Sonny Chiba Dies: ‘Kill Bill’ Actor & Martial Arts Legend Was 82

deadline.com:

Sonny Chiba, the Japanese actor and martial artist known internationally for appearing in the Kill Bill films and The Fast and the Furious, died of Covid complications, according to Japan’s Oricon News.

He was 82.Chiba was a prolific actor in Japanese film and TV, racking up more than 125 credits for the famed Toei studios, and was also a noted stunt choreographer.

In his later career, he attracted attention internationally by playing the sushi chef and retired samurai Hattori Hanzo in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Volume 2.

Tarantino was a noted fan of Chiba; in his screenplay for True Romance, Christian Slater’s character is a fan of the actor.After being talent spotted by the famed Toei film studio in the 1960s, Chiba (born