is an American-born Japanese actor. He is the son of Japanese actor, producer, director, and martial artist
Sonny Chiba
, known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience.
Born in Fuku ...
. Mackenyu rose to fame after portraying Wataya Arata in the
Chihayafuru live-action trilogy in 2016, which earned him the
40th Japan Academy Newcomers of the Year Award in 2017. He is best known for portraying Enishi Yukishiro, the final villain of the Rurouni Kenshin live-action series in ''
Rurouni Kenshin Saishūshō: The Final''.
Early life
Mackenyu Maeda, known as Mackenyu Arata, was born on November 16, 1996, in Los Angeles, the son of Japanese parents, Tamami and Sonny Chiba. He has two siblings, a half sister named
Juri Manase
(also known as Julie Manase, born 1 January 1975) is a Japanese actress.
Biography Early life
Juri was inspired to be an actress at the age five by seeing her parents (Sonny Chiba and Yōko Nogiwa) on sets and stage. While she was in school, ...
(his father's daughter from previous marriage) and a brother named Gordon. He attended
Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School (usually abbreviated as Beverly or as BHHS) is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills, Moreno High School, is a small alternative school located on B ...
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 Kyūdan) (2005), and the Japanese feature film ''Oyaji'' (2007), as he devoted most of his time to school and graduation. As a young child, Mackenyu had many interests. He learned horseback riding and
Yabusame
is a type of mounted archery in traditional Japanese archery. An archer on a running horse shoots three special "turnip-headed" arrows successively at three wooden targets.
This style of archery has its origins at the beginning of the Kama ...
at the age of 7. He practiced
Kyokushin Karate
is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training.
Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 by Korean-Jap ...
since he was 8 years-old, and he was placed third at the US kyokushin Karate Nationals in middle school. In high school he did gymnastics, water polo, and wrestling, becoming the school representative for the latter. He was also into music, playing piano since he was 10-years-old, and later participated in the brass band of his high school in Beverly Hills, playing saxophone, and flute.
At the age of 15, Mackenyu watched a Japanese movie and the actor who star in it inspired him to pursue acting professionally in Japan. He held on to the dream of co-starring with the actor once he established his acting career in Japan. He later revealed that it was the late
Haruma Miura
was a Japanese actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the television drama ''Agri'' (1997) and rose to popularity after starring in the film '' Koizora'' (2007), winning Newcomer of the Year at the 31st Japan Academy Prize. In the foll ...
after he co-starred with him in the movie adaptation of
Gunjō Senki.
In 2014 at the age of 16, Mackenyu landed his first feature film lead role in ''Take a Chance'' (2015) and was featured in an acclaimed short movie depicting a Japanese family suffering the aftermath of the World War II in Tadaima (2015) in which he won Best Supporting Actor in Asians on Film Festival. In the same year, he decided to pursue acting in Japan, stating that Japan would be the best place for him to learn due to the variety of roles that is available for young actors.
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 ''Yo nimo Kimyō na Monogatari'' (2014). His acting quickly expanded to include three supporting roles in TV Mini-series including ''The Kindergarten Detective (Hanasaki Shin'ichirō wa Nemurenai!!)'' (2015), ''Yume o Ataeru'' (2015), and ''The Hatsumori Bemars'' (2015). His fame grew dramatically in Japan after landing the role of Eiji Tomari/Kamen Rider Dark Drive in the live action movie based on the popular series created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori, ''Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future (Gekijōban Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future)'' (2015).
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 supporting actor award at the Asians of Films festival. 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. 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 ''Shōjo'' (''Little Girl''). Having completed his lead role as "Makise" in the feature film ''Night's Tightrope'' (Shōjo) (2016), Mackenyu started to expand his acting opportunities in Hollywood with a supporting role of Cadet Ryoichi in the science fiction film ''
Pacific Rim: Uprising'' (2018). 2018 was a busy year with series ''
Kiss That Kills'' and movies ''Chihayafuru Part III,'' manga-based ''Impossibility Defense'' and speed-drive action-drama ''Over Drive''.
In 2019, he was cast as the final villain, Enishi Yukishiro, in the last two movies of
Rurouni Kenshin
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins during the 11th year of the Meiji period in Japan (1878) and follows a former assassin from the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his work ...
live action.
In December 2020, Mackenyu announced that he would be leaving his agency, Top Coat, in April 2021 as well as suspending his Japanese activities for the time being. He announced that he wants to focus on global activities in 2021.
In 2021, he starred as the lead in the manga adaptation of ''Brave: Gunjou Senki''. He is now in Asian Cinema Entertainment. In November 2021, Mackenyu was cast as
Roronoa Zoro
, also known as , is a Character (arts), fictional character in the ''One Piece'' franchise created by Eiichiro Oda.
In the story, Zoro is the first crewmate to join Monkey D. Luffy's crew after he is saved (by Luffy and Koby (One Piece), Koby ...
in the American
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
live action series adaptation of ''
One Piece
''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...
''.
In March 2022, he was cast as Scar in the live-action sequel of ''Fullmetal Alchemist ''
Brand endorsements
In 2018, Mackenyu became the brand ambassador for Japanese men's grooming brand GATSBY.
He starred in the TV commercial "GATSBY Cop", together with popular Japanese actor
Yuya Yagira
is a Japanese actor. In 2004, he became the youngest winner of the Best Actor award in the history of the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of 12-year-old Akira in the highly acclaimed '' Nobody Knows''.
Career
Yagira was 12 years old and n ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenyu
1996 births
Living people
American male actors of Japanese descent
American male film actors
American male television actors
Beverly Hills High School alumni
Japanese male child actors
Japanese male film actors
Japanese male television actors
21st-century American male actors
21st-century Japanese male actors