Akihiko Hirata
Akihiko Hirata (1927-1984), born Akihiko Onoda, was a Japanese actor who often appeared in Toho Company Ltd.'s various Kaiju films.
Hirata starred in many non-Kaiju films including Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai trilogy. His most famous role was Daisuke Serizawa the scientist who created the device called the Oxygen Destroyer that killed Godzilla in the 1954 original Gojira, Archive footage of this character later appeared in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) and Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002).
His appearances in other Kaiju films include Rodan, The Mysterians, The H-Man, Varan the Unbelievable, The Secret of the Telegian, Mothra (1961), Gorath (1962), King Kong vs. Godzilla, Atragon, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla, and Terror of MechaGodzilla.
Hirata as Dr. Serizawa in Gojira (1954)
Hirata was also originally slated to appear in the 1984 Japanese revival of Godzilla entitled The Return of Godzilla (redistributed and reedited in the United States as Godzilla 1985) but he passed away from long-term lung cancer at the age of 56 before filming his role.
He also appeared as a supporting role on the Starwolf TV series, some episodes of which were later edited by Sandy Frank into Experiment 310's Fugitive Alien.
Riffed Movies[]
- Fugitive Alien (Episode #K12 & #310) - as Space Force official
- Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (Episode #213) - as Captain Yamoto
- Mothra (RiffTrax Live) as Doctor
Gallery[]
