Yoshio Tsuchiya

was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Toshio Matsumoto's surreal Bara No Soretsu (a.k.a. Funeral Parade of Roses) and Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (as the firebrand farmer Rikichi) and Red Beard, and Kihachi Okamoto's Kill!. He had a long-standing interest in UFOs and wrote several books on the subject. He preferred starring in science fiction films, usually as aliens, or people possessed by them, in such films as Battle in Outer Space, Monster Zero, and Destroy All Monsters. Biography Tsuchiya was born in Kofu, Yamanashi in 1927. His film debut was in the 1952 Shintoho film Murder Suspect (殺人容疑者). During the auditions for Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Tsuchiya was watching, and was picked by Kurosawa although he originally had no intention of auditioning himself. Seven Samurai was filmed during the same time as Godzilla, and Tsuchiya would frequently leave the set of Seven Samurai to see Godzilla being filmed. In an interview, Tsuchiya said "Because I was doing Seven Samurai I couldn't appear in the first Godzilla. That's why I insisted they put me in the sequel." Tsuchiya's wish was granted and he appeared in a role in Godzilla Raids Again. Although Tsuchiya appeared in many films by Akira Kurosawa, he also appeared in many science fiction films, saying "Most actors get comfortable with a certain genre, and they stick to that. But as far as I was concerned, it was equally prestigious to appear in science-fiction films or in Kurosawa movies." Tsuchiya especially liked to play aliens (or people controlled by aliens). When originally given the role of one of the heroes in The Mysterians, he turned down the role in favor of the Mysterian leader, because he was only interested in playing "interesting, strong and/or twisted characters". When director Ishirō Honda told him that since the Mysterian leader wore a mask, his face would not be seen, Tsuchiya said "That's all right. I just want to play the alien!" He has a personal interest in space and even claims to have seen several UFOs. "At the time I was very interested in the Space Race, and belonged to an organization which promoted a mission to the moon. I got all my fellow actors to join - Mifune, Shimura.