Shimizu Gen

Shimizu Gen (born Shimizu Motoyoshi) was a steady Japanese character actor. After graduating from the Department of Commerce at Chuo University, he initially worked at an advertising agency run by his father before pivoting to the arts and joining a theater company in 1937. He made his feature film debut soon after in 1940.

A stocky, official-looking actor, Shimizu appeared regularly in Kurosawa Akira's films as ronin, policemen, criminals, or heavyset authority figures, featuring in eight of Kurosawa's productions. In particular, he memorably played one of the scheming samurai in Sanjuro (1962) and a corrupt businessman in The Bad Sleep Well (1960). In the realm of science fiction, he is best known to genre fans worldwide for playing military commanders fighting off alien invasions in both Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) and Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972).

He continued acting until passing away from stomach cancer in 1972. Before his death, he appeared in roughly 120 feature films. His daughter, Shimizu Mari, also entered the entertainment industry, becoming a prominent voice actress famous for voicing the titular character in the beloved anime Astro Boy.