Takada Minoru

Takada Minoru (born Takada Noboru) was a prominent, tall Japanese leading man during the silent era and later, during the Golden Age, as distinguished, intense authority figures in supporting roles.

The son of a doctor, Takada dropped out of the Tokyo College of Music in 1918 to pursue performance art, joining Ishii Hiroshi's troupe and appearing frequently in the Asakusa opera. Takada was appearing on movie screens by 1924, making a name for himself as an incredibly popular "handsome heartthrob" for Nikkatsu and Shochiku studios, appearing in high-profile silent films like I Graduated, But... (1929). When talking pictures became firmly established as the industry standard, Takada formed his own production company, and successfully transitioned to speaking roles.

Takada moved to Toho in 1937, appearing primarily in soap opera-style dramas up until the war, when his changing age and strict, commanding features made him more naturally suited for harsh military roles in war pictures. After the war, his overall output declined as he shifted into supporting roles, but he remained a persistent, respected presence in Toho productions up through the early 1970s. During this time, he made several appearances in the hit Young Guy film series, and often served as an authority figure leading the military in several of Toho's science-fiction and tokusatsu genre efforts. He is best known globally as the confident commander of Earth's defense forces in Honda Ishirô's Battle in Outer Space (1959), and as the calm, collected prime minister facing an alien dragon in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964).

Takada officially ended his exclusive contract with Toho in 1975, and gracefully retired from the film industry entirely. He passed away from liver cancer in late 1977 at the age of seventy-eight, leaving a monumental legacy spanning well over 150 film appearances.