He was a legend of martial arts cinema. Japanese actor Sonny Chiba died of complications from Covid-19 at the age of 82.
It was his agent Timothy Beal who announced the sad news Thursday. “Sonny passed away yesterday from Covid-19… He was a great friend and a great customer. Such a humble, caring and friendly man, ”he told AFP.
Born Sadaho Maeda in 1939 in Fukuoka, in southwestern Japan, Sonny Chiba devoted himself to a large number of martial arts in the 1960s, notably becoming an expert in karate, his favorite discipline. This science had allowed him to become a very prolific actor in Japanese films and series, with some 125 performances on behalf of the famous Toei studios who had recruited him in a competition for new talents.
He starred in “Kill Bill”
In the wake of the worldwide success of Bruce Lee, Sonny Chiba had distinguished himself outside of Japan with a character of ultra-violent henchman in the trilogy “The Street Fighter”.
Impressed in his youth by this feat, the American director Quentin Tarantino had hired Sonny Chiba to play Hattori Hanzo in “Kill Bill”, this samurai converted into a cook who forges a sword to help Uma Thurman achieve his revenge.
The spectators were finally able to see the actor in 2006 in “Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift” by Justin Lin.
