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Mako

Mako had a successful career that spanned five decades and encompassed more than 50 features and more than 100 television appearances. In 1967, he was honored with Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his major feature film debut performance in Robert Wise's The Sand Pebbles. His subsequent film credits included The Hawaiians, Conan the Barbarian, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Pacific Heights, Rising Sun, Seven Years in Tibet, Pearl Harbor and, most recently, Memoirs of a Geisha, to name only a portion.

On television, he was seen in guest roles on series dating back to the mid-1960s, and more recently including The West Wing, Monk, Charmed and 7th Heaven. His television credits also included such telefilms as When Hell Was in Session, Columbo: Murder Under Glass, Farewell to Manzanar and If Tomorrow Comes."

Mako also worked on the stage, most notably in the Broadway musical Pacific Overtures, for which he received a Tony Award nomination in 1976. He was also the first artistic director of the nation's premier Asian American theatre organization, East West Players, based in Los Angeles, and was later named Artistic Director Emeritus of the company.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2007.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Mako Facts

Birth Name Makoto Iwamatsu
OccupationActor
BirthdayDecember 10, 1933
SignSagittarius
BirthplaceKobe, Japan
Date of deathJuly 21, 2006 (Somis, California, USA, age 72)
Height5' 4" (1m63)  How tall is Mako compared to you?

Selected Filmography

The Southern Air Temple
The Avatar State
Robocop 3
Rugrats In Paris: The Movie
TMNT
Samurai Jack: Seasons 1-4
Pearl Harbor
Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra
Conan: The Complete Quest
Samurai Jack: Season 2
Continue » Find more details on the Mako Movies page