Mackenyu Maeda, known as Mackenyu Arata, was born on November 16, 1996, in Los Angeles.[6][7] He is the son of Japanese parents, Tamami Chiba and Japanese action movie star Sonny Chiba, and has two siblings, a half sister named Juri Manase (his father's daughter from previous marriage) and a brother named Gordon.[1][2] He attended Beverly Hills High School in their Advanced Placement Program and appeared in a few films and TV shows while growing up, including the TV mini-series Team Astro (Astro Kyūdan) (2005), and the Japanese feature film Oyaji (2007), as he devoted most of his time to school and graduation. As a young child, Mackenyu had many interests. He learned horseback riding and Yabusame at the age of 7. He practiced Kyokushin Karate since he was eight years old, and he was placed third at the US kyokushin Karate Nationals in middle school. In high school he did gymnastics, water polo, and wrestling, becoming the school representative for the latter. He was also into music, playing piano since he was 10 years old, and later participated in the brass band of his high school in Beverly Hills, playing saxophone, and flute.
At the age of 15, Mackenyu watched a Japanese movie and the actor who starred in it inspired him to pursue acting professionally in Japan. He held on to the dream of co-starring with the actor once he established his acting career in Japan. He later revealed that it was the late Haruma Miura after he co-starred with him in the movie adaptation of Gunjō Senki.[8] Mackenyu landed his first feature film lead role in Take a Chance (2015) and was featured in an acclaimed short movie depicting a Japanese family suffering the aftermath of the World War II in Tadaima (2015) in which the movie won The Best Narrative Short in Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival.[9] He moved to Japan later in the same year, stating that Japan would be the best place for him to learn due to the variety of roles that are available for young actors.[10]
Career
In 2013, Mackenyu turned his full attention to acting—including roles in the feature film Buzz (So-On: The Five Oyaji) (2014) and TV movie Yo nimo Kimyō na Monogatari (2014). His acting quickly expanded to include three supporting roles in TV Mini-series including The Kindergarten Detective (Hanasaki Shin'ichirō wa Nemurenai!!) (2015), Yume o Ataeru (2015), and The Hatsumori Bemars (2015). His fame grew dramatically in Japan after landing the role of Eiji Tomari/Kamen Rider Dark Drive/Paradox Roidmude in Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future; the film Tie-in to the 2014-2015 Entry in the Kamen franchise, Kamen Rider Drive, based on the popular series created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori[11]
In 2015, he also landed his first lead roles in two USA film productions, Take a Chance (2015) and Tadaima (2015); for the latter he won a best supporting actor award at the Asians of Films festival.[12] In January 2016, he made his stage debut in the Japanese musical Boys Over Flower (Hana Yori Dango: The Musical) (2016). He had a prominent role in the two part feature film Chihayafuru Part I & II (2016) which was released back-to-back in March and April 2016.[13] Japan's AM magazine featured him on the front cover of their 14 March 2016 edition and included an interview with him. One of his most challenging roles in his career to date was Shōjo (Little Girl). Having completed his lead role as "Makise" in the feature film Night's Tightrope (Shōjo) (2016), Mackenyu started to expand his acting opportunities in Hollywood with a supporting role of Cadet Ryoichi in the science fiction film Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018).[14] 2018 was a busy year with series Kiss That Kills and movies Chihayafuru Part III, manga-based Impossibility Defense and speed-drive action-drama Over Drive.
In December 2020, Mackenyu announced that he would be leaving his agency, Top Coat, in April 2021 as well as suspending his Japanese activities for the time being. He announced that he wants to focus on global activities in 2021.
Mackenyu married a non-celebrity woman, whose name was not disclosed. The marriage was announced along with his younger brother's marriage in January 2023.[18]
Brand endorsements
In 2018, Mackenyu became the brand ambassador for Japanese men's grooming brand GATSBY.[19] He starred in the TV commercial "GATSBY Cop", together with popular Japanese actor Yuya Yagira.
^ abcdeNeate, Casey (September 2, 2021). "Sonny Chiba: Martial arts master and icon of Japanese cinema". The Independent. Retrieved March 9, 2023. [Sonny Chiba's] first marriage was to actress Yoko Nogiwa, with whom he had co-starred in the detective series Key Hunter (1969-1973). They had a daughter, the actress Juri Manase, before divorcing in 1994. Chiba is also survived by his sons Mackenyu Arata and Gordon Maeda, who also both pursued careers in acting.
^ abcdeGilbey, Ryan (August 24, 2021). "Sonny Chiba obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2023. He is survived by his daughter from that marriage, Juri, as well as by Mackenyu and Gordon, his children from his second marriage, to Tatami, which ended in divorce in 2015.
^"新田真剣佑 TOP COAT". TOP COAT (retrieved by Wayback Machine). Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
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