Shinichi Chiba (千葉 真一, Chiba Shin'ichi) (born January 23, 1939), also known as Sonny Chiba, is a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience, gaining particular attention after his role in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.
Early life
Born Sadaho Maeda (前田 禎穂, Maeda Sadaho) in Fukuoka, Japan, he was the third of six children in the family of a military test pilot. As a boy, he manifested an interest in both theater and gymnastics, and he was serious enough about the latter to earn a place on the Japanese Olympic team in his late teens until he was sidelined by a back injury[3]. While he was a university student, he began studying martial arts with the renowned Kyokushin karate master Masutatsu "Mas" Oyama (whom he later portrayed in a trilogy of films), leading to his becoming a first-degree black belt at 15th Oct. 1965, later receiving a 4th-degree on the 20th January, 1984.