Yoshio Tsuchiya


Yoshio Tsuchiya was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Toshio Matsumoto's surreal Bara No Soretsu and Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Red Beard, and Kihachi Okamoto's Kill!. He had a long-standing interest in UFOs and wrote several books on the subject. He preferred starring in science fiction films, usually as aliens, or people possessed by them, in such films as Battle in Outer Space, Monster Zero, and Destroy All Monsters.

Biography

Tsuchiya was born in Kofu, Yamanashi in 1927. His film debut was in the 1952 Shintoho film Murder Suspect. During the auditions for Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Tsuchiya was watching, and was picked by Kurosawa although he originally had no intention of auditioning himself.
Seven Samurai was filmed during the same time as Godzilla, and Tsuchiya would frequently leave the set of Seven Samurai to see Godzilla being filmed. In an interview, Tsuchiya said "Because I was doing Seven Samurai I couldn't appear in the first Godzilla. That's why I insisted they put me in the sequel." Tsuchiya's wish was granted and he appeared in a role in Godzilla Raids Again.
Although Tsuchiya appeared in many films by Akira Kurosawa, he also appeared in many science fiction films, saying "Most actors get comfortable with a certain genre, and they stick to that. But as far as I was concerned, it was equally prestigious to appear in science-fiction films or in Kurosawa movies." Tsuchiya especially liked to play aliens. When originally given the role of one of the heroes in The Mysterians, he turned down the role in favor of the Mysterian leader, because he was only interested in playing "interesting, strong and/or twisted characters". When director Ishirō Honda told him that since the Mysterian leader wore a mask, his face would not be seen, Tsuchiya said "That's all right. I just want to play the alien!" He has a personal interest in space and even claims to have seen several UFOs. "At the time I was very interested in the Space Race, and belonged to an organization which promoted a mission to the moon. I got all my fellow actors to join - Mifune, Shimura. Then I learned that this organization was crooked and really wanted to divide up the moon and sell it as real estate! I was so outraged that in when the earth scientists balk at giving the Mysterians some land on earth, I ad-libbed, 'But you're trying to divide up the moon and sell it!'"
He lobbied for the title role in Tomei Ningen, but was forced by the studio to play the leading man. Eventually realizing their mistake, he was cast in the title role in The Human Vapor.
He was originally cast to play the assassin Malness in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, but was unable to because he was filming Red Beard.
In 1991, after a long absence from Toho monster films, Tsuchiya returned to the Godzilla series in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah as Shindo, a World War II veteran who met a pre-mutated Godzilla during the battle in the Marshall Islands.
Tsuchiya died of lung cancer on February 8, 2017, at the age of 89.

Selected filmography

Film

Murder Suspect The Tower of Himeyuri Seven Samurai - RikichiKimi shinitamo koto nakare Mitsuyu-sen Tomei Ningen - Reporter KomatsuZoku tenka taihei Godzilla Raids Again - Tajima, Member of Osaka Defense CorpsNo Time for Tears - MaruyamaSanjusan go sha otonashi Shin kurama tengu daisanbu Natsume Sôseki no Sanshirô - NonomiyaI Live in Fear - Factory Worker After FireKyatsu o nigasuna - ShiraishiMigotona musume - Nobuo TakaharaTsuma no kokoro Throne of Blood - Washizu samuraiNinjitsu Tokyo da you okkasan Salaryman shusse taikôki - MaruoChieko-sho - KoYamaWaga mune ni niji wa kiezu - Takeshi ShimadaThe Mysterians - Leader of the MysteriansKajikko Song for a Bride Rickshaw Man Anzukko - IshimaBijo to ekitai ningen - Detective TaguchiYatsu ga satsujinsha da Josei SOS Varan the Unbelievable - Military Officer KatsumotoThe Hidden Fortress - Samurai on horseKotan no kuchibue Oshaberi okusan Sensuikan I-57 kofuku sezu Battle in Outer Space - IwomuraDensô ningen - Det. Capt. OkazakiHawai Middowei daikaikûsen: Taiheiyô no arashi Daigaku no sanzôkutachi - Detective Director IwanoMan Against Man - Detective YoshizawaThe Bad Sleep Well - ADA secretaryThe Human Vapor - Mizuno the LibrarianHurricane of the Pacific Yojimbo - KoheiDeath on the Mountain - Jiro MakitaDaigaku no wakadaishô Sanjuro - SamuraiKurenai no sora Doburoku no Tatsu - KidaChikata nikki Chûshingura - Matanojô ShiotaVaran the Unbelievable - SoldierAttack Squadron! Roppongi no yoru: aishite aishite - Inspector IharaNippon jitsuwa jidai High and Low - Detective MurataLegacy of the 500,000 - YamazakiMatango - Masafumi Kasai - OwnerHiken Red Beard - Dr. Handayû MoriTaiheiyô kiseki no sakusen: Kisuka - TeraiFrankenstein vs. Baragon - Mr. KawaiBeast Alley - KatsuragiAku no kaidan - DetectiveInvasion of Astro-Monster - Controller of Planet XMusekinin Shimizu Minato Hikinige - ShuichiZero faita dai kûsen Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Zettai zetsumei - General RubesaSasaki Kojiro - Heisuke IchinamiJapan's Longest Day - Lt. Colonel Hiroshi Fuha - Eastern District Army Staff OfficerTwo in the Shadow - Yumiko's husbandSon of Godzilla - FurukawaBooted Babe, Busted Boss - Kurokawa / KillerKill! - Shinroku MatsuoDestroy All Monsters - Dr. OtaniRengô kantai shirei chôkan: Yamamoto Isoroku - Staff Officer KuroshimaKoi ni mezameru koro - Shunsaku YamamotoBattle of the Japan Sea - Staff Officer AkiyamaFuneral Parade of Roses - GondaMachibuse - ItahachiSpace Amoeba - Dr. Kyoichi MidaThe Militarists - Okabe Kuro no shamen Zatoichi's Conspiracy - Superintendent ShobeiNishijin Shinju - YoshidaKaruizawa fujin - Gen'ichirô NakagawaShōsetsu Yoshida gakkō - Jōji Hayashi Rûju - Akio TsuchiyaTokyo: The Last War - Dr. MizunoEarth Defense Girl Iko-chan: The Great Oedo Operation - Dr. Mizuno Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah - Businessman Yasuaki ShindoKidan Yamauchi Keisuke: The Kayô Movie Shôwa kayô kiki ippatsu! - Mifune: The Last Samurai - as Himself

TV Series

Taikōki Ultra Q - Ono Ultraman - Dr. Morita Ultraseven - Dr. Tsuchida Haru no Sakamichi as Ōtani YoshitsuguDaichūshingura as Tsuchiya ChikaraTaiyō ni Hoero! Katsu Kaishū as Kimura HyogoOnihei Hankachō Daitokai Part2 as Inoue YukioSeibu Keisatsu Part 3 as Lieutenant HattoriKage no Gundan III as Okudaira TadatsuneHaru no Hatō - Inoue Kaoru