Tsuchiya Yoshio

Tsuchiya Yoshio was an eccentric character actor who was a favorite of both Kurosawa Akira and Honda Ishirô. He was picked up by Kurosawa straight out of acting school in 1952. Tsuchiya was initially interested in securing a role in Honda's upcoming Godzilla, but he was already committed to Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954), where he played the farmer who leaves his home to recruit the samurai. One of his early roles in the science fiction genre was as the leader of the eponymous aliens in The Mysterians (1957). Honda was initially reluctant to cast Tsuchiya since he was a younger actor and the role required his face to be concealed, but Tsuchiya's enthusiasm secured the part.

Tsuchiya had a penchant for playing aliens (The Mysterians, Invasion of Astro-Monster), people possessed by aliens (Battle in Outer Space, Destroy All Monsters), and people on the verge of madness (The Human Vapor, Matango, Son of Godzilla). His most famous genre role is as the Controller of Planet X in Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965). While on set, he suggested to Honda that Godzilla should perform the shie victory dance in the film, and also spent his downtime pranking his American co-star, Nick Adams. He additionally offered a strong performance as the titular criminal in The Human Vapor (1960) opposite Yachigusa Kaoru.

His output dropped off in the early 1970s after he was released from his contract with Toho. Decades later, he returned to the science fiction genre, playing a memorable role as a war-veteran-turned-businessman in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991).

Tsuchiya passed away from lung cancer in February 2017.