Haruo Nakajima, the Japanese actor who originated the role of Godzilla by stomping around in a hot, heavy suit long before the introduction of CGI, has died. Horror site Bloody-Disgusting reports the news, as does the UK-based International Business Times. He was 88.
Born in 1929, Nakajima was a stuntman and contract player at Toho Studios who performed in bit parts in Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954) and Ishiro Honda’s Eagle Of The Pacific (1953) before stepping into the title character’s gigantic shoes for Godzilla in 1954. In a video interview for Great Big Story earlier this year, Nakajima says he based the character’s movement on gorillas and elephants he observed at the zoo on his lunch breaks, and explains that, as rubber was scarce in postwar Japan, the original Godzilla suit was actually made of mixed concrete and weighed more than 100 kg.
Nakajima tries ...
Born in 1929, Nakajima was a stuntman and contract player at Toho Studios who performed in bit parts in Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954) and Ishiro Honda’s Eagle Of The Pacific (1953) before stepping into the title character’s gigantic shoes for Godzilla in 1954. In a video interview for Great Big Story earlier this year, Nakajima says he based the character’s movement on gorillas and elephants he observed at the zoo on his lunch breaks, and explains that, as rubber was scarce in postwar Japan, the original Godzilla suit was actually made of mixed concrete and weighed more than 100 kg.
Nakajima tries ...
- 8/7/2017
- by Katie Rife
- avclub.com
Despite the widely held belief that every movie monster is either played by Doug Jones in makeup or Andy Serkis in a ping-pong-ball-covered bodysuit, there are actually a number of actors that have graced the silver screen in elaborate costumes and achieved a sort of anonymous fame thanks to their iconic roles. One such actor is Haruo Nakajima, the man who first wreaked havoc on a miniature Tokyo dressed as the monstrous, ocean-dwelling lizard Godzilla.
Recently, the mini-documentary makers at Great Big Story sat down with Nakajima and got to the bottom of how he got into that suit. The 88-year-old actor’s career began soon after World War II, when he became a stunt man for samurai films such as Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. But it wasn’t until he performed stunts for the WWII film Eagle Of The Pacific that Nakajima caught the eye of future Godzilla...
Recently, the mini-documentary makers at Great Big Story sat down with Nakajima and got to the bottom of how he got into that suit. The 88-year-old actor’s career began soon after World War II, when he became a stunt man for samurai films such as Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. But it wasn’t until he performed stunts for the WWII film Eagle Of The Pacific that Nakajima caught the eye of future Godzilla...
- 3/9/2017
- by Dan Neilan
- avclub.com
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