AKIRA - Live Action Fan Cast
Here is my ideal casting choices for a live action version of the classic anime, "Akira".
Keep in mind this list is a work in progress and there is much more to be added, so bear with me.
Keep in mind this list is a work in progress and there is much more to be added, so bear with me.
List activity
2.8K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
15 people
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Shannon Kook was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. His mother is natively South African, and his father is from the Mauritian Islands. He is a classically trained actor from the prestigious National Theatre School of Canada, accepting only 12 acting students a year. Shannon also graduated with the Edna Khubyar Acting Award, a scholarship awarded 'in recognition of exceptional talent and achievement' after a full theatre program.
From there, Kook was cast as a lead in several shows in theatre, immediately performing on the main stage at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton for the world premiere musical of The Forbidden Phoenix as The Monkey King's son. Film and TV proved to be a great fit for Kook, soon doing leads and guest stars he eventually won The ACTRA Award, was selected as a Toronto International Film Festival 'TIFF Rising Star', and received The Reelworld Film Festival Trailblazer Award.
Most recently Shannon can be seen as a Regular on The 100 (The CW), a Supporting in all 3 of The Conjuring (Warner Bros) films, Recurring on Nancy Drew (The CW) and The Mysterious Benedict Society (Disney+).
Outside of acting Kook spends a lot of his time doing Taekwondo, Jiu-Jitsu & Kickboxing, all styles of dance from Salsa & Bachata to Hip Hop & Ballet, and behind camera shooting and retouching portrait photography. He speaks Afrikaans, some French and is working on his Mandarin, guitar, and piano.Shotaro Kaneda
Initially my first choice for Shannon was playing the part of Tetsuo, for the solid fact that this guy can act.
If your familiar with Shannons body of work, you will see he's got the versatility and range needed to properly show the transition Tetsuo goes through, from being the insecure weakling of the gang to a murderous power hungry psychopath.
My only problem and ultimately the reason I didn't pick Shannon as Tetsuo, was I just felt that physically, he looked more convincing as Kaneda, as opposed to Tetsuo.
Still, being cast as the main protagonist, who goes through some character development of his own, isn't such a bad thing and again, I have no doubt Shannon Kook could bring Kaneda to life perfectly.- Actor
- Stunts
- Producer
Booboo Stewart was thrust into the spotlight with his winning the coveted role of Seth Clearwater in the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) and reprising the role in both The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012). At age 10 Booboo began his career as a model, participating in numerous campaigns. He received a record deal at the age of 12 with Walt Disney records-touring with acts such as The Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and The Cheetah Girls. Booboo first worked on camera as a stunt person in films like Beowulf (2007) and then was captured by the acting bug after watching Heath Ledger's performance as the 'Joker' . Booboo strives to play interesting roles and he can soon be seen in White Frog (2012), The Last Survivors (2014), Space Warriors (2013) and An Evergreen Christmas (2014). Booboo is an accomplished martial artist - winning two World Championships and being inducted into the Jr Blackbelt Hall of Fame. He is sponsored by Gibson Guitars and resides in Los Angeles with his family.Tetsuo Shima
Ok, before you die hard fans get up in arms about a Twilight star playing the most notable character of the series, as well as the main antagonist, remember this is my list and I cast whoever the hell I want. lol
I picked Booboo, because whether you agree or not, I thought he gave a great performance in the 2012 film "White Frog".
In White Frog, Booboo played the part of Nick Young, a teen who has Aspergers Syndrome and is struggling to cope with the recent passing of his older brother. There were some intense scenes in the film that called for a whole mix of emotions at once and I thought Booboo carried these scenes incredibly.
Tetsuo's a young character that calls for a lot of emotion, so Booboos look and portrayal of Nick in White Frog is enough to make me take a chance on him as Tetsuo.
Plus, lets not forget that Tetsuo is a physically demanding role and Booboo comes from a highly experienced martial arts background, so that's got to work in his favor.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Ryan Potter is an actor, director, martial artist, and photographer. Ryan, though born in the United States, was raised in Tokyo until the age of seven.
Ryan got his start as the lead, "Mike Fukanaga" in Nickelodeon's "Supah Ninjas," (2011-2013) working with the legendary, George Takei, who played his grandfather.
In 2014, he starred in Disney's animated superhero blockbuster, Big Hero 6. He voiced the lead character, Hiro Hamada, a child prodigy who teams with a large robot. The film was released in the U.S. at #1 and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2015. He went on to voice the same character for the animated television show, Disney's Big Hero 6: The Series (2017...)
Ryan also devotes much of his energy to raising awareness for several charities including Covenant House and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. He is grateful for his "Big Brother" of 14 years and is one of the organization's Celebrity Ambassadors. In addition, Ryan will be working closely with the Papau New Guinea Tribal Foundation on an upcoming expedition to provide medical supplies to those in need.Akira- Actress
- Soundtrack
Julia Chan is a British actor who grew up between Hong Kong and the UK. She is a 2010 graduate of The New School for Drama in New York and has a BA degree in History of Art and Architecture from Harvard University.
Julia played Dr. Maggie Lin on the long running hit Canadian medical drama "Saving Hope" for CTV. Recent credits include "Schitt's Creek", "Gotham", "Silent House", the 2011 thriller with Elizabeth Olsen; and "Rookie Blue" for ABC/Global. She lives in Los Angeles.Kei- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Ken Watanabe was born on October 21, 1959 in Uonuma, Japan. Both of his parents were teachers: his mother taught general education and his dad taught calligraphy. He became interested in acting at the age of 24, when a director of England's National Theater Company, where he was studying, told him that acting was his special gift. In 1978, he moved to Tokyo to pursue acting. He drew the attention of the critics when Yukio Ninagawa, a famous Japanese director, chose him for the lead role in one of his plays, even though Ken was still an acting student. He made his first TV appearance in 1982. His big career breakthrough came when he was chosen to play the lead in the Japanese national TV drama series called "Dokugan ryu Masamune". He played a samurai leader hero, making him a household name in Japan. In 1989, he collapsed while filming a movie in Canada due to leukemia. He made a miraculous comeback & co-starred with Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai (2003), which pushed him to the center stage of Hollywood.
Ken has a daughter, model, actress, & singer Anne Watanabe, & a son. He's an avid fan of Hanshin Tigers (Japanese professional baseball team) & Kobe Steel rugby team. He loves noodles.Colonel Shikishima
Isnt it obvious? Ken Watanabe needs to be Colonel Shikishima!
For starters, Ken physically resembles The Colonel! He's got that tall, strong, commanding and intimidating factor needed to play the part.
Secondly, the guy can act! Randomly select any film from his lengthy resume and you'll see for yourself!
Ken has also played quite a few military roles or roles of authority, so a part like The Colonel isn't exactly strange or uncharted territory for him.
If that's not enough to convince anyone the role should go to him, then I don't know what is!- Piper Curda is an actress, known for Rule the Mix (2011), I Didn't Do It (2014) and Save the Date (2013). She is one of five siblings who all work in the entertainment industry. She plays the role of Jasmine on Disney Channel's I Didn't Do It. She previously recurred on Disney Channel's ANT Farm in the role of Kennedy Van Buren.Kiyoko
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Major Curda was born on 12 July 1999 in Florida. He is an actor and director, known for Riverdale (2017), Atypical (2017) and Godlike (2016).Takashi- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Romel De Silva is a Filipino-American actor, writer, and comedian. Recent credits include: Sebastian Woo in "He's All That" (Netflix), Oliver Ramos in "Ghostwriter" (Apple TV+), and Sawyer Friedman in "The Prank" (XRM Media). Romel is a BFA graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) and trained at UCB Los Angeles. He was born in Los Angeles and his hometown is West Covina, CA. Romel is managed by Entertainment Lab and represented by Daniel Hoff Agency.Masaru- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
George Takei was born Hosato Takei in Los Angeles, California. His mother was born in Sacramento to Japanese parents & his father was born in Japan. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he & his family were relocated from Los Angeles to the Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas. Later, they were moved to a camp at Tule Lake in Northern California. His first-hand knowledge of the unjust internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans in World War II, poignantly chronicled in his autobiography, created a lifelong interest in politics & community affairs.
After graduating from Los Angeles High School in 1956, he studied architecture at UC Berkeley. An ad in a Japanese community paper led to a summer job on the MGM lot where he dubbed 8 characters from Japanese into English for Rodan (1956). Bitten by the acting bug, he transferred to UCLA as a theater arts major. Contacting an agent he had met at MGM led to his appearance as an embittered soldier in postwar Japan in the Playhouse 90 (1956) production. Being spotted in a UCLA theater production by a Warner Bros. casting director led to his feature film debut in Ice Palace (1960), various roles in Hawaiian Eye (1959) &other feature work. In June 1960, he completed his degree at UCLA and studied at the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-Upon-Avon in England that summer.
After starting a master's degree program at UCLA, he was cast in the socially relevant stage musical production Fly Blackbird! but was replaced when the show moved to New York. He took odd jobs until returning to his role at the end of the run. Getting little work in Manhattan, he returned to Los Angeles to continue his studies, once again appearing in TV & films. He earned his master's in 1964. Wanting a multi-racial crew, Gene Roddenberry cast him in Where No Man Has Gone Before, the second Star Trek (1966) pilot. Mr. Sulu remained a regular character when the series went into production. In the hiatus after the end of shooting the first season, he worked on The Green Berets (1968), playing a South Vietnamese Special Forces officer.
After Star Trek (1966) was canceled, he did guest stints in several TV shows, voiced Sulu for the animated Star Trek series & regularly appeared at Star Trek conventions. He also produced & hosted a public affairs show Expression East/West, which aired in Los Angeles from 1971-1973. That year, he ran for the L.A. City Council. Although he lost by a small margin, Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him to the board of directors of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, where he served until 1984 & contributed to plans for the subway. During this period, he co-wrote a sci-fi novel Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe. He campaigned to get more respect for his character in the Star Trek features, resulting in Sulu finally obtaining the rank of captain in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), a role reprised in the Star Trek: Voyager (1995) episode Flashback.
He has run several marathons and was in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Torch Relay. He received a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame in 1986. He also left his signature & hand print in cement at the Chinese Theater in 1991. His 1994 autobiography, To the Stars, was well-received. He remains active as a stage, TV & film actor as well as as an advocate for the interests of Japanese Americans.Dr. Onishi- Actor
- Sound Department
- Director
Johnny Yong Bosch (born John Jay Bosch) was born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in Garland, Texas. While growing up, he had taken an interest in martial arts after having seen the works of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, winning several martial arts competitions as a result. After being informed about the TV series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993) by his martial arts teacher, Bosch subsequently joined the show's second season as Adam Park (replacing Walter Jones, who had played the character in season 1), and reprised the role in both films based on the franchise as well as Power Rangers Zeo (1996) and Power Rangers Turbo (1997)
His main claim to fame, however, arrived in the form of his voice acting career in anime and video games, when he landed the role of Kaneda in a redub of Akira (1988) that was recorded by Pioneer in 2001, with Cam Clarke having previously voiced the character in the 1988 Streamline dub. This ultimately lead to further roles in more anime series and games in the years that followed, including Vash the Stampede in Trigun (1998), Renton Thurston in Eureka Seven (2005), Genma Shiranui and Sasori in the Naruto franchise, Yu Narukami in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (2008), and, most notably, Ichigo Kurosaki in the Bleach franchise. Among Bosch's later roles include Sabo in One Piece (1999) from 2020 onward, Toji Suzuhara in Netflix's 2019 redub of Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995), and Ryogi in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (2017), among others.Ryu- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa got his first big break as an actor when he was cast in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1987). A US Army brat, he was born in Tokyo and lived in various cities while growing up. His father was in the army, stationed at Ft. Bragg (NC), Ft. Polk (LA) and Ft. Hood (TX). His mother was an actress from Tokyo. The family finally settled in Southern California, where Tagawa began acting in high school. He was an exchange student in Japan while studying at the University of Southern California. He has recently been involved off-screen in addressing student groups (at SFSU and Stanford). He has also been coaching the martial artist portraying Shang Tsung in the Mortal Kombat Live Tour, and in his free time developing his new form of martial arts, called "Chun Shin."Mr. Nezu- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Amber Midthunder is an American actress who uncovered a deep love of acting at a young age. Growing up with an actor father and casting director mother, she began her own on-screen career early in life. Her first speaking role was at the age of 9 opposite Oscar winner Alan Arkin in the indie hit Sunshine Cleaning. Since that time she has continued her work as an actress with series regular roles on Marvel/FX's "Legion", and The CW's "Roswell, New Mexico"; as well as leading feature films such as "The Ice Road" for Netflix and 20th Century's "Prey."
Midthunder is an enrolled tribal member at Ft. Peck Indian Reservation.
Outside of acting she has a passion for animal rights and environmental activism.Kaori- Samuel Patrick Chu was born on 20 January 1994 in Canada. He is an actor, known for Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010), iZombie (2015) and Imposters (2017).Kaisuke aka Kai
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Michael Copon is an American actor known for a variety of film and television roles including that of Lucas Kendall in Power Rangers: Time Force and Felix Taggaro in One Tree Hill.
Kick starting his career in 2001, Copon was chosen by the Fox Kids Network to portray Lucas Kendall in Power Rangers: Time Force. Given the lengthy audition process for the role, Copon stood out from the crowd and became a series lead as the Blue Ranger. Though the progression of the show introduced a new lineup in the next series, Copon reprised his role in Power Rangers: Wild Force in the two-part episode of 'Reinforcements from the Future'. Capturing attention in the role, Copon soon landed a recurring role during One Tree Hill's second season as Felix Taggaro. Other notable appearances include those in Scrubs, That's So Raven, Hawaii Five-0, Beyond The Break, and Reno 911!
Copon's film work includes standout roles in Bring It On: In It To Win It, and as Mathayus in The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior. Copon has also applied himself to a number of horror films, including Night of the Demons, Killer Holiday and 247 Fº .
Beyond his film and television commitments, Copon is also a talented singer, releasing 'Let's Get Nasty' on iTunes in 2010 and appeared (and subsequently won) the competition on VH1's But Can They Sing?
In 2019, Michael Copon is set to appear as Nicholai in the television series Dystopia, a science fiction thriller that aims to rewrite history.Yamagata- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Amy Hill's television and film credits number over 180. As a voice actor, she's been heard as recurring characters on numerous shows including "American Dad", "Lilo and Stitch" (film and series), "King of the Hill", and HBO's "Happily Ever After." She had recurring roles on "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend", "UnReal", "Preacher", and the CBS sitcom "Mom". She's was also a regular on Amazon Prime's "Just Add Magic."
She started her career in theater working with the famed Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco and continued as a teacher, director, and artistic committee member there in addition to being a part of San Francisco's improvisation and sketch-comedy scene. Hill is also known in the theatre world as a respected performance artist, having written and performed a number of one-woman shows, including the trilogy of "Tokyo Bound", "Reunion", and "Beside Myself."
She has worked with regional theaters such as The Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Rep, Seattle Rep, Actors Theater of Louisville, and The Public Theater in New York City, and has appeared on Broadway in Lincoln Center's "Twelfth Night," which also aired on PBS' "Live from Lincoln Center." She is proud to consider East West Players as her Los Angeles Theater "home," where she has also performed, directed, and taught.Lady Miyako