Moritaka Yoshida
- Stunts
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Moritaka decided at age 10 he would become an action star. At age 12,
he challenged his family's wishes and entered into martial arts and
entertainment. He tried to enter the professional school in Tokyo, but
was told he was too young. By the age of 14, Moritaka was the youngest
student chosen from 100 other students to study in a professional
school under the famous action star Sonny Chiba. He took on intensive
studies in stage acting, screen acting, comedy, singing,
sword-fighting, dancing (all styles), stunts, (including gymnastics,
motorcycle riding, scuba diving, high diving, horse-back riding, etc.)
in addition to maintaining a part time job. After 2 more gruelling
manual tests (dropping 100 from the 200 student body each time), he was
accepted into one of Japan's top media agencies, JAC, at it's golden
time, and was understudy to many famous actors, working with directors,
producers, writers and promoters on many hit television shows and
theatre productions in Japan. By the time he came of age within the JAC
agency, the economy in Japan collapsed and brought many of these
projects to a halt. Moritaka watched sadly as famous actors and crew
left their long careers for other professions, and he realized his
goals in the Entertainment Industry were taking a different shape.
After some dedicated research, he made his extraordinary decision. The
track record of a Japanese actor succeeding in the U.S. is small to
none, but because of his strong determination, the United States is
fortunate to have received this highly skilled young talent. Almost as
soon as he arrived in the United States seven years ago, Moritaka was
introduced to Danny Inosanto, Bruce Lee's best friend and co-caretaker
(with Linda Lee Caldwell and The Bruce Lee Foundation nucleus) of Jeet
Kun Do. Since, he has met and worked with friends and supporters such
as George Barris (Batmobile, Kustom Kars King), Benny "The Jet"
Urquidez, Bob Wall (Enter The Dragon), Gerald Okimura (Mortal Kombat,
Showdown in Little Tokyo) and Matthew Earl Jones (Producer). Moritaka
Yoshida is a member of many Martial Arts Clubs and Dojos in his
hometown of Los Angeles, and works with organizations creating new
opportunities for the children of L.A. He has contributed to many
action films and stage productions as a Stunt Coordinator, Stunt
Performer, and Action Star in the Entertainment Industry throughout the
United States and Canada as well as Japan.