Masachika Ichimura
Masachika Ichimura (市村 正親, Ichimura Masachika, born January 28, 1949) is a Japanese actor. He was born in Kawagoe, Saitama and studied at the Theater Art College in Tokyo after graduating high school. He is best known to anime fans as the voice of Mewtwo. Ichimura is also the ex-husband of actress and singer Ryoko Shinohara.
Career
In 1973, he made his debut as an actor with Jesus Christ Superstar and became one of top actors of Shiki Theatre Company since then. He appeared in various musical plays as West Side Story, Equus, Cats, Evita and The Phantom of the Opera. Besides he played the role of Shylock of The Merchant of Venice.
In 1990, he left the company and now signs up for Horipro. In 2013, he played the role of Tokugawa Ieyasu in "Anjin: The Shogun and The English Samurai" in London.[2][3]
In 2014, he cancelled the performance in Miss Saigon because of initial stomach cancer but in November of the year, he finished the treatment and returned to the theatre industry.[4]
Personal life
He married Japanese actress Mami Yaezawa in 1984, but later divorced in 2003. In December 2005, he remarried singer and actress Ryoko Shinohara. They have two sons, born in 2008 and 2012.
On July 24, 2021, Masachika and Ryoko announced their divorce through their office. He took custody of two sons.
Filmography
Films
- The Hotel Venus (2004) - Venus
- Thirteen Assassins (2010) - Kitō Hanbei
- A Ghost of a Chance (2011) - Tsukutsuku Abe
- The Floating Castle (2012) - Toyotomi Hideyoshi
- For Love's Sake (2012) - Shōgo Saotome
- Thermae Romae (2012) - Hadrian[5]
- Thermae Romae II (2014) - Hadrian
- The Kodai Family (2016) - Shigemasa Kōdai Jr.
- The Stand-In Thief (2017)
- Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai (2021) - Honda Kakuan[6]
- And So the Baton Is Passed (2021)[7]
- Daughter of Lupin the Movie (2021)[8]
- Bushido (2024) - Chōbei[9]
- A Conviction of Marriage (2024) - Kannami[10]
Television dramas
- Shishi no Jidai (1980) - Okonogi Kyōhei
- Furuhata Ninzaburō (1999) - Nao Kuroikawa
- HR (2002) - Masachika Jin'no
- Mayonaka no Andersen (2002)
- Suna no Utsuwa (2004) - Yuzuru Asō
- Order Made (2004)
- My Boss My Hero (2006) - Kichi Sakaki
- Bambino! (2007) - Tekkan Shishido
- Hatachi no Koibito (2007) - Fūta Suzuki
- Gō (2011) - Akechi Mitsuhide
- Young Black Jack (2011) - Dr. Jotaro Honma
- Beppinsan (2016) - Shigeo Asada
- Ieyasu, Edo wo Tateru (2019) - Tokugawa Ieyasu
- Everyone's Demoted (2019) - Hideki Fujita
- Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon (2019) - Nicholas Tange
- Nakamura Nakazo: Shusse no Kizahashi (2021) - Ichikawa Danjūrō IV[11]
Musicals
- Jesus Christ Superstar - King Herod
- West Side Story - Bernardo
- Equus - Alan
- A Chorus Line - Paul
- Carousel - Jigger Craigin
- She Loves Me - Georg Nowack
- Cats - Rum Tum Tugger
- The Phantom of the Opera - Erik, The Phantom of the Opera
- Tanz der Vampire - Professor Abronsius
- Miss Saigon - The Engineer
- Candide - Dr. Pangloss/the narrator Voltaire
- Two Gentlemen of Verona - Thurio
- Fiddler on the Roof - Tevye
- You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - Snoopy
- Evita - Che
- Never on Sunday - Ilya
- Kiss of the Spider Woman - Molina
- Cyrano: The Musical - Cyrano de Bergerac
- Scrooge - Scrooge
- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Freddy Benson
- Sweeney Todd - Sweeney Todd
- La Cage aux Folles - Albin/Zaza
- Love Never Dies - Erik, the Phantom of the Opera
- Oliver - Fagin
- Mozart! - Leopold
Plays
- The Merchant of Venice - Shylock
- Anjin: The Shogun and The English Samurai - Tokugawa Ieyasu
- Yukio Ninagawa's Macbeth - Macbeth[12]
Theatrical animation
- Jack and the Beanstalk (1974) - Jack
- A Journey Through Fairyland (1985) - Michael
- Pokémon: The First Movie (1998) - Mewtwo
- Giovanni's Island (2014) - Tatsuo Senō[13]
- Doraemon: Nobita's Space Heroes (2015) - Ikaros
- Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution (2019) - Mewtwo
- Birthday Wonderland (2019) - Hippocrates
Television animation
Original video animation (OVA)
- Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) - Red XIII
Video games
- Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) - Mewtwo
- Kingdom Hearts (2002) - Jack Skellington
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (2004) - Jack Skellington
- Kingdom Hearts II (2005) - Jack Skellington
- Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (2011) - Bronev Reinel
- One Piece: Unlimited World Red (2013) - Patrick Redfield
- Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (2013) - Bronev Reinel
- Nioh (2017) - Tokugawa Ieyasu
Dubbing
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - Jack Skellington[14]
- Strings (2004) - Kahro
- The Man Who Invented Christmas (2018) - Ebenezer Scrooge[15]
- Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) - Wild Knuckles[16]
- The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024) - Helm Hammerhand[17]
Puppetry
- Sherlock Holmes (2014) - Jonathan Small
Honors
- Medal with Purple Ribbon (2007)
- Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2019)[18]
References
- ^ "市村正親 のプロフィール". allcinema. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
- ^ 俳優 市村正親 インタビュー 英国ニュースダイジェスト
- ^ Anjin: The Shogun and the English Samurai, Sadler's Wells, review-Telegraph
- ^ Stage return "wants to affect expectation" through Masachika Ichimura, stomach cancer medical treatment Archived 2014-12-03 at archive.today
- ^ Thermae Romae#Cast
- ^ "燃えよ剣". eiga.com. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
- ^ "そして、バトンは渡された". eiga.com. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ "劇場版 ルパンの娘". eiga.com. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ "草なぎ剛×白石和彌「碁盤斬り」に清原果耶、中川大志、斎藤工、小泉今日子、國村隼ら". Natalie. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "夏目アラタの結婚". eiga.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
- ^ "中村勘九郎がNHKドラマで"伝説の歌舞伎俳優"中村仲蔵に、共演に上白石萌音ら". eiga.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ "NINAGAWA Macbeth". www.lincolncenter.org. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
- ^ "Full Trailer for I.G's Hand-Drawn Anime Film Giovanni's Island Posted". Anime News Network. December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
- ^ "ナイトメアー・ビフォア・クリスマス". Star Channel. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- ^ "Merry Christmas!~ロンドンに奇跡を起こした男~". Fukikaeru. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ "ミニオンズ フィーバー -日本語吹き替え版". Fukikaeru. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
- ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Film Reveals Japanese Dub Cast, December 27 Opening in Japan". Anime News Network. August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ "旭日小綬章・市村正親さん(70) 元気すぎる70歳の「源は観客」". Sankei Shimbun. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Masachika Ichimura at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Masachika Ichimura at IMDb
- Masachika Ichimura at GamePlaza-Haruka Voice Acting Database (in Japanese)
- Masachika Ichimura at Hitoshi Doi's Seiyuu Database (in Japanese)