Issey Ogata

Issey Ogata (イッセー尾形, Issei Ogata; born February 22, 1952) is a Japanese actor and comedian. He was interested in plays since childhood. After he graduated from Toyotama High School in Japan, he joined a theatrical company and appeared on the stage. Later, he jumped at the opportunity to be an entertainer when he took the gold medal at the audition called "Birth of Comedians". Then, he started garnering roles on Japanese TV. Shows he appeared on include Fuji TV's Evil Grandmother and NHK's RinRinto. He performs in Life Never Stops by himself at GyanGyan Theater in Shibuya. Furthermore, he has had starring roles in major art-house films, including Ota in Edward Yang's Yi Yi, the title character in Jun Ichikawa's Tony Takitani (an adaptation of the Haruki Murakami short story), the role of Japanese Emperor Hirohito in Aleksandr Sokurov's The Sun, and Inoue Masashige in Martin Scorsese's Silence.