, also known as , is a Japanese-Italian actor, voice artist, dancer, choreographer, stunt performer, essayist and former mime. Born in Tokyo, he has resided in Italy since 1975 and holds Italian citizenship.
Beginning his career as a mime, he has performed in and choreographed for numerous stage productions. Since 1976, he has acted in over 100 films and television series, including several 1980s genre films directed by the likes of Sergio Martino, Ruggero Deodato and Enzo G. Castellari. He is best known to international audiences for his villainous supporting roles in Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Wolverine. He has also translated and dubbed Japanese-language films into Italian.
Early life and education Yamanouchi was born in Tokyo. His grandfather, Akio Yamauchi, was a children's book writer. He grew up in Niigata Prefecture and graduated from Niigata High School and went on to study liberal arts at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. After graduation in 1971, he moved to London where he attended drama and dancing lessons. He was among the disciples of mime artist Lindsay Kemp.
Career Theatre While in London, he joined Stomu Yamashta's Red Buddha Theatre company, performing at the Roundhouse and the Piccadilly Theatre. He moved to Italy in 1975 and he began his career as an actor in experimental stage productions, appearing at pantomime festivals like the Festival Internazionale di mimo e pantomima in Florence and Settembre al Borgo in Campania. He was a regular guest on RAI programming, where he would demonstrate his various acts. He first gained recognition for his stage acting in a production of William Shakespeare's The Tempest where he played the role of Ariel in over 300 stagings and earned him a Premio Internazionale Guido d'Arezzo.
As a choreographer, Yamanouchi specializes in opera, collaborating with directors like Mauro Bolognini, Andrea Camilleri, Giancarlo Cobelli, Glauco Mauri, Mario Missiroli, Giuliano Montaldo and Luca Ronconi. He choreographed a production of Turandot held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium.
Film and television Yamanouchi is made his screen acting debut with an uncredited role in the 1975 Fantozzi, directed by Luciano Salce. He appeared in numerous erotic comedies and B-movies throughout the 1980s, including Crime at the Chinese Restaurant (1981), 2020 Texas Gladiators (1982), The Sword of the Barbarians (1982), 2019, After the Fall of New York (1983), Endgame (1983), Warriors of the Year 2072 (1984), Under the Chinese Restaurant (1987), Phantom of Death (1988). He was occasionally credited under the pseudonym Al Huang.
More high-profile roles taken by Yamanouchi include starring in Adriano Celentano's musical Joan Lui (1985) and in Gabriele Salvatores's science-fiction film Nirvana (1997). He also appeared in several American productions, such as Stuart Gordon's Robot Jox (1990), Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Paul McGuigan's Push (2009) and Peter Weir's The Way Back (2010). He most notably portrayed the older Ichirō Yashida / Silver Samurai in The Wolverine (2013) (sharing the main antagonist's role with Ken Yamamura), starring opposite Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto and Hiroyuki Sanada and also dubbed over his own dialogue and Ken Yamamura's in the Italian-language version of the film.
As a voice actor, Yamanouchi has translated and dubbed numerous Japanese-language films and television series into Italian and occasionally vice versa. He typically provides the Italian voice of Asian characters in international productions and is the main Italian voice actor of Ken Watanabe, and in his animated roles, he voiced Floyd Eaglesan in the Italian dubbed version of Despicable Me 2 (2013) and Bernie Lumen in the Italian dubbed version of Elemental (2023).
Teaching Yamanouchi co-founded MDA Produzioni Danza, a dance and performing arts school in the Castelnuovo di Porto neighbourhood of Rome. He has also taught at the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and the Teatro Carlo Felice. He has also conducted numerous internships for mimes, dancers and actors for various associations, foundations and theater schools, on the themes of improvisation, spontaneous movements and acting with the kinesthetic approach.
Personal life From his marriage with TG3 journalist Teresa Piazza, he has a son, Taiyo Yamanouchi, who is an actor and hip hop artist who performs under the stage name 'Hyst'. He has also served as a secondary father figure to Jesto, Taiyo's half-brother from Piazza's relationship with Stefano Rosso.
Yamanouchi has resided in Rome since emigrating to Italy in 1975. He became a naturalized citizen in 1992. He is fluent in Japanese, Italian and English and has performed in all three languages. He has penned a number of essays on Italian and Japanese culture for Italian literary magazines and has contributed to UNESCO's International Theatre Institute.
Filmography Film YearTitleRole(s) Notes1975FantozziAsian CookUncredited1976Basta che non si sappia in giroJapanese SailorUncredited1977Emanuelle and the Last CannibalsManolo1979GardeniaCourierSaturday, Sunday and FridayJapanese passenger1980I'm PhotogenicSimoni's butlerThe Last HunterVietcong1981Crime at the Chinese RestaurantCorpse19822020 Texas GladiatorsRed WolfeThe Sword of the BarbariansLi Wo Twan19832019, After the Fall of New YorkRat Eater KingHearts and ArmourSamuraiSing SingChu LaiEndgameNinja1984Warriors of the Year 2072Akira1985Anche lei fumava il sigaroBongoNell'acquaJoan LuiJarak1986Lone RunnerNimbus7 chili in 7 giorniChinese waiter1987Under the Chinese RestaurantChinese chef1988Phantom of DeathSwordmasterCream TrainCarmal1989Sinbad of the Seven SeasCantu1990Robot JoxTubie #1Blue DolphinBanzai Samurai1992A Bear Called ArthurOhnishiGenghis KhanUnfinishedRe-edited and released in 2010 as Genghis Khan: The Story of a Lifetime.1993Craving Desire1995The Fishmen and Their QueenPriest1996We Free Kings1997Il tocco - La sfidaNirvanaOkasama StarrBanzaiPoliceman1999All the Moron's MenYakuza bossThe Fish in LoveKorea consul2001Tutta la conoscenza del mondo2004MovimentiJapanese writerLast FoodTakanoThe Life Aquatic with Steve ZissouChief Pirate2007Tutte le donne della mia vitaSakè2008The RageAsian characterThis Night Is Still OursLaowang2009PushPop Father2010The Way BackOfficialGorbaciofLila's fatherLate SummerKenji2011All at SeaConfù2012Sins ExpiationHalThe Day of the Siege: September Eleven 1683Murad Giray2013Niente può fermarciMr. LeeThe WolverineIchirō Yashida / Silver SamuraiAlso dubbed in ItalianSomething GoodLaboratory chemistThe Girl from NagasakiGardnerColpi di fortunaArrambator2014A Boss in the Living RoomMeditation master2015Ebola2016Zoolander 2Wise village manThe ConfessionsEmperor of JapanAl posto tuoDr. Shimura2017GrainLeonThe SliderGoro NaganoAddio fottuti musi verdiYang2018Vanishing Balances: Mafia vs YakuzaYutaka ZenshinSan Valentino StoriesMonaco Buddhist2019Hard Night Falling2020Romantic Guide to Lost PlacesDefectum2021They TalkProfessor HasegawaMediumHung2023LukaLand of WomenDiabolik: Who Are You?Chen-Fu2024The Thief of Falling StarsTFS Leader2024Iron FighterAlpha
Television YearTitleRole(s) Notes1985Christopher ColumbusGuacanabo4 episodes1986AtelierKosci Kissaraghi1 episode ("Computer Fashion")I figli dell'ispettoreJapanese terroristTV film1987Treasure Island in Outer SpaceShadow5 episodesTutti in palestraKung fu masterTV mini-series1988Una casa a RomaTV film1989The House of Lost SoulsBuddhist monkTV film1991I ragazzi del muretto1 episode ("Il ritorno di Massimo")1992Un inviato molto specialeButler1 episode ("Se lo dice Giuditta")1994Italian Restaurant1998Il mastinoPao Cheng Fu1 episode ("Shangai")The White ElephantLo YanTV film1999ShadowsTV film2001L'imperoChinese mafia bossTV mini-seriesDon MatteoGuillermo Rivarola1 episode ("Il morso del serpente")2006La moglie cineseLao XiaoTV mini-seriesL'ispettore ColiandroLu Yang1 episode ("Vendetta cinese")2011Dove la trovi una come me?Mister WooTV film2011–2014Inspector RexShop owner / Hiroshi Watanabe2 episodes2014Street Fighter: Assassin's FistSenzô4 episodes2015Il boscoMiong4 episodesStrike Back2016Zio GianniAnzin2 episodes2018Squadra mobile2023The SwarmAkito Nakamura8 episodes2025SandokanTuwak BalauTV mini-series
Voice work Year|TitleRole(s) Notes2015MokusatsuDoctorShort filmFukushima: A Nuclear StoryItalian and English voice-overDocumentary
Dubbing Films (Animation, Italian dub) YearTitleRole(s) Ref2013Despicable Me 2Floyd Eaglesan2023ElementalBernie Lumen
Films (Live action, Italian dub) YearTitleRole(s)Original actor Ref2003The Last SamuraiLord Moritsugu KatsumotoKen Watanabe2005Batman BeginsRa's al Ghul decoy2007SilkHara JubeiKoji Yakusho2008Speed RacerMr. MushaHiroyuki SanadaThe Ramen GirlMaezumiToshiyuki Nishida2009The HedgehogKakuro OzuTogo IgawaG.I. Joe: The Rise of CobraThe Hard MasterGerald Okamura2010InceptionSaitoKen WatanabeTrue GritMr. LeePeter Leung2012PauletteChangBing Yin2013The WolverineYoung YashidaKen Yamamura2014GodzillaDr. Ishirō SerizawaKen WatanabeDumb and Dumber ToHarry's adoptive fatherMichael Yama2015PixelsTōru IwataniDenis Akiyama2016SilenceIchizoYoshi OidaArrivalGeneral ShangTzi MaUSS Indianapolis: Men of CourageMochitsura HashimotoYutaka Takeuchi2017Death NoteWatariPaul Nakauchi2018Mamma Mia! Here We Go AgainMr. TatyamaTogo IgawaSecond ActPhilip JiangPhil Nee2019Pokémon Detective PikachuHideo YoshidaKen WatanabeGodzilla: King of the MonstersDr. Ishirō SerizawaMidwayIsoroku YamamotoEtsushi Toyokawa2022Bullet TrainThe ElderHiroyuki Sanada2023The CreatorHarunKen WatanabeSidonie in JapanKenzo MizoguchiTsuyoshi Ihara2025Rental FamilyKikuo HasegawaAkira Emoto
Television (Live action, Italian dub) YearTitleRole(s)NotesOriginal actor Ref2016–2018The Man in the High CastleNobusuke TagomiMain cast (seasons 1–3)Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Video games (Italian dub) YearTitleRole(s) Ref2020Cyberpunk 2077Goro Takemura
References
External links