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Tohoru Masamune

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Tohoru Masamune
Masamune at the 2019 Emmy Awards for ARTIFICIAL win, Los Angeles, CA
Born (1959-11-18) November 18, 1959 (age 65)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology (SB)
Occupation(s)Actor, voice actor
Years active1990–present

Tohoru Masamune (born 18 November 1959) is an American actor. His roles include Shredder in the 2014 Michael Bay film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Hall-Yoshida (Paxton's father) in Never Have I Ever, and Inception.

Early life

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Masamune was born in Madison, Wisconsin, on November 18, 1959, the son of Japanese parents, Satoru and Takako Masumune (née Nozoe). He spent his childhood in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His father, Satoru Masamune, was a top researcher, and Arthur C. Cope professor of chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his maternal grandfather, Tetsuo Nozoe, was a world-renowned scientist in Japan. His great-grandfather was Juichi Nozoe, a lawyer and politician who was a one-time member of the Japanese National Diet (House of Representatives) His paternal grandfather's cousin was noted Japanese literary figure (novelist and playwright), Hakucho Masamune

Tohoru Masamune graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Career

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In 1990, he debuted in the film Pacific Heights directed by Academy Award winner, John Schlesinger.

In 1994, he played Ling in Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter. He appeared in the film Inception with the first line of the movie directed by Christopher Nolan, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Ken Watanabe. In 2014, he played Oroku Saki / The Shredder in the reboot feature film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[1][2] In its 2016 sequel, he is replaced by actor Brian Tee.[3]

He also played Haruto Yakimura in Marvel Studios's superhero television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and appears in the role of Martin Takagi in the paranormal thriller feature film Chatter. He also provided the voice of Chef Haruki in TBS adult animated series American Dad!, Kira Kozu in an episode of the DreamWorks/Nickelodeon animated series Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness and Sensei in Disney's Club Penguin online shorts.

He played the starring role of Dr. Matt Lin in the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award and 2019 Peabody Award-winning series, ARTIFICIAL on Twitch.[4]

On stage, he has played starring roles under the direction of Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman at the Goodman Theater, and Tony Award winner Daniel J. Sullivan at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in a premiere of Far East (play) written by Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright A.R. Gurney.

As a voice actor, he has appeared in guest roles in animated series such as American Dad!, We Bare Bears, and Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1990 Pacific Heights Neighbor
1994 Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter Ling
2000 Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Japanese Tourist Voice; uncredited
2010 Inception Japanese Security Guard
2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Oroku Saki / The Shredder
2014 Sway Pastor Joe

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1996 Diagnosis: Murder Al Cho Episode: "Murder Murder"
1996 Mad About You Anesthesiologist Episode: "The Procedure"
1996 The Secret World of Alex Mack Dr. Matsumura Episode: "World Without Alex"
1996 The Cape Hiro Furakawa 2 episodes
1997 The Practice Technician Episode: "Part IV"
1997 Ink George Episode: "Logan's Run"
1999 Providence Reporter #2 Episode: "You Can't Hurry Love"
1999 Chicago Hope Paramedic #8, Paramedic #4 2 episodes
2003 Jackie Chan Adventures Company Owner Voice, episode: "Samurai Ratso"
2005 Without a Trace Mr. Kim Episode: "Lone Star"
2006 24 CTU Agent Episode: "Day 5: 9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m."
2006 Heroes Boss At Yamagato
Mr. Egami 		3 episodes
2008 Big Shots Riko's Manager Episode: "The Better Man"
2008 iCarly Massage Therapist #1, Mr. Fuzawa 2 episodes
2010 SOLO - The Series Yakuza Bossman Recurring role
2011 The Young and the Restless Myanmar Official 2 episodes
2012 Shake It Up Executive #1 Episode: "Made in Japan"
2013 Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness Kira Kozu Voice, episode: "The Way of the Prawn"
2015 Game Shakers Alan Episode: "Lost on the Subway"
2016 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Haruto Yakimura Episode: "The Inside Man"
2016 We Bare Bears Manager Voice, episode: "Losing Ice"
2016 American Dad! Chief Haruki Voice, episode: "The Enlightenment of Ragi-Baba"
2017 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Samurais, Shiro Neko Ninja Voice, 2 episodes
2021 Infinity Train Ryan's Father Voice, episode: "The Twin Tapes"
2021 Never Have I Ever Kevin Hall-Yoshida Recurring role

Video games

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Year Title Credit
1994 Twisted: The Game Show Johnny Pow
1999 Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style Voice
2010 EA Sports MMA Katsuo Yamada
2020 Ghost of Tsushima Sword Fight Choreography Consultant

References

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  1. ^ "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: Tohoru Masamune Talks About Wanting To Play Marvel's The Ancient One". www.toonado.com. Toonado. September 1, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  2. ^ Orange, B. Alan (August 8, 2014). "Tohoru Masamune Talks Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". www.movieweb.com. MovieWeb. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  3. ^ Holmes, Adam (April 27, 2015). "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 Has Found A New Shredder". www.cinemablend.com. Cinema Blend. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  4. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (May 20, 2020). "'Artificial' Co-Creator Bernie Su Talks Producing Remote Third Season Of Livestreamed Interactive Series: "It's Fun And Incredibly Stressful"". Deadline Hollywood. Deadline. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
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