Sonny Chiba
Biography
Sonny Chiba (born January 23, 1939 - August 19, 2021), also known as Shin'ichi Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience. Born in Fukuoka, Chiba played a variety of sports in high school, including baseball and volleyball. He also practiced gymnastics and participated at the National Sports Festival of Japan in his third year. When he was a university student, he learned martial arts, earning a black belt in Kyokushin Karate in 1965 and later receiving a fourth degree in 1984. Chiba's career began in the 1960s, when he starred in two tokusatsu superhero shows. In his first role, he replaced Susumu Wajima as the main character KΕtarΕ Ran/Seven Color Mask in Seven Color Mask (Nana-iro Kamen) in the second half of the series. However, his breakthrough role was in the 1974 film The Street Fighter. Before retiring, Chiba had also ap...
Known For
Top 40 Movies
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
2003
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair
2011
Bond of Justice: Kizuna Part II - Judgement
2024
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
2004
Tokugawa Ieyasu β TBS Warlord Special
1988
Immortal Combat
1994
Sarutobi Sasuke and the Army of Darkness 4 - The Fire Chapter
2005
Sarutobi Sasuke and the Army of Darkness 3 - The Wind Chapter
2004
Battle Royale II: Requiem
2003
Survive Style 5+
2004
The Storm Riders
1998
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
2006
Virus
1980
The Bushido Blade
1981
Yakuza: Domination of the Realm
2017
Yakuza: Domination of the Realm 4
2017
Judo Life
1963
The Rugby Star
1976
Murderous Love
1973
The Street Fighter
1974
Sister Street Fighter
1974
The Bullet Train
1975
Message from Space
1978
Shogun's Shadow
1989
Japan's Don
1977
The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf
1979
Legend of the Eight Samurai
1983
Invasion of the Neptune Men
1961
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima
1973
Terror Beneath the Sea
1966
Ninja Wars
1982
Samurai Reincarnation
1981
G.I. Samurai
1979
Space Sheriff Shaider: The Movie
1984
Deadly Outlaw: Rekka
2002
Born to Be King
2000
Shingo's Ten Duels
1990
The Young Eagles of the Kamikaze
1968
The Executioner II: Karate Inferno
1974