| Shin Koyamada 小山田 真 |
|
|---|---|
| Born | March 10, 1982 Okayama, Japan |
| Occupation | Actor, producer, philanthropist, martial arts instructor |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Website | |
| ShinKoyamada.com | |
Shin Koyamada (小山田 真 Koyamada Shin, born March 10, 1982) is a film actor, producer, philanthropist and martial artist.
Koyamada co-starred as “Nobutada” opposite Tom Cruise in the Warner Bros. action epic film The Last Samurai (2004), with a worldwide box office of $456 million. Koyamada also starred in the action original movie Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior (2006). Koyamada has produced and starred in the film Good Soil (2007) and executive produced Wine Road of the Samurai (2007). Koyamada owns a production company named Shinca Entertainment.
Koyamada was appointed as the International Goodwill Ambassador of Okayama Prefecture in February 2010.[1] He created a nonprofit organization named The Shin Koyamada Foundation to empower youth to achieve their goals and dreams, and to promote an Earth-Friendly lifestyle.
Koyamada holds higher ranked Black belts in martial arts. Koyamada moved from Japan to the United States in June 2000. He is bilingual in Japanese and English. He resides in Los Angeles, California.
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Koyamada was born in Okayama, Japan. As a small boy, Koyamada's love of American and Hong Kong action movies began influenced by his father.[2] Koyamada graduated from Ichinomiya High School located in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture. Koyamada is a direct descendant of the Kagenori Koyamada, the lord of the Koyamada clan which was a Samurai clan in the Satsuma domain. In September 2000, Koyamada moved to Hollywood alone, not knowing anyone, having no place to stay, and not knowing how to speak English.[3] In 2001, Koyamada enrolled at Los Angeles City College as a full-time international student where he first began taking intensive acting lessons in the theater academy.
NFL players and Koyamada became involved in the Muwanba Family Foundation, which focuses helping the lives of the children throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa.[4]
In 2001, he choreographed and performed martial arts forms and stage combat for a unique production of Shakespeare's Coriolanus.[5] His first movie work was a short comedy film called A Ninja Pays Half My Rent directed by Steven Tsuchida. The film was first released in 2003.[6] In 2003, his debut feature film role in The Last Samurai co-starred opposite Tom Cruiseas Nobutada.[7] While filming The Last Samurai in Japan, United States, and New Zealand for almost 8 months, he added Kyūdō (Japanese Archery) and Yabusame to his repertoire.[8] Koyamada starred in the action/adventure/drama Disney Channel Original Movie Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior with Brenda Song, as Shen, an Undercover Buddhist Monk.[9] In 2006, Koyamada starred in and executive produced in the Japanese full feature documentary show Wine Road of the Samurai (2006), filmed in Egypt, France and Japan and nationally distributed by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) and other 28 affiliated TV stations in Japan.[10]
Koyamada partnered with Travis Moore and Nia Lyte to form an American comic company called Laizen Comics to develop and publish American comics in late 2008. An Action and Adventure comic book titled The Dreamhoppers was created and written by Shin Koyamada, Travis Moore and Nia Lyte and published by Laizen Comics in early 2010. The story is based in New York. Koyamada is featured as the main character named Ren Matsuo in The Dreamhoppers.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | A Ninja Pays Half My Rent | Black Ninja | Lead |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Nobutada | Lead |
| 2006 | Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior | Shen | Starring |
| 2007 | Good Soil | Jinbei Masuda | Starring, Producer |
| 2011 | Ticker | Sam Goldman | Starring, Producer |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Power Rangers Wild Force | Agent | |
| 2004 | Jake 2.0 | Shinji Makito | Guest Starring, (one episode) |
| 2006 | Disney Channel Games 2006 | Himself | Lead, Red Team |
| 2006 | Wine Road of the Samurai | Narrator, Himself | Actor, Executive Producer |
| 2007 | Disney Channel Games 2007 | Himself | Lead, Yellow Team |
| 2008 | Disney Channel Games 2008 | Himself | Lead, Blue Team |
| 2010 | Ai No Shizuku | Seinen Makibi | Starring |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Wine Road of the Samurai | Producer | Feature Documentary |
| 2007 | Good Soil | Executive Producer | Film |
By 16, Koyamada began to study Keishinkan Karate in Okayama, Japan, in which he was awarded his first degree Black Belt under Tadashi Yoshii Sensei. After relocating to the United States in 2000, Koyamada began training in Northern Shaolin Kung Fu 6 days a week under Harmonious Fist Chinese Athletic Association. Koyamada specialized in empty hand form Boot Bo (拔步) and a double broadsword among other 18 Chinese classical weapons in Northern Shaolin. Koyamada competed in six U.S National Martial Arts Competitions in Northern Shaolin over five months and won first place in all but one, and that was a second. In 2005, Koyamada earned san-dan (third degree) black belt in traditional Keishinkan Karate back in Japan. In 2005, Koyamada began in Tae Kwon Do in which he earned the second degree Black Belt. In 2007, Koyamada began Kung Jung Mu Sul (Korean Royal Court Martial Arts), and certified as first degree Black Belt by Grandmaster Soon Tae Yang in San Francisco in 2008. Koyamada was featured in a cover of Black Belt Magazine in 2004. In 2009, Koyamada was invited to an annual Martial Arts Tour of Italy organized by Federico Coccorese.
In mid 2003, Koyamada was honored the Gold Key to the City of New Plymouth in New Zealand by a Mayor Peter Tennent. On January 14 in 2005, Koyamada was awarded at World Martial Arts Masters Expo 05. In 2005, Koyamada was honored and awarded a Gold Coin for actively supporting a Mexican community by the Mexican Government. On February 17, 2010, Koyamada was appointed as International Goodwill Ambassador of the Government of Okayama Prefecture, Japan.