Nakamaru Tadao

Nakamaru began his acting career after joining Toho’s “New Face” program in 1955. He quickly established himself as a versatile character actor, often cast in villainous or cool, intellectual roles. He was a frequent collaborator of director Okamoto Kihachi, appearing in films such as Desperado Outpost (1959).

He is perhaps best known to Western audiences for his role in International Secret Police: Key of Keys (1965), which was re-edited and dubbed by Woody Allen into the comedy What’s Up, Tiger Lily? (1966); Nakamaru played the villainous Shepherd Wong (Gegen in the original). In the kaijû genre, he played the Interpol Chief in Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975). He continued to work in film and television until his death in 2009.