Masachika Ichimura (市村 正親, Ichimura Masachika; born January 28, 1949) is a Japanese actor. He was born in Kawagoe, Saitama and studied at the Theater Art College in Tokyo after graduating high school. He has also done voice acting work, with some of his roles being Mewtwo from the Pokémon franchise and Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
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Career
In 1973, he made his debut as an actor with Jesus Christ Superstar and, since then, became one of the top actors of Shiki Theatre Company. He appeared in various musical plays, such as West Side Story, Equus, Cats, Evita, and The Phantom of the Opera, and played the role of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.
In 1990, he left the company and signed up for Horipro. In February 2001, he reprised the role of Mewtwo in Super Smash Bros. Melee. In 2013, he played the role of Tokugawa Ieyasu in Anjin: The Shogun and The English Samurai in London.
In 2014, he cancelled his performance in Miss Saigon because of initial stomach cancer; in November of the same year, he finished treatment and returned to the theatre industry.
As of 2022, Ichimura was the longest running performer to play The Engineer in Miss Saigon, playing the role for 30 years from 1992 until 2022. In 2022, Ichimura also reached over 900 performances playing The Engineer in the Japanese production of Miss Saigon.
Filmography
Films
The Hotel Venus (2004) - Venus
Thirteen Assassins (2010) - Kitō Hanbei
A Ghost of a Chance (2011) - Tsukutsuku Abe
The Floating Castle (2012) - Toyotomi Hideyoshi
For Love's Sake (2012) - Shōgo Saotome
Thermae Romae (2012) - Hadrian
Thermae Romae II (2014) - Hadrian
The Kodai Family (2016) - Shigemasa Kōdai Jr.
The Stand-In Thief (2017)
Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai (2021) - Honda Kakuan
And So the Baton Is Passed (2021)
Daughter of Lupin the Movie (2021)
Bushido (2024) - Chōbei
A Conviction of Marriage (2024) - Kannami
A Light in the Harbor (2025) - Tomoyuki Tanabe
New Interpretation of the End of Edo Period (2025) - Jiro Koishikawa, the storyteller
Television dramas
Shishi no Jidai (1980) - Okonogi Kyōhei
Furuhata Ninzaburō (1999) - Nao Kuroikawa
HR (2002) - Masachika Jin'no
Mayonaka no Andersen (2002)
Suna no Utsuwa (2004) - Yuzuru Asō
Order Made (2004)
My Boss My Hero (2006) - Kichi Sakaki
Bambino! (2007) - Tekkan Shishido
Hatachi no Koibito (2007) - Fūta Suzuki
Gō (2011) - Akechi Mitsuhide
Young Black Jack (2011) - Dr. Jotaro Honma
Beppinsan (2016) - Shigeo Asada
Ieyasu, Edo wo Tateru (2019) - Tokugawa Ieyasu
Everyone's Demoted (2019) - Hideki Fujita
Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon (2019) - Nicholas Tange
Nakamura Nakazo: Shusse no Kizahashi (2021) - Ichikawa Danjūrō IV
Musicals
Jesus Christ Superstar - King Herod
West Side Story - Bernardo
Equus - Alan
A Chorus Line - Paul
Carousel - Jigger Craigin
She Loves Me - Georg Nowack
Cats - Rum Tum Tugger
The Phantom of the Opera - Erik, The Phantom of the Opera
Tanz der Vampire - Professor Abronsius
Miss Saigon - The Engineer
Candide - Dr. Pangloss/the narrator Voltaire
Two Gentlemen of Verona - Thurio
Fiddler on the Roof - Tevye
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - Snoopy
Evita - Che
Never on Sunday - Ilya
Kiss of the Spider Woman - Molina
Cyrano: The Musical - Cyrano de Bergerac
Scrooge - Scrooge
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Freddy Benson
Sweeney Todd - Sweeney Todd
La Cage aux Folles - Albin/Zaza
Love Never Dies - Erik, the Phantom of the Opera
Plays
The Merchant of Venice - Shylock
Anjin: The Shogun and The English Samurai - Tokugawa Ieyasu
Yukio Ninagawa's Macbeth - Macbeth
Theatrical animation
Jack and the Beanstalk (1974) - Jack
A Journey Through Fairyland (1985) - Michael
Pokémon: The First Movie (1998) - Mewtwo
Giovanni's Island (2014) - Tatsuo Senō
Doraemon: Nobita's Space Heroes (2015) - Ikaros
Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution (2019) - Mewtwo
Birthday Wonderland (2019) - Hippocrates
Scarlet (2025) - Amlet
Television animation
Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns (2000) - Mewtwo
Pocket Monsters (2020) - Mewtwo
Original video animation (OVA)
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) - Red XIII
Video games
Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) - Mewtwo
Kingdom Hearts (2002) - Jack Skellington
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (2004) - Jack Skellington
Kingdom Hearts II (2005) - Jack Skellington
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (2011) - Bronev Reinel
One Piece: Unlimited World Red (2013) - Patrick Redfield
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (2013) - Bronev Reinel
Nioh (2017) - Tokugawa Ieyasu
Dubbing
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - Jack Skellington
Strings (2004) - Kahro
The Man Who Invented Christmas (2018) - Ebenezer Scrooge
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) - Wild Knuckles
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024) - Helm Hammerhand
Puppetry
Sherlock Holmes (2014) - Jonathan Small
Honors
Medal with Purple Ribbon (2007)
Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2019)
