Mako

Mako Iwamatsu arrived in New York in 1952 intending to study architecture. But building design lost the battle to the stage, and he ended up training at the Pasadena Playhouse before serving two years in the U.S. Army.

In 1966, he landed the role of Po-han in The Sand Pebbles. That performance earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1967.

It was the highest recognition of his career.

The Trenches of Asian Theater

Tired of the supporting roles Hollywood offered Japanese-American actors, he decided to take control. In 1965, he co-founded East West Players in Los Angeles with other performers.

The goal was to create a space where they wouldn't have to play servants or flat villains. So for decades, he balanced his television work with the artistic direction of this theater group, which is still active today.

He got more than 40 Asian playwrights to premiere their plays on the professional circuit.

In 1976, he received a Tony Award nomination for his role in Stephen Sondheim's musical Pacific Overtures. His classical training and physical presence allowed him to move between genres without losing the poise that defined him.

From Hyboria to Animation

Many viewers discovered him through his role as Akiro the Magician in Conan the Barbarian in 1982. He reprised the character in Conan the Destroyer two years later, and his raspy voice became a personal trademark for genre film fans.

And the gamble paid off.

In 1990, he played a relentless businessman in Pacific Heights. He worked under directors such as Sydney Pollack or Rob Marshall in films that raked in millions, but he always kept a low profile off set.

His voice work in Avatar: The Last Airbender became an unexpected success in the final stage of his career. In 2005, he voiced Uncle Iroh, and his performance in the episode The Siege of Ba Sing Se is still remembered for the emotional weight he brought to the character shortly before his death.

Mako passed away in July 2006 from esophageal cancer at his home in Somis. He was 72 years old. His last credited film appearance was in an episode of CSI: Las Vegas and the posthumous release of TMNT in 2007, where he voiced the master Splinter.

He left behind a filmography of more than 150 titles across film and television.