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was a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director from
Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...
,
Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...
. He was part of Theatre Echo all his career, and was the older brother of actor and voice actor Rokurō Naya.


Biography

Gorō Naya was born on 17 November 1929 in Hokkaidō. At the age of 15, he joined the
Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
, believing "My life is to die for His Majesty the Emperor." Afterwards he thought he lost "things that take youth", and then attended
Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. In addition to its main campus in Kyoto, the university also has satellite campuses in Ibaraki, Osaka and Kusatsu, Shiga. Today, Ritsumeikan University is known as one o ...
, becoming a dialect coach, specialising in that of
Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
and finding himself interested in acting: "Eventually, I started thinking, "Hey, maybe you should do this." That's what started it. Until then, I had never thought about acting at all." Before joining Theater Echo in 1959, he acted at the children’s stage company Todo and at Ina no Kai, and performed in radio drama, gaining an affinity for narration. He also developed a love of the stage, saying "Even if the content is the same, the atmosphere, including the play, will differ depending on the reaction of the audience. It’s only for one day." When he joined, new actors were selected for dubbing foreign-language films for TV. "There weren’t many actors who could dub the voices, so I was really busy." The transition was easy for him, as "I felt the same as if I had been given a role on stage. The only difference was that there was no audience in front of me." Naya became the official Japanese dubbing voice of actors
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,
Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...
,
Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of spaghetti Westerns, particularly t ...
and
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
after
Akiji Kobayashi , sometimes credited as Shōji Kobayashi, was a Japanese actor. He attended Nihon University College of Art, but withdrew before completing his degree and joined the Haiyuza Theatre Company in 1949. He made his film debut with ''Satsujin Yogisha' ...
dropped out. On whether his voice would be better than Kobayashi’s he said "I just did it because I was told to do it, and whether my performance was good or not is a matter for later.The evaluation was made by the audience, so there was no 'good' or bad." Despite his prolific voice work, he did not like being referred to as a voice actor (or ''ateshi''), claiming "I'm not proud of using it, but it wasn't a word I didn't like that much." Naya got his younger brother Rokurō into voice acting while he was dubbing Conrad Philips in '' The Adventures of William Tell'', requesting he, with a similar voice to his own, dubbed Tell’s impostor. In 1969 Naya began his association with ''
Lupin the Third , also written as ''Lupin the Third'', ''Lupin the 3rd'', or ''Lupin the IIIrd'', is a Japanese media franchise created by Monkey Punch. The series follows the endeavors of master thief Lupin III, grandson of gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, jo ...
'' with the Pilot Film, voicing Goemon Ishikawa, a role subsequently taken by
Makio Inoue was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is most noted for his two longstanding roles, as the title character in Captain Harlock from 1978 through the 1980s and 1990s, and Goemon Ishikawa XIII of ''Lupin III'' from 1977 to 2011. Career Inou ...
. In 1971 he began voicing Koichi Zenigata, gaining a passion for his character. "I like the single-minded devotion to chasing after Lupin. This innocence (?) makes me very envious of someone like me, who has a lot of troubles in life." He was best friends with Yasuo Yamada, voice of Arsène Lupin III until his death in 1995, having lived in a rented beach house with him. Naya suggested to him "Let's keep chasing Lupin and Zenigata even if we both get old and wrinkled." Also in 1971 he became the voice of the Great Leader in ''
Kamen Rider The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until ''Kamen Rider Decade, Decade'' and except Thailand), is a Japanese superhero fiction, superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by ...
''. He would reprise the role many times over his career, saying "There are more jobs that are said to be, and I am doing it because I am grateful." In 1974 he became the voice of Juzo Okita in ''
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'' He was initially angry about being involved. "Why do I have to play such an old man?". Later he regretted the voice he chose for the character, believing "If you're an active captain, you're in your 50s, so I should have done it younger." Naya was a fan of the
Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...
, once commentating on a game as "Hanshin Crazy Goro Naya", and supported the Japanese Communist Party. In 1985 he underwent surgery for a stomach ulcer, which hindered his physical and vocal ability. He lamented "I've been out of breath since the late 90s, and my physical condition has gotten worse. I was frustrated because people around me said, "I don't have a smooth tongue" behind my back." At Yamada’s funeral he said "Hey, Lupin, who should I chase from now on? If you're dead, who will I chase now?" He criticised the modern voice acting industry, claiming "There are too many voice actors who think that they should just give their voices. They don't think they have a customer in front of them." In 2010 he stepped down from voicing Zenigata, the reason being "Zenigata never gets old, but I get older year by year, so it's a little bit difficult to match." He died on 5 March 2013, at age 83, due to chronic respiratory failure.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

*
Goro Naya
at Theater Echo {{DEFAULTSORT:Naya, Goro 1929 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors Japanese male voice actors Voice actors from Hakodate Deaths from respiratory failure Lupin the Third