Acting

Haruo Nakajima

Born January 1, 1929 · Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan

Died August 7, 2017 · aged 88

Haruo Nakajima (Japanese: 中島春雄, Hepburn: Nakajima Haruo; January 1, 1929 – August 7, 2017) was a Japanese actor and stuntman. A pioneer of suit acting, he is best known for playing Godzilla in 12 consecutive films, starting from the original Godzilla until Godzilla vs. Gigan. Nakajima also played various other kaiju in Toho's tokusatsu films, including Rodan, Mothra and The War of the Gargantuas …

Known For

Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai · 1954

MovieActionDrama

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Godzilla: King of the Monsters · 2019

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

MovieScience FictionAction

Follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species, thought to be mere myths, rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance.

Godzilla

Godzilla · 1954

MovieThrillerHorror

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.

Destroy All Monsters

Destroy All Monsters · 1968

Destroy All Monsters

MovieScience FictionAction

At the turn of the century, all of the Earth's monsters have been rounded up and kept safely on Monsterland. Chaos erupts when a race of she-aliens known as the Kilaaks unleash the monsters across the world.

King Kong vs. Godzilla

King Kong vs. Godzilla · 1962

King Kong vs. Godzilla

MovieScience FictionFantasy

The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.

Invasion of Astro-Monster

Invasion of Astro-Monster · 1965

Invasion of Astro-Monster

MovieScience FictionAction

Astronauts Glenn and Fuji investigate Planet X and encounter mysterious aliens known as the Xiliens, who ask Earth's people to help save their world from "Monster Zero". In exchange for borrowing Godzilla and Rodan, the Xiliens offer a cure for cancer. As Glenn investigates, he develops a romance with Miss Namikawa and uncovers the Xilien's true intentions.

The Hidden Fortress

The Hidden Fortress · 1958

The Hidden Fortress

MovieDramaAction

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

Mothra vs. Godzilla

Mothra vs. Godzilla · 1964

Mothra vs. Godzilla

MovieDramaAction

Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.

Filmography

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Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai · 1954

MovieActionDrama

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Stunts

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Godzilla: King of the Monsters · 2019

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

MovieScience FictionAction

Follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species, thought to be mere myths, rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance.

In Memory Of

Godzilla

Godzilla · 1954

MovieThrillerHorror

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.

Godzilla / News Reporter / Substation Worker

Destroy All Monsters

Destroy All Monsters · 1968

Destroy All Monsters

MovieScience FictionAction

At the turn of the century, all of the Earth's monsters have been rounded up and kept safely on Monsterland. Chaos erupts when a race of she-aliens known as the Kilaaks unleash the monsters across the world.

Stunt Coordinator

King Kong vs. Godzilla

King Kong vs. Godzilla · 1962

King Kong vs. Godzilla

MovieScience FictionFantasy

The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.

Godzilla

Invasion of Astro-Monster

Invasion of Astro-Monster · 1965

Invasion of Astro-Monster

MovieScience FictionAction

Astronauts Glenn and Fuji investigate Planet X and encounter mysterious aliens known as the Xiliens, who ask Earth's people to help save their world from "Monster Zero". In exchange for borrowing Godzilla and Rodan, the Xiliens offer a cure for cancer. As Glenn investigates, he develops a romance with Miss Namikawa and uncovers the Xilien's true intentions.

Stunt Coordinator

The Hidden Fortress

The Hidden Fortress · 1958

The Hidden Fortress

MovieDramaAction

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

Soldier (uncredited)

Mothra vs. Godzilla

Mothra vs. Godzilla · 1964

Mothra vs. Godzilla

MovieDramaAction

Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.

Stunts

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep · 1966

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

MovieScience FictionAction

Searching for his brother, Ryota stows away on a boat belonging to a criminal alongside two other teenagers. The group shipwrecks on Letchi island and discover the Infant Island natives have been enslaved by a terrorist organization controlling a crustacean monster. Finding a sleeping Godzilla, they decide to awaken him to defeat the terrorists and liberate the natives.

Stunts

Godzilla vs. Megalon

Godzilla vs. Megalon · 1973

Godzilla vs. Megalon

MovieActionAdventure

Inventor Goro Ibuki creates a humanoid robot named Jet Jaguar. It is soon seized by an undersea race of people called the Seatopians. Using Jet Jaguar as a guide, the Seatopians send Megalon as vengeance for the nuclear tests that have devastated their society.

Godzilla (archive footage) (uncredited)

King Kong vs. Godzilla

King Kong vs. Godzilla · 1963

King Kong vs. Godzilla

MovieActionScience Fiction

When an underhanded pharmaceutical company goes to a remote tropical island to steal King Kong for advertising purposes, they get more than they bargained for when the gigantic ape attacks an unsuspecting village and an enormous octopus.

Stunts

Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! · 1956

Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

MovieScience FictionHorror

During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove more destructive than the monster itself.

Godzilla (uncredited)

Atragon

Atragon · 1963

MovieScience FictionAction

The legendary empire of the lost continent of Mu reappears to threaten the world with domination. While countries unite to resist, an isolated World War II Captain has created the greatest warship ever seen, and possibly the surface world's only defense.

Mu Empire man / Self Defense Forces exec

Rodan

MovieHorrorScience Fiction

Mining engineer Shigeru investigates the disappearance and death of his fellow coworkers when prehistoric nymphs are discovered emerging from the mines. After an attack on the local village, Shigeru heads deeper into the mines only to make a more horrifying discovery in the form a prehistoric flying creature. Soon a second monster appears as the two converge in Fukuoka.

Stunts

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster · 1964

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

MovieScience FictionAction

After a meteorite unleashes a three-headed beast upon Tokyo, Mothra tries to unite with Godzilla and Rodan to battle the extraterrestrial threat.

Godzilla

Godzilla Raids Again

Godzilla Raids Again · 1955

Godzilla Raids Again

MovieScience FictionHorror

Two fishing scout pilots make a horrifying discovery when they encounter a second Godzilla alongside a new monster named Anguirus. Without the weapon that killed the original, authorities attempt to lure Godzilla away from the mainland. But Anguirus soon arrives and the two monsters make their way towards Osaka as Japan braces for tragedy.

Godzilla

Godzilla vs. Hedorah

Godzilla vs. Hedorah · 1971

Godzilla vs. Hedorah

MovieScience FictionAction

An ever evolving alien life-form arrives on a comet from the Dark Gaseous Nebula and proceeds to consume pollution. Spewing mists of sulfuric acid and corrosive sludge, neither humanity nor Godzilla may be able to defeat this toxic menace.

Godzilla

Frankenstein Conquers the World

Frankenstein Conquers the World · 1965

Frankenstein Conquers the World

MovieHorrorScience Fiction

During WWII, Germans obtain the immortal heart of Frankenstein's monster and transport it to Japan to prevent it being seized by the Allies. Kept in a Hiroshima laboratory, it is seeming lost when the United States destroys the city with the atomic bomb. Years later a wild boy is discovered wandering the streets of the city alone, born of the immortal heart.

Baragon / JSDF Soldier

All Monsters Attack

All Monsters Attack · 1969

All Monsters Attack

MovieFantasyScience Fiction

Ichiro Miki is a child living in the industrial district of Kawasaki, where his parents' constant struggle to make ends meet often leaves the schoolboy alone. Constantly teased by a bully nicknamed Gabara, his only friends are toy consultant Shinpei and fellow classmate Sachiko. Ichiro turns to escapist dreams of Monster Island where he befriends the equally bullied Minilla.

Stunts

King Kong Escapes

King Kong Escapes · 1967

King Kong Escapes

MovieActionFantasy

An adaptation of the Rankin/Bass cartoon, "The King Kong Show". King Kong is brought in by the evil Dr. Who to dig for Element X in a mine when the robot Mechani-Kong is unable to do the task. This leads to the machine and the real Kong engaging in a tremendous battle atop Tokyo Tower.

Stunts

Son of Godzilla

Son of Godzilla · 1967

Son of Godzilla

MovieAdventureScience Fiction

Reporter Goro Maki stumbles upon scientists conducting weather experiments on Sollgel Island in the South Seas. He discovers the island is inhabited by giant mantis and a woman named Saeko who's been cast away since the death of her father. The pair soon find a helpless infant monster that Godzilla must adopt and learn to raise as one of his own.

Godzilla (water scenes)

Godzilla 1985

Godzilla 1985 · 1985

MovieActionScience Fiction

Originally released in Japan as "The Return of Godzilla" in 1984, this is the heavily re-edited, re-titled "Godzilla 1985". Adding in new footage of Raymond Burr, this 16th Godzilla film ignores all previous sequels and serves as a direct follow-up to the 1956 "Godzilla King of the Monsters", which also featured scenes with Burr edited into 1954's "Godzilla". This film restores the darker tone of the original, as we witness the nuclear destruction of giant lizard terrorizing Japan.

Original Godzilla (archive footage) (uncredited)

The War of the Gargantuas

The War of the Gargantuas · 1966

The War of the Gargantuas

MovieActionHorror

Gaira, a humanoid sea beast spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's monster, attacks the shores of Tokyo. While the Japanese military prepares to take action, Gaira's Gargantua brother, Sanda, descends from the mountains to defend his kin. A battle between good and evil ensues, leaving brothers divided and a city in ruins.

Gaira

Godzilla vs. Gigan

Godzilla vs. Gigan · 1972

Godzilla vs. Gigan

MovieActionAdventure

Manga artist Gengo Odaka lands a job with the World Children's Land amusement park only to become suspicious of the organization when a garbled message is discovered on tapes. As Gengo and his team investigate, Godzilla and Anguirus quickly decipher the message and begin their own plan of action.

Stunts

Ultraseven

Ultraseven · 1967

SeriesAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy

In the not-too-distant future, the Earth finds itself constantly under attack from extraterrestrial threats. The Terrestrial Defense Force establishes the Ultra Garrison, a team of six elite members who utilize high-tech vehicles and weaponry. Joining their fight is the mysterious Dan Moroboshi, secretly an alien from the Land of Light in Nebula M-78, who transforms into his true form in times of crisis, Ultraseven.

U-Tom (Suit Actor)

Ultraman

Ultraman · 1966

SeriesAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy

Hayata is a member of the Science Patrol, an organization tasked with investigating bizarre anomalies. He is mortally wounded when accidently encountering an alien being from Land of Light, who grants Hayata new life as the two are merged into one. Now, whenever a threat arises that is too great for the Science Patrol to handle, Hayata activates the beta capsule and becomes the hero known as Ultraman.

Neronga

Ultra Q

Ultra Q · 1966

SeriesMysterySci-Fi & Fantasy

As supernatural events and monster attacks rock Japan, the military and government look to be overwhelmed. Three intrepid young investigators—two pilots and a reporter—take it upon themselves to study these unexplained phenomena in order to inform and protect the public.

Gomess (Suit Actor)