, better known by his stage name (born April 17, 1954), is a Japanese stage

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 ...

and voice actor from

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

. He is a graduate of the Fine Arts department of

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

. Imamura began his career in the musical troupe Musical Company It's Follies and was coached by Nachi Nozawa. Imamura

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

s himself as a hobby and has reportedly spent 4 to 5 million yen (the equivalent of $45,000 to $56,000) on tattoos over the course of a decade. From April 26 to June 7, 2010, Imamura posted pictures of his lower body on his blog with the intention of showing that his body had been completely tattooed. Imamura was arrested in July 2010 for posting images that were deemed indecent. This event forced Imamura to step down from his ongoing voice role as Emporio Ivankov in ''

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 ...

'' (the role was subsequently inherited by Mitsuo Iwata). On September 1, Imamura was released following a summary proceeding at the Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office and was given a fine of 500,000 yen (approximately $6,000).

Roles

Television animation

*''

'' (Emporio Ivankov (first voice)) *'' Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' ( Gas Skunk)

Dubbing roles

*'' The Birdcage'' (Video/DVD edition) (Albert Goldman) *''

The Next Best Thing ''The Next Best Thing'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by John Schlesinger (his final feature film before his death in 2003) about two best friends who have a child together and a custody battle years after. Starring Madonna, Ruper ...

'' *'' Wasabi''

Stage

*''Chotto Nozo Itemitegoran'' *''Gotsugōshugi de Gyō Kō'' *''Charlie's Hengel'' *''Gotsugōshugi de Gyō Kō, Part 2: Heppiri Koshi de Gyō Kō'' *''Sammy's Bar Heyōkoso!'' *''Chotto Nozo Itemitegoran 2008'' *''Bakumatsu Samurai Densetsu -CHUJI-'' *''21-Seiki Chūnen! ~Saishūshō: Wagashi no On?~''

References

External links

Sheneo Blog
1954 births Japanese male stage actors Japanese male voice actors Living people Male voice actors from Gifu Prefecture Male actors from Gifu Prefecture Japanese LGBT actors People from Gifu {{Japan-bio-stub