Mako

Makoto Iwamatsu, known as Mako, was a Japanese actor born on December 10, 1933, in Kobe, Japan, and died on July 21, 2006, in Somis, United States. His role as Po-han in The Gunboat on the Yangtze (1966) earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also played the role of ... More

Makoto Iwamatsu, known as Mako, was a Japanese actor born on December 10, 1933, in Kobe, Japan, and died on July 21, 2006, in Somis, United States. His role as Po-han in The Gunboat on the Yangtze (1966) earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also played the role of the Wizard in the films Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Conan the Destroyer (1984). He also performed in theater and was one of the founders of the East West Players theater company. In 1976, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the play Pacific Overtures. Towards the end of his career, he achieved some notoriety for his roles in animation, notably as the voice of the demon Aku in the first four seasons of the series Samurai Jack (2001-2004), as well as Iroh in the first two seasons of the series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2006). Makoto Iwamatsu died of esophageal cancer on July 21, 2006. Among his posthumous appearances, he appeared in the 2007 horror film Rise and lent his voice to Master Splinter in the animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Actor Greg Baldwin also reprised his roles as Iroh and Aku.