Denis Van Akiyama (May 28, 1952 – June 28, 2018)[1] was a Canadian actor, best known as providing the voice of Silver Samurai/Kenuichio Harada and Sunfire in X-Men and Malachite in the original English version of Sailor Moon. He played Shinji in Johnny Mnemonic.
Denis Akiyama | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Denis Van Akiyama[1] May 28, 1952[1] |
| Died | June 28, 2018 (aged 66)[1] |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1987–2018 |
| Spouse |
Danielle O'Connor (m. 1987) |
| Children | 2 |
Personal life, career and death
editAkiyama was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to a Japanese family.[2] He was a frequent guest star on Katts and Dog as well as voiced and played a number of role in The Adventures of Tintin animated series and Mayday. In 2015, he appeared in the feature film Pixels.[3] Akiyama was also a gifted musician having played trumpet in The Pukka Orchestra.
Akiyama died on June 28, 2018, from a "very rare and aggressive cancer". He and his wife Danielle had two children, Kintaro and Miya.[4] He was 66 years old.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Dead Ringers | Pharmacist | |
| 1995 | Johnny Mnemonic | Shinji | |
| 1996 | Space Truckers | Tech Leader | |
| 2002 | Cypher | Speaker Omaha | |
| 2005 | The Pacifier | Mr. Chun | |
| 2010 | Repo Men | Doctor | |
| Resident Evil: Afterlife | Captain Hotaka | ||
| 2015 | Pixels | Professor Iwatani | |
| 2017 | Kill Order | Shiro Fujitaka | Last film performance |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Friday the 13th: The Series | Hai Kwan | Episode: "Tattoo" |
| 1990 | Inside Stories | Aaron Iwata | Episode: "Heartbreak Hoteru" |
| 1994–1996 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | Lai Tzu / Lai (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Mayday | Captain Masami Takahama | Episode: "Out of Control" |
| 2008 | The Summit | Prime Minister of Japan | |
| 2010 | Mayday | Captain Chun Byung-in | Episode: "Target is Destroyed" |
| 2012 | Mayday | Captain Park Duk-kyu | Episode: "Bad Attitude" / "Stansted Crash" |
| 2018 | Taken | Sensei | Episode: "Strelochnik" |
| 2018 | Carter | Koji Yasuda | 6 episodes 2 episodes were released posthumously |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Onimusha: Warlords | Nobunaga Oda, Narrator | English dub[5] |
| 2006 | Rainbow Six: Vegas | Kan Akahashi | |
| 2008 | Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 | ||
| 2011 | Deus Ex: Human Revolution | Tong Si Hung | Credited as Dennis Akiyama |
Cartoons
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Rupert | Additional voices | |
| 1991–1992 | The Adventures of Tintin | Mitsuhirato, Bunji Kuraki, Tharkey (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 1994 | Monster Force | Additional voices | 13 episodes |
| 1994–1995 | Wild C.A.T.s | Dockwell (voice) | 14 episodes |
| 1993–1997 | X-Men | Dr. Darrel Tanaka, Silver Samurai, Sunfire (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 1997 | Diabolik | Director Graffum (voice) | Episode: ″Panther Uncaged″ |
| 1998 | Silver Surfer | Watcher Prime (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 1998–1999 | Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend | Amycus, Cyclops (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Avengers: United They Stand | Dr. Chris Johnson (voice) | Episode: "Kang" |
| 1999 | Ned's Newt | Guard, Elf (voice) | Episode: ″Summer Gone, Summer Not/Sealed with a Newt″ |
| 2001 | Braceface | Mr. Ling (voice) | Episode: ″Take That″ |
| 2004 | Franny's Feet | Sally the tough old cat (voice) | Episode: "The Lonely Library" |
| 2008 | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Oncologist | Episode: "Death or Glory: Part 2" |
| 2008 | Toot & Puddle | Dr. Ha Song (voice) | 5 episodes |
| 2008 | Chilly Beach: The Canadian President | Emperor (voice) | TV special |
| 2010–2013 | Scaredy Squirrel | Additional voices | 13 episodes |
| 2011 | Justin Time | Emperor (voice) | Episode: "Secret Surprise & a Mammoth Mistake" |
| 2017 | Inspector Gadget | Hattori-san (voice) | Episode: "Tempest in a Tea Cup/Mr. Security" |
Anime
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Sailor Moon | Malachite (voice) | 17 episodes |
| 1999 | Medabots | Mr. Referee (English version, voice) | 52 episodes |
| 1999 | Power Stone | Galuda, Referee (English version, voice) | 7 episodes |
References
edit- ^ a b c d "DENIS VAN AKIYAMA Obituary". Toronto Star via Legacy.com. 2018-07-01. Archived from the original on 2018-07-04.
- ^ a b "An Interview with Denis Akiyama". Archived from the original on 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
- ^ "Denis Akiyama facts". Movietalky. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
- ^ Bartlett, Rhett (July 3, 2018). "The Toronto native was prolific across film, television, stage and anime for four decades". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
- ^ "Denis Akiyama (visual voices guide)". BTVA (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Retrieved 10 March 2021.
External links
edit- Denis Akiyama at IMDb
- Denis Akiyama Memorial Website Archived 2018-07-26 at the Wayback Machine