Denis Van Akiyama (May 28, 1952 – June 28, 2018) was a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Shinji in Johnny Mnemonic, and for voicing Silver Samurai / Kenuichio Harada and Sunfire on X-Men: The Animated Series, and Malachite on the original English version of Sailor Moon.

Early life and education A third-generation Japanese Canadian (sansei), Akiyama was born in Toronto in 1952 to Namiko (née Yamada) and Kaye Akiyama. He attained a BA in Psychology from York University, and worked in child care. Akiyama was also a musician who played trumpet with the bands The Parachute Club and Pukka Orchestra. Akiyama went on to study acting at George Brown College.

Career

Film Akiyama started in film, before performing on stage. He was well-known for his role as the supporting villain Shinji in the cult cyberpunk film Johnny Mnemonic (1995). He also appeared in films like David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers (1989), Space Truckers (1996), Cypher (2002), The Pacifier (2005), Flash of Genius (2008), Repo Men (2010), and Resident Evil: Afterlife (also 2010). In 2015, he appeared as Pac-Man creator Tōru Iwatani in Pixels.

Television Akiyama had a regular role on Katts and Dog as Officer Ron Nakemura and as Mr. Lee on She's the Mayor. He guest starred on numerous series, including Street Legal, War of the Worlds, ReGenesis, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Mayday, and Warehouse 13.

Theatre In the early 1990s, Akiyama's stage performances included Miss Saigon on Broadway and in Toronto at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Other theatre appearances include Philip Kan Gotanda's Song for a Nisei Fisherman, Sally Han's Naomi's Road, M. J. Kang's Dreams of Blonde & Blue, and Hiro Kanagawa's The Tiger of Malaya.

Voice acting Akiyama was a voice actor on numerous animated television series and video games, including The Adventures of Tintin. On X-Men: The Animated Series, he was the voice of Dr. Darrel Tanaka, Silver Samurai, and Sunfire. He voiced the villain Malachite in the original English version of the Japanese anime Sailor Moon.

He voiced Tong Si Hung in the Square Enix video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Personal life

Akiyama married Danielle O'Connor in 1987. The couple had two children, actor Kintaro Akiyama and Miya.

Death Akiyama died in Toronto on June 28, 2018, from a "very rare and aggressive cancer". He was 66 years old.

Filmography

Live-action

Film

1988: Blood Relations – Heart Surgeon 1986: Captive Hearts – Masato 1988: Dead Ringers – Denis 1993: Guilty as Sin – Lab Technician 1995: Johnny Mnemonic – Shinji 1996: Balance of Power – Hastishita 1996: Extreme Measures – Prof. Asakura 1996: Lethal Tender – Det. Peter "Playdo" Ota 1996: L5: First City in Space (short) – Yoshio Mori 1996: Space Truckers – Tech Leader 1997: The Planet of Junior Brown – Mr. Tanaka 2000: After Alice – Owen Gackstetter 2002: Cypher – Speaker Omaha 2004: My Baby's Daddy – as Cha Ching 2004: Welcome to Mooseport – Izuki Nami 2005: The Pacifier – Mr. Chun 2007: Night (short) as Hikaru 2008: Flash of Genius – Dr. Ito 2008: Chilly Beach: The Canadian President – as Emperor (voice) 2010: Repo Men – Doctor 2010: Gangster Exchange – Takayama 2010: Resident Evil: Afterlife – Captain Hotaka 2015: Pixels – Professor Iwatani 2016: The People Garden – Management 529 2017: Kiss and Cry – Shin Amano 2017: Kill Order – Shiro Fujitaka (final film role)

Television + Denis Akiyama live action television credits Year Title Role Notes 1985 For the Record Michael Nakashima 1 episode 1986 Check It Out Ito 1987 Seeing Things 1 episode Diamonds 1 episode 1988 Friday the 13th: The Series Hai Kwan Episode: "Tattoo" 1988–92 Katts and Dog Officer Ron Nakemura 49 episodes 1988, 1989 Street Legal Jonathan Imatsu / Satien Loc 2 episodes 1989, 1990 T. and T. Ikuta / Mori 2 episodes 1990 War of the Worlds Chin 1 episode 1991 Counterstrike Lok Episode: "Night of the Black Moon" 1990 Inside Stories Aaron Iwata Episode: "Heartbreak Hoteru" 1992 In the Eyes of a Stranger TV movie Top Cops Wen Da Yee 1 episode 1993 Ghost Mom Yamato TV movie 1994, 1996 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues Lai Tzu / Lai (voice) 2 episodes 1995 Visitors of the Night Stranger #2 TV movie 1996 Buried Secrets Doctor #1 TV movie 1996, 1997 F/X: The Series Dr. Miller / Lambert Chang 2 episodes 1997 Traders 1 episode 1999 Killing Moon Dr. Yamada TV movie 2000 Code Name Phoenix Dr. Fong TV movie Relic Hunter Colonel Chang The Last Debate TV Makeup Artist TV movie 2001 The Judge Peter Jacoby Episode: "Part One" 2002 Haven't We Met Before? TV movie Odyssey 5 Akegi The Brady Bunch in the White House Hopeful Man TV movie 2003 Eloise at the Plaza Prince of Kushin TV movie 2004 The Cradle Will Fall Dr. Fachita TV movie H2O Kazio Izumi TV miniseries Doc Jian Wa Kevin Hill Judge Porter 2005 Cool Money District Attorney TV movie 2005–12 Mayday Various roles 3 episodes 2006 ReGenesis Crown Attorney 1 episode A Christmas Wedding Asian Pacific President TV movie 2008 Degrassi: The Next GenerationOncologistEpisode: "Death or Glory: Part 2" The Summit Prime Minister of Japan TV miniseries Roxy Hunter and the Myth of the Mermaid Kyoto TV movie 2009 Wild Roses Fukuwawa Sr. Warehouse 13 Officer Ogawa 2010 Being Erica Dr. Kotara 1 episode 2010–12 Wingin' It Mr. Nakamura 3 episodes 2011 She's the Mayor Mr. Lee 13 episodes 2015 12 Monkeys Nakano 1 episode Suits Mr. Tanaka 1 episode 2018 Taken Sensei Episode: "Strelochnik" Carter Koji Yasuda 6 episodes (2 posthumously)

Voice roles Animation

+ Denis Akiyama animation voice credits Year Title Voice role Notes 1991 Rupert Additional voices 1991–92 The Adventures of Tintin Mitsuhirato / Bunji Kuraki / Tharkey 3 episodes 1993–97 X-Men Dr. Darrel Tanaka / Silver Samurai / Sunfire 4 episodes 1993–97 The Busy World of Richard Scarry 36 episodes 1994 Monster Force Additional voices 13 episodes 1994–95 Wild C.A.T.s Dockwell 14 episodes 1995 Sailor Moon Malachite 17 episodes 1995–2001 Little Bear 27 episodes 1997, 1998 Diabolik Director Graffum Episode: "Panther Uncaged" 1998 Silver Surfer Watcher Prime 3 episodes 1998, 1999 Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend Amycus / Cyclops 2 episodes 1999 Medabots Mr. Referee 52 episodes. English version 1999 Power Stone Galuda / Referee 7 episodes. English version 1999 Avengers: United They Stand Dr. Chris Johnson Episode: "Kang" 1999 Ned's Newt Guard / Elf Episode: "Summer Gone, Summer Not / Sealed with a Newt" 2001 Braceface Mr. Ling Episode: "Take That" 2003–05 King 42 episodes 2004 Franny's Feet Sally Episode: "The Lonely Library" 2005 Time Warp Trio Ieyasu / Honda 1 episode 2005–08 Delilah and Julius 31 episodes 2005–09 Mr. Meaty 8 episodes 2008 Toot & Puddle Dr. Ha Song 5 episodes 2008 Chilly Beach: The Canadian President Emperor TV special 2009 Super Why! Additional voices 1 episode 2011–13 Scaredy Squirrel Additional voices 13 episodes 2011 Justin Time Emperor Episode: "Secret Surprise & a Mammoth Mistake" 2017 Inspector Gadget Hattori-san Episode: "Tempest in a Tea Cup / Mr. Security"

Video games

+ Denis Akiyama video game voice credits Year Title Voice role Notes 2001 Onimusha: Warlords Nobunaga Oda, Narrator English dub 2006 Rainbow Six: Vegas Kan Akahashi 2008 Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 2011 Deus Ex: Human Revolution Tong Si Hung Credited as 'Dennis Akiyama'

References

External links

Denis Akiyama Memorial Website