Eiji Okada | |
|---|---|
岡田 英次 | |
 Eiji Okada. taken in 1954. | |
| Born | 13 June 1920 Chiba, Japan |
| Died | 14 September 1995 (aged 75) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1946–1995 |
| Spouse | Aiko Wasa |
Eiji Okada (岡田 英次, Okada Eiji, 13 June 1920 – 14 September 1995) was a Japanese film actor from Chōshi, Chiba. Okada served in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and was a miner and traveling salesman before becoming an actor.[1]
Internationally, his best-remembered roles include Lui ("him" in French) in the 1959 film Hiroshima mon amour, directed by Alain Resnais. In this film, Eiji Okada had to learn the screenplay phonetically because he did not speak French. He is also known for playing the entomologist Niki Junpei in Hiroshi Teshigahara's 1964 film Woman in the Dunes, an adaptation of Kōbō Abe's novel. He was also second billed under Marlon Brando in the 1963 political thriller The Ugly American.
Okada was married to Aiko Wasa, with whom he ran a theatre company in Japan. He died on 14 September 1995 of heart failure, at the age of 75.[1]
- ^ a b Ronald Sullivan (5 October 1995). "Eiji Okada, 75, Japanese Co-Star of 'Hiroshima, Mon Amour'". The New York Times. p. D23.