Gordon Maeda
{{Short description|Japanese actor (born 2000)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Family name hatnote|Maeda|lang=Japanese}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gordon Maeda
| image = Maeda Gordon from "Lightning Over the Beyond" at Red Carpet of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2022 (52461071221).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Gordon Maeda in 2022
| native_name = 眞栄田 郷敦
| native_name_lang = ja
| birth_name = {{nihongo|Gordon Maeda|前田 郷敦|Maeda Gōdon}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2000|1|9}}
| birth_place = Santa Monica, California, U.S.
| citizenship =
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 2018–present
| spouse =
| children = 1
| father = Sonny Chiba
| relatives = {{ubl|Jirō Yabuki (uncle)|Juri Manase (half-sister)|Mackenyu (brother)}}
| website = {{URL|https://gordonmaeda.com/}}
}}
{{nihongo|Gordon Maeda|眞栄田 郷敦|Maeda Gōdon|born January 9, 2000}} is a Japanese actor. He is the son of actor and martial artist Sonny Chiba.{{cite web |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sonny-chiba-kill-bill-obituary-death-b1911155.html|title=Sonny Chiba: Martial arts master and icon of Japanese cinema |last=Neate|first= Casey |date= September 2, 2021|website= The Independent |publisher= |access-date= March 9, 2023 |quote=[Sonny Chiba’s] first marriage was to actress Yoko Nogiwa, with whom he had co-starred in the detective series Key Hunter (1969-1973). They had a daughter, the actress Juri Manase, before divorcing in 1994. Chiba is also survived by his sons Mackenyu Arata and Gordon Maeda, who also both pursued careers in acting.}} Maeda is best known for portraying Takashi Mitsuya in live action movie adaptation of Tokyo Revengers and Hyakunosuke Ogata in Golden Kamuy series.
Early life
Maeda was born on January 9, 2000, in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of Japanese action actor Sonny Chiba and second wife Tamami. He has one brother Mackenyu and a half-sister Juri Manase from his father's previous marriage. Maeda lived in Beverly Hills for 12 years up to elementary school graduation, before moving to Japan with his mother.{{cite web |title=眞栄田郷敦、セレブなビバリーヒルズ暮らし・サックス奏者を目指していた過去明かす |url=https://mdpr.jp/news/detail/2063025 |website=mdpr.jp |publisher=modelpress |access-date=September 14, 2021}} His parents divorced in 2015. He learned Kyokushin karate since the age of 5 and continued for 7 years. In elementary school, he was fascinated by saxophone upon his first encounter with the instrument. After entering junior high school in Kyoto, he joined the school's brass band and took a break from karate. It was a period in which he developed his desire to enroll at Tokyo University of the Arts with the goal of becoming professional saxophonist. In order to further pursue his dream he went to Meisei Gakuin, a private senior high school in Okayama which has highly reputable brass band and special course to go professional.{{cite web |title=＜眞栄田郷敦＞人生変えた恩師の言葉に涙 父・千葉真一さんとの思い出、新田真剣佑との関係性も 「A-Studio＋」出演 |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/13eb8c646c0a8761ee8110ca0f8a45dcda347a18 |website=news.yahoo.co.jp |publisher=Mainichi Kirei |access-date=September 12, 2021}} He lived in the school dorm in Okayama throughout high school. Together with Meisei Gakuin brass band, he won silver and bronze awards at All-Japan Band Competition in 2016 and 2017.{{cite web |title=第65回全日本吹奏楽コンクール |url=https://www.suisougaku-net.com/all-japan/2017k.html |website=www.suisougaku-net.com |access-date=September 19, 2021}} He started to consider going into showbiz after unexpectedly failing his entrance exam for Tokyo University of the Arts.{{cite web |title=眞栄田郷敦 サックスでプロ目指すも挫折…思いは「まったくなかった」芸能界入りのきっかけは父と兄 |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/69f10c4f188d57ef83cc69e9cb902d3dc5c312f6 |website=news.yahoo.co.jp |publisher=Sponichi |access-date=September 12, 2021}} He ultimately put his professional saxophonist dream to rest.
Career
During a private screening of his brother's movie Over Drive in 2018, through his father he got acquainted with entertainment industry officials including production company ROBOT who offered him to star in youth movie which later become his silver screen debut, Little Love Song. He made his runway debut in Tokyo Girls Collection (TGC) Kitakyushu 2018.{{cite web |title=新田真剣佑の弟・眞栄田郷敦（まえだごうどん）「TGC北九州」出演決定 |url=https://mdpr.jp/news/detail/1792372 |website=mdpr.jp |publisher=modelpress |access-date=September 12, 2021}} For his stage name, he changed kanji writing of his birth last name from {{nihongo|前田|Mae-da}} to {{nihongo|眞栄田|Ma-e-da}} because he wanted to include "真" character in it, just like his father and brother's stage names.{{cite web |title=父・千葉真一、兄・新田真剣佑への尊敬の念――眞栄田郷敦、銀幕デビューの地・沖縄で"芸道"を突き進む |url=https://eiga.com/news/20190326/14/ |website=eiga.com |publisher=映画.com |access-date=September 19, 2021}} He kicked off his acting debut by portraying student band guitarist Shinji Fukumura in music drama movie Little Love Song, released on May 24, 2019. Prior to filming the movie in Okinawa, the cast practiced playing their respective instruments for six months. Maeda joined the other cast members promoting the movie including performing on television music programs Music Station and Love Music as the Chiisana Koi no Uta Band.{{cite web |title=Love Music |url=https://www.fujitv.co.jp/lovemusic/backnumber/201905.html |website=fujitv.co.jp |publisher=Fuji TV |access-date=September 25, 2021}}{{cite web |title=佐野勇斗ら"小さな恋のうたバンド"がMステ出演、MONGOL800とセッション |url=https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/332799 |website=natalie.mu |publisher=natalie |access-date=September 25, 2021}} In July 2019, he starred in sports-themed TV drama No Side Manager as Keita Nanao, an ex-rugby player returnee from New Zealand. He got the role for the drama through three stages of audition. He gained 15 kg in the span of 3 months to prepare for the audition so his body could mimic that of a rugby player.{{cite web |title=新進俳優・眞栄田郷敦が語る、『ノーサイド・ゲーム』挑戦の裏側 「最終的には23kg」 |url=https://realsound.jp/movie/2019/09/post-406169.html |website=realsound.jp |publisher=Real Sound |access-date=September 25, 2021}}
In January 2022, it was announced that Maeda would be making his first public channel drama leading role in live-action adaptation of Kanakana as former delinquent Masanao Higurashi. In summer 2022, Maeda was in a thriller movie based on the popular web novel Karada Sagashi, starring Kanna Hashimoto whom he had previously worked with in 2019 movie Come Kiss Me at 0:00 AM. In July 2022 it was reported that Maeda would appear in Fuji TV fall drama Elpis as young director, Takuro Kishimoto. In the beginning of 2023, Maeda portrayed Takeda Katsuyori in the NHK Taiga drama What Will You Do, Ieyasu? This was his first Taiga drama appearance.
Personal life
On January 22, 2023 through his official fan club page, Maeda announced that he had married his non-celebrity girlfriend.{{cite web |title=新田真剣佑と眞栄田郷敦が兄弟W結婚 お相手は一般女性、故・千葉真一さんの誕生日に同時発表|url=https://www.news-postseven.com/archives/20230122_1834317.html?DETAIL |website=news-postseven|publisher=News Postseven |access-date=January 22, 2023}} In July of the same year, his agency announced that Maeda's wife had given birth to their first child.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-02 |title=眞栄田郷敦に第１子誕生 「ＮＥＷＳポストセブン」が報じる |trans-title=Gordon Maeda's wife gives birth to his first child, reports NEWS Post Seven |url=https://www.sanspo.com/article/20230803-T6GXYO5D6RMN7H3XAUIO5VAO64/?outputType=amp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803223924/https://www.sanspo.com/article/20230803-T6GXYO5D6RMN7H3XAUIO5VAO64/?outputType=amp |archive-date=2023-08-03 |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=サンスポ |language=ja}} However, in the following year, on October 2, 2024, it was reported that Maeda and his wife had gotten divorced after less than two years of marriage.{{cite web |title=兄とのW結婚から2年と経たず》眞栄田郷敦がスピード離婚！役者への強い思いからくる“ストイックさ”が原因か |trans-title=Less than two years after his double marriage to his brother, Gordon Maeda has a quick divorce! Could his strong desire to be an actor be to blame? |url=https://www.news-postseven.com/archives/20241002_1994641.html?DETAIL |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009100143/https://www.news-postseven.com/archives/20241002_1994641.html?DETAIL |archive-date=October 9, 2024 |access-date=November 30, 2024 |website=news-postseven |publisher=News Postseven}}
Filmography
=Television drama=
| class="wikitable plainrowheader" |
| scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Role ! scope="col"| Notes ! scope="col"| {{Abbr|Ref.|References}} |
|---|
| 2019
| No Side Manager | Keita Nanao | |
| rowspan="2"|2020
| I Can Meet You Three More Times | Seishiro Michibayashi | TV movie | |
| My Housekeeper Nagisa-san
| Haruto Segawa | |
| rowspan="5"|2021
| Kyojo II | Takashi Inabe | Miniseries | |
| With You Who Wanted to be a Star
| Shusei Washigami | Lead role, TV movie | |
| The Romance Manga Artist
| Togo Nikaido | |
| Promise Cinderella
| Issei Kataoka | | {{Cite web|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/special/56662/|script-title=ja:『プロミス・シンデレラ』キャスト・出演者一覧【2021年7月期放送】|work=Oricon|publisher=Oricon Inc.|date=June 25, 2021|access-date = July 12, 2021|language=ja}} |
| Kinnikuman: The Lost Legend
| himself | Lead role, pseudo-documentary |
| rowspan=2|2022
| Kanakana | Masanao Higurashi |Lead role |
| Elpis
| Takurō Kishimoto | |
| 2023 |
| rowspan=2|2024
| 366 Days | Haruto Mizuno | |
| Golden Kamuy: The Hunt of Prisoners in Hokkaido
| Hyakunosuke Ogata | |
| 2025
| Anpan | Osamu Tejima | Asadora |
= Web drama =
| class="wikitable plainrowheader" |
| scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Role ! scope="col"| Notes |
|---|
| 2020
| My Subordinate Haruto-kun | Haruto Segawa | Lead role, spin-off of My Housekeeper Nagisa-san |
| rowspan="3"|2021
| With You Who Wanted to be a Star -another story- | Shusei Washigami | Lead role, alternate retelling of With You Who Wanted to be a Star |
| Renai Kakutoka
| Togo Nikaido | Lead role, spin-off of The Romance Manga Artist |
| Cinderella Complex
| Issei Kataoka | Guest role (episode 5), spin-off of Promise Cinderella |
= Theatrical film =
| class="wikitable plainrowheader" |
| scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Role ! scope="col"| Notes ! scope="col"| {{Abbr|Ref.|References}} |
|---|
| rowspan="2"|2019
| Shinji Fukumura | |
| Come Kiss Me at 0:00 AM
| Akira Hamabe | |
| rowspan="2"|2021
| Jump!! The Heroes Behind the Gold | Takashi Minamikawa | |
| Tokyo Revengers
| Takashi Mitsuya | |
| rowspan=2|2022
| Takahiro Ise | |
| Lightning Over the Beyond
| Hikari | Lead role |
| rowspan="2"| 2023
| Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween Part 1 | Takashi Mitsuya | |
| Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween Part 2
| Takashi Mitsuya | |
| rowspan="2"| 2024
| Hyakunosuke Ogata | |
| Blue Period
| Yatora Yaguchi | Lead role |
| rowspan="3"| 2025
| |
| Re/Member: The Last Night
| Takahiro Ise | |
| A Light in the Harbor
| Kota (adult) | |
| TBA
| Golden Kamuy: The Movie 2 | Hyakunosuke Ogata | |
= Variety Show =
| class="wikitable plainrowheader" |
| scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Network ! scope="col"| Notes ! scope="col"| {{Abbr|Ref.|References}} |
|---|
| 2019
| Fuji TV | Monthly presenter (December) |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Work(s) ! Result ! {{Abbr|Ref.|References}} |
|---|
| rowspan=5|2021
| 31st Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival | New Wave Award | Tokyo Revengers and Jump!! The Heroes Behind the Gold | {{Won}} |
| Nikkei Trendy's Choice
| Face of Next Year | Promise Cinderella | {{Won}} |
| 46th Hochi Film Awards
| Best New Artist | Jump!! The Heroes Behind the Gold | {{Nominated}} |
| Yahoo! Search Awards 2021
| Actors | | {{Won}} |
| 34th Nikkan Sports Film Awards
| Yūjirō Ishihara Newcomer Award | Tokyo Revengers and Jump!! The Heroes Behind the Gold | {{won}} |
| 2022
| 64th Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Newcomer | Jump!! The Heroes Behind the Gold | {{Nominated}} |
| 2024
| 48th Elan d'or Awards | Himself | {{won}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.maeda-gordon.com}}
- {{IMDb name|10631138}}
{{Nikkan Sports Film Award for Yūjirō Ishihara Newcomer Award}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maeda, Gordon}}
Category:American male actors of Japanese descent
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male karateka
Category:American male television actors
Category:Japanese male film actors
Category:Japanese male television actors
Category:Kyokushin kaikan practitioners
Category:21st-century American male actors