Haruo Nakajima

“	Inside the Godzilla suit, it was very dark, lonely, and isolated. Usually the person who wears the suit becomes nervous and anxious. During summertime it’s very hot, it can become hell in there. But Mr. Nakajima always persevered. He acted in the suit underwater, he was buried underground, he withstood pyrotechnic explosions… and through it all he was always Godzilla.	„
	— Teruyoshi Nakano

Haruo Nakajima (中島春雄,   Nakajima Haruo) was born on January 1, 1929 in Yamagata, Japan and is a well-known Japanese actor and stuntman. Nakajima is best known for his role as Godzilla and numerous other Template:Kaiju during the Showa era. He retired from suit acting in 1972 after the death of Eiji Tsuburaya, who was a close friend of Nakajima as well as the special effects director for most of Toho's kaiju films in the Showoa era. He has recently released an autobiography.

Kaiju Filmography

• Godzilla (1954) as Godzilla / Power Station Worker
• Invisible Man (1954) as Invisible Man Akita
• Godzilla Raids Again (1955) as Godzilla
• Rodan (1956) as Rodan / Meganulon
• The Mysterians (1957) as Moguera
• The Human Vapor (1958) as Second Dissolved Sailor
• Varan (1958) as Varan
• Mothra (1961) as Head of Mothra larva
• Gorath (1962) as Maguma
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) as Godzilla
• Matango (1963) as Matango
• Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) as Godzilla
• Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) as Godzilla
• Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965) as Baragon
• Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) as Godzilla
• War of the Gargantuas (1966) as Gaira
• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) as Godzilla
• King Kong Escapes (1967) as King Kong
• Son of Godzilla (1967) as Godzilla (water scenes)
• Destroy All Monsters (1968) as Godzilla / Baragon / Military Advisor
• All Monsters Attack (1969) as Godzilla
• Latitude Zero (1969) as Griffon / Giant Rat / Bat Person
• Space Amoeba (1970) as Gezora / Ganimes
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) as Godzilla
• Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) as Godzilla / Background Comic Editor / JSDF Officer
• Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) as Godzilla (stock footage)
• Sayonara Jupiter (1984) as Godzilla (stock footage)
• Godzilla 1985 (1985) as Godzilla (stock footage)
• Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) as Godzilla (stock footage)
• Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) as Godzilla (stock footage)

Television

Along with appearing as Toho's main suit actor, Haruo Nakajima also appeared in Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra series.

Ultra Q (1966)

• Ultra Q Episode 1, "Defeat Gomess" (Gomess)
• Ultra Q Episode 18, "The Rainbow Egg" (Pagos)

Ultraman (1966-1967)

• Ultraman Episode 3, "Science Patrol, Move Out" (Neronga)
• Ultraman Episode 9, "Lightning Operation" (Gabora)
• Ultraman Episode 10, "The Mysterious Dinosaur Base" (Jirass)
• Ultraman Episode 38, "The Spaceship Rescue Command" (Kiyla)

He of the Sun (1967)

• He of the Sun Episode 2 (Gaira)

Ultraseven (1967-1968)

• Ultraseven Episode 17, "Underground Go! Go! Go!" (U-Tom)

Gallery

• 

  Haruo Nakajima with Jakks Pacific's Giant Godzilla figure

• 

  Nakajima on April 28, 2015

Trivia

• Nakajima's only serious injury sustained while playing a Template:Kaiju took place during the filming of Varan, when an exploding truck burned his stomach.

References

This is a list of references for Haruo Nakajima. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]