, known professionally as , is a Japanese

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

best known for his uncredited portrayal of the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

in the 1966 series ''

Ultraman ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is one ...

''. Furuya would later portray the character Amagi in the sequel series ''

Ultraseven is a List of Japanese television series, Japanese ''tokusatsu'' Science fiction on television, science fiction television series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the third installment in the Ultra Series and was produced by Tsuburaya Productions ...

''. Furuya has also made appearances in ''

Mothra is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that first appeared in the 1961 film '' Mothra'', produced and distributed by Toho Studios. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, most often as a recurring character in the ''Godzilla'' ...

'' (1961), ''

Gorath is a 1962 Japanese epic science fiction disaster film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Based on an idea by Jojiro Okami, the film is about mankind's efforts to move Earth out of its orbit to prevent it from ...

'' (1962), '' High and Low'' (1963), ''

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fifth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and was the second ''Godzilla'' film produced ...

'' (1964), ''

Ultraman Zearth is a fictional character from the Ultra Series of tokusatsu and the name of a 1996 movie in the series. Premise Ultraman Zearth is a parody of Ultraman. He hails from the Land of Pikari in Nebula Z95. He has a big red face and dislikes dirt, and ...

'' (1996), '' Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy'' (2009), and ''

Shin Ultraman is a 2022 Japanese superhero ''kaiju'' film directed by Shinji Higuchi and written, co-produced, and co-edited by Hideaki Anno. A reimagining of ''Ultraman'', the film is a co-production between Toho Studios and Cine Bazar, and presented by ...

'' (2022).

Life

Furuya was born in Nishiazabu, Minato,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, the fifth son of a door merchant. When he was young, he often went to watch movies at a nearby temple. After finishing middle school, Furuya studied acting at Toho Geino School. He was inspired by actors

Akira Takarada was a Japanese film actor best known for his roles in the ''Godzilla'' film series. Life and career Akira Takarada was born in Korea under Japanese rule, and lived for a time in Manchuria, China. His father worked as an engineer on the Sou ...

and

Yūjirō Ishihara was a Japanese actor and singer born in Kobe. His elder brother is Shintaro Ishihara, an author, politician, and the Governor of Tokyo between 1999 and 2012. Yujiro's film debut was the 1956 film ''Season of the Sun'', based on a novel written ...

to pursue a career in acting. In 1960, he entered

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

. His first role in a motion picture was in the 1961 film ''Mothra''. He began his career as a crowd actor for Toho. At the age of 22, in 1966, Furuya was chosen for the role as a

suit actor A is a member of, usually, a Japanese tokusatsu production who works similar to a stunt performer. However, the suit actor does all of his or her stunts while in a full costume that normally obscures their identity (typically the transformed cha ...

to portray an alien named Kemur in ''

Ultra Q is a tokusatsu science fiction kaiju series made in the tradition of Toho's many tokusatsu sci-fi/horror films. Produced in black and white by Tsuburaya Productions, this is actually the first of the long-running Ultra Series, and was broadcast ...

''. His height at 181 cm (5 ft 11 in), slim body and body type "different from regular Japanese people in the 1960s" are said to have matched with the requirements for the role. At first, he refused to take the role because he was embarrassed to wear the costume, but gave in after being persuaded by the movie staff. His Japanese-language autobiography, ''The Man Who Became Ultraman'', was published in 2009.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Furuya, Bin 1943 births Living people Japanese male actors 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors