RIP The Street Fighter

[theking]

Sonny Chiba, Martial Arts Legend and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor, Dies at 82 of COVID Complications


He began his career in film and TV in 1960, taking on the name Shinichi Chiba. His first roles came on Japanese superhero shows “Seven Color Mask,” where he replaced the lead actor, and “Messenger of Allah,” in which he played the main character. His first movie roles were in a series of crime thrillers from Japanese director Kinji Fukasaku, who he collaborated with frequently, and the sci-fi pic “Invasion of the Neptune Men” in 1961.

Chiba starred in his first martial arts film, “Karate Kiba,” in 1973, and his international breakout role came in 1974’s “The Street Fighter,” which was released in the U.S. by New Line Cinema with an X rating for its violence.

In Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill: Volume 1,” Chiba played Hattori Hanzo, a retired swordsman and owner of a sushi restaurant who crafts a blade for Uma Thurman’s main character. He also appeared in “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” as Kamata, a Yakuza boss and uncle of the main antagonist, Takashi (Brian Tee).