Jun 13, 1920

Chiba, Japan

Handsome leading man of stage and screen Eiji Okada was among the first post-WWII Japanese actors to gain international popularity. He also played a key role in breaking down the war-era stereotypes of Japanese men, proving in Alain Resnais' Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) that they were as capable of being suave, articulate, and sexy as any Frenchman.

In 1963, Marlon Brando personally convinced Okada to play a leading role in The Ugly American (1963). In Japan, his most famous film role is that ... ... (read more...) of the hapless scientist who is trapped in a sand pit with an enigmatic woman in Hiroshi Teshigahara's haunting Suna No Onna (Woman of the Dunes) (1964).
Date of Death: 14 September 1995, Japan. (heart failure)