Mackenyu

Mackenyu Maeda (まっけんゆう、Maeda Mackenyu, born 16 November 1996) ^[1]is a Japanese American actor born in Los Angeles and is the son of Japanese actor, producer, director and martial artist Sonny Chiba.^[2]

Early life

Mackenyu Maeda, known simply as Mackenyu, was born in Los Angeles on November 16, 1996. He attended Beverly Hills High School in their Advanced Placement Program and appeared in a few films and TV shows while growing up, including the TV mini-series Team Astro (Astro Kyûdan) (2005), and the Japanese feature film Oyaji (2007), while devoting most of his time to school and graduation.

Career

In 2013, Mackenyu turned his full attention to acting- including roles in the feature film Buzz (So-On: The Five Oyaji) (2014) and TV movie Yonimo kimyô na monogatari (2014). His acting quickly expanded to include three supporting roles in TV Mini-series including The Kindergarten Detective (Hanasaki Shin'ichirô wa nemurenai!!) (2015), Yume wo ataeru (2015), and The Hatsumori Bemars (2015). His fame grew dramatically in Japan after landing the role of Eiji Tomari/ Kamen Rider Drive in the live action movie based on the popular series created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori, Kamen Rider Drive: Suprise Future (Gekijouban Kamen raidâ Doraibu: Sapuraizu fyûchâ) (2015).^[3]

In 2015, he also landed his first lead roles in two USA film productions, Take a Chance (2015) and Tadaima (2015); for the latter he won a best actor award. In January 2016, he made his stage debut in the Japanese musical Boys Over Flower (Hana Yori Dango: The Musical) (2016). He had a prominent role in the two part feature film Chihayafuru Part I & II (2016) which was released back-to-back in March and April 2016.^[4] Japan's AM magazine featured him on the front cover of their 14 March 2016 edition and included an interview with him. One of his most challenging roles in his career to date was Shoujyo (Little Girl). Having completed his lead role as 'Makise' in the feature film Night's Tightrope (Shôjo) (2016), Mackenyu started to expand his acting opportunities in Hollywood with a lead role in the series ZAPS, Inc. (2017) and the supporting role of Ryoichi in Pacific Rim: Maelstrom (2018).^[5]

Filmography

Film

• Tadaima (2015) as George
• Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future (2015) as Eiji Tomari/ Kamen Rider Drive
• Take a Chance (2015) as Masa
• Chihayafuru Part I (2016) as Arata Wataya ^[6]
• Chihayafuru Part II (2016) as Arata Wataya^[7]
• Night's Tightrope (2016) as Hikaru Makise
• Nigakute Amai (2016) as Atsushi Babazono
• Cheerdance (2017) as Kôsuke Yamashita
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (2017) as Okuyasu Nijimura^[8]
• Peach Girl (2017) as Toji
• Pacific Rim: Maelstrom (2018) as Ryoichi

Television

• Team Astro (Astro Kyûdan) (2005) as Shin
• Oyaji (2007) as Numata
• Buzz (So-On: The Five Oyaji) (2014)
• Yonimo kimyô na monogatari (2014)
• The Kindergarten Detective (hanasaki Shin'ichirô wa nemurenai!!) (2015) as Hitoshi Kamose
• Yume wo ataeru (2015) as Masaaki
• Kamen Ride Drive: Movie Roadshow Commemoration! as Eiji Tomari (2015)
• The Hatsumori Bemars (2015)
• "Ageba Tôtoshi" (Graduation) (2016) as Ren Kitora
• I'll Probably Fall In Love With You Again Tomorrow (2016) as Shota
• When the Cherry Blossom Blooms (2016) as Ippei Takemiya
• ZAPS, Inc. (2017) as Frankie

Awards

References

External links

• Official profile (Japanese)
• Mackenyu at the Internet Movie Database
• Take a Chance