viewers of all countries.
Sonny Chiba didn't just play "bloody" roles. It became a symbol of “kunfush” cinema, which in those years reached its apogee. The game of Chiba, according to contemporaries, left an imprint on the state of martial arts. Compare his work with the “clones” Bruce Lee is useless: Sonny Chiba's characters are distinctive. He played leaders of various areas of Japanese martial arts. For example, in
"Doomed to loneliness" The hero of the film is Chiba’s teacher, the famous karate master Oyamu Masutatsu. And in the movie "Fighting Machine" the actor played So Dosin, who created the shorinji kempo.
He said, “A fighter is also a drama.” If we can’t make the audience cry, laugh and feel, then we’re not actors.
Later, Chiba moved to the United States, where he starred mainly in low-budget American and Hong Kong films. Among them can be distinguished only that “Kill Bill” by Quentin Tatrantino, where Sonny Chiba plays in company with David Carradine, Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu.