Denis Van Akiyama (May 28, 1952 – June 28, 2018) was a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Shinji in Johnny Mnemonic, and for voicing Silver Samurai / Kenuichio Harada and Sunfire on X-Men: The Animated Series, and Malachite on the original English version of Sailor Moon.
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Early life and education
A third-generation Japanese Canadian (sansei), Akiyama was born in Toronto in 1952 to Namiko (née Yamada) and Kaye Akiyama. He attained a BA in Psychology from York University, and worked in child care. Akiyama was also a musician who played trumpet with the bands The Parachute Club and Pukka Orchestra. Akiyama went on to study acting at George Brown College.
Career
Film
Akiyama started in film, before performing on stage. He was well-known for his role as the supporting villain Shinji in the cult cyberpunk film Johnny Mnemonic (1995). He also appeared in films like David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers (1989), Space Truckers (1996), Cypher (2002), The Pacifier (2005), Flash of Genius (2008), Repo Men (2010), and Resident Evil: Afterlife (also 2010). In 2015, he appeared as Pac-Man creator Tōru Iwatani in Pixels.
Television
Akiyama had a regular role on Katts and Dog as Officer Ron Nakemura and as Mr. Lee on She's the Mayor. He guest starred on numerous series, including Street Legal, War of the Worlds, ReGenesis, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Mayday, and Warehouse 13.
Theatre
In the early 1990s, Akiyama's stage performances included Miss Saigon on Broadway and in Toronto at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Other theatre appearances include Philip Kan Gotanda's Song for a Nisei Fisherman, Sally Han's Naomi's Road, M. J. Kang's Dreams of Blonde & Blue, and Hiro Kanagawa's The Tiger of Malaya.
Voice acting
Akiyama was a voice actor on numerous animated television series and video games, including The Adventures of Tintin. On X-Men: The Animated Series, he was the voice of Dr. Darrel Tanaka, Silver Samurai, and Sunfire. He voiced the villain Malachite in the original English version of the Japanese anime Sailor Moon.
He voiced Tong Si Hung in the Square Enix video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Personal life
Akiyama married Danielle O'Connor in 1987. The couple had two children, actor Kintaro Akiyama and Miya.
Death
Akiyama died in Toronto on June 28, 2018, from a "very rare and aggressive cancer". He was 66 years old.
