Haruo Nakajima

Haruo Nakajima Born January 1, 1929 Yamagata Prefecture, Japan Died August 7, 2017 Notable role(s) Godzilla, Invisible Man Akita, Meganulon, Rodan, Moguera, Varan, Transitional Human Vapor, Mothra, Maguma, Matango, Baragon, Gaira, King Kong, Griffon, Giant Rat, Bat Person, Gezora, Ganimes, numerous bit parts First work Godzilla (1954) Notable work Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

“	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 on Haruo Nakajima

Haruo Nakajima (中島春雄,   Nakajima Haruo) was a retired Japanese actor and stuntman, most famous for playing Godzilla in the character's first twelve films from 1954 to 1972. During that time, he appeared in nearly every one of Toho's science-fiction films, either as a monster, an extra, or both. He retired from suit acting in 1972, several years 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 Showa era. In 2010, he published an autobiography titled Kaiju Life.

Kaiju Filmography

• Godzilla (1954) as Godzilla / Reporter
• Invisible Man (1954) as Invisible Man Akita
• Godzilla Raids Again (1955) as Godzilla
• Rodan (1956) as Rodan / Meganulon / JSDF Officer
• The Mysterians (1957) as Moguera / JSDF Officer / Soldier Leaping from Tank
• H-Man (1958) as Second Dissolved Sailor
• Varan (1958) as Varan / Deputy Minesweeper Director
• The Secret of the Telegian (1960)
• The Human Vapor (1960) as Transitional Human Vapor
• Mothra (1961) as Head of Mothra larva / Evacuee
• The Last War (1961) as Police Officer
• Gorath (1962) as Maguma
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) as Godzilla / Farou Islander
• Matango (1963) as Matango
• Atragon (1963) as Mu Frogman / JSDF Officer
• Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) as Godzilla
• Dogora
• Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) as Godzilla
• Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965) as Baragon / JSDF Soldier
• Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) as Godzilla / Infant Islander
• Ultra Q as Gomess [episode 1] / Pagos [episode 17]
• War of the Gargantuas (1966) as Gaira
• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) as Godzilla
• He of the Sun (TV 1967) as Gaira
• Ultraman (TV 1966-1967) as Neronga [episode 3] / Gabora [episode 9] / Jirass [episode 10] / Kiyla [episode 38]
• King Kong Escapes (1967) as King Kong / unidentified role
• Ultraseven (TV 1967-1968) as U-Tom [episode 17]
• Son of Godzilla (1967) as Godzilla (water scenes)
• Destroy All Monsters (1968) as Godzilla / Military Advisor
• All Monsters Attack (1969) as Godzilla
• Latitude Zero (1969) as Lion / Griffon / Giant Rat / Bat Person / Underwater stunts
• Space Amoeba (1970) as Gezora / Ganimes / Underwater stunt double for Akira Kubo
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) as Godzilla / Concerned Citizen in Montage / JSDF Officer
• Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) as Godzilla / Background Comic Editor / JSDF Officer
• Submersion of Japan (1973) as Prime Minister Yamamoto's Driver
• 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)

Gallery

• 

  Haruo Nakajima with Jakks Pacific's Giant Godzilla figure

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  Nakajima on April 28, 2015

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  Haruo Nakajima with Matt Frank

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  M1 Haruo Nakajima in Godzilla suit figure

Videos

The Man Who Was Godzilla SciFi Japan Interview Anime Boston Interview

Trivia

• The famous sequence in Mothra vs. Godzilla where Godzilla tripped and fell on Nagoya Castle was by accident; following the script, Nakajima tripped on the castle prop's moat and fell into the castle, damaging both the suit and the prop. Eiji Tsuburaya was impressed by the footage of the mishap, and instead chose to use it in the final film.
• Nakajima's only serious injury sustained while playing a kaiju took place during the filming of Varan, when an exploding truck burned his stomach.

External Links

• Interview by John Rocco Roberto (2000)
• Interview by NBC News (2011)
• Roundtable interview with Haruo Nakajima and Russ Tamblyn provided by Toho Kingdom (March 2014)

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]