Haruo Nakajima, the actor who played movie monster Godzilla over two decades of Japanese cinema, died at 88.

The Yamagata, Japan native first wore the famed bodysuit of the movie monster in the 1954 film Godzilla, which was released stateside as Godzilla, King of the Monsters.

Nakajima was featured in movies such as Eagle of the Pacific and Seven Samurai prior to landing the career-defining part, for which he had to don a 100-plus pound suit that was made of concrete.

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Gone but not forgotten: Haruo Nakajima, the actor who played movie monster Godzilla over two decades of Japanese cinema, died Monday at 88

Speaking with Great Big Story in March, he revealed that the reason the heavy concrete was used instead of rubber was because of a shortage of the latter stemming from World War II.

'It was so heavy and hot, and with the lighting, it was even hot to touch it,' he told Great Big Story. 'I was sweating all over my face, but I did the best I could.'

He said he visited the zoo in Tokyo to get a feel for how to move around like the monster by observing 'big animals, like elephants and gorillas.'

Memories: The venerated performer was snapped at a 2014 convention in San Francisco

Historical treasure: Nakajima was snapped next to the heavy outfit he wore in 1965

Nakajima subsequently went on to play Godzilla a series of sequels, including 1955's Godzilla Raids Again, 1962's King Kong vs. Godzilla, 1954's Mothra vs. Godzilla, 1969's All Monsters Attack and 1972's Godzilla vs. Gigan, his last film in the role. He also worked as a stunt choreographer on many of the franchise films.

In addition to his efforts in the role of Godzilla, Nakajima was featured as King Kong in 1967's King Kong Escapes. Nakajima, a regular on the monster convention circuit, released his memoirs, Monster Life: Haruo Nakajima, the Original Godzilla Actor, in 2010.

'In the end, the Godzilla I played remains on film forever,' he told Great Big Story. 'It remains in people's memory and for that I feel really grateful.'</s>Haruo Nakajima, an actor who gained fame for suiting up as Godzilla from the monster’s earliest days on screen, has died at age 88. Long before the age of CGI and motion-capture, he helped pioneer the look and feel of blockbuster moviemaking.

After appearing in war and samurai films, including Eagle of the Pacific and Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, Nakajima was chosen to get inside the monster suit for 1954’s Godzilla, King of the Monsters. Because rubber was in short supply after the war, materials like concrete were used to make the original suit, pushing its weight to 100 kilograms.

After the success of the original, which was directed by Ishiro Honda, Nakajima went on to play Godzilla a dozen times. His final outing was Godzilla vs. Gigan in 1972.

As a stuntman and contract player for Toho Studios, Nakajima starred in several other monster movies, which the Japanese call kaiju. He played Mothra in 1961 and King Kong in King Kong Escapes, also appearing in War of the Gargantuas and Frankenstein Conquers the World.

In his retirement, Nakajima continued attending monster conventions and fan gatherings. He also wrote an autobiography, Monster Life, which was published in Japanese in 2010.</s>Haruo Nakajima, who wore the Godzilla bodysuit for every Godzilla film from the original to 1972's Godzilla vs. Gigan, has died aged 88, according to US reports.

Nakajima's career began in samurai and war films, notably Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa and Eagle of the Pacific.

He landed the Godzilla role starting with 1954's Godzilla, King of the Monsters, directed by Ishiro Honda.

In an April interview, Nakajima explained how the original 1954 Godzilla costume was created from ready-mixed concrete, since commodities like rubber were in short supply after WWII.

As a result, the actor was forced to wear a suit that weighed up to 100 kilos. Nakajima added that he was given little direction on how to portray the monster, and conducted his own research by studying animals in the Tokyo zoo.

Nakajima took on the monster role in more than just Godzilla films, however.

As the principal suit actor for Toho, he also played Mothra in 1961 and King Kong in 1967's King Kong Escapes, among many other Japanese kaiju roles such as War of the Gargantuas and Frankenstein Conquers the World.

In his later years, Nakajima attended Japanese monster conventions, including several across the United States, and wrote a Japanese language autobiography Monster Life: Haruo Nakajima, the Original Godzilla Actor, which was published in 2010.

Godzilla has gone on to become a monster classic, with three Hollywood films, in addition to 29 original Toho films.</s>Fans of monster movies, and cinema in general, have to say goodbye to an absolute legend today. Haruo Nakajima, the actor who portrayed Godzilla in the suit in the original 1954 classic, has passed away at the age of 88. The exact cause of the actor's death has not yet been revealed.

As reported by Bloody Disgusting, Haruo Nakajima died at the age of 88 but leaves behind an absolutely tremendous and unforgettable legacy. Long before CGI could create just about anything one can dream up on screen, monsters were portrayed by actors in elaborate suits and the humans inside those suits had to bring them to life. Haruo Nakajima was tasked with bringing Godzilla to life for the first time in 1954 and thus created the most famous movie monster of all time. Even though he spent all of his time on screen in a costume, it is a performance that will never be forgotten. Actors like Andy Serkis, who have helped to pioneer motion capture for the modern age, owe a lot to Nakajima and the work he did more than 50 years ago.

There is perhaps no single person who had a greater effect on the Godzilla franchise than Haruo Nakajima. The late actor portrayed the legendary kaiju in 12 consecutive movies, starting with the 1954 original that was directed by Ishiro Honda. Nakajima then went on to play the role in Godzilla Raids Again, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Ghidorah: the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of the Astro-Monster, Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs. Hedorah and Godzilla vs. Gigan.

In addition to his unforgettable work in the Godzilla franchise, Haruo Nakajima also played monsters in movies like Mothra, Frankenstein vs. Baragon, The War of the Gargantuas and King Kong Escapes. He did have an acting career outside of his work in giant rubber monster costumes, but Nakajima will always be best remembered for bringing these monsters, specifically Godzilla, to life. Though Haruo Nakajima retired from acting in a suit back in 1972, he regularly was recognized by the film community for his achievements and interacted with fans around the world, embracing his role. He appeared at events like the 2011 Monsterpalooza convention in Burbank, California in order to meet fans who celebrated his work.

Gareth Edwards' 2014 Godzilla and the recent Toho entry Shin Godzilla were financially and critically very successful, but made use of CGI in order to create the monster. Even so, they surely took their cues from the work of Haruo Nakajima, whose work across two decades defined the character was we still know him today. Director Michael Dougherty, who is currently filming Godzilla 2, has said that there will be some practical creature effects in the movie. Hopefully, they will be able to honor the legacy left behind by Nakajima with that. RIP Haruo Nakajima, who is survived by his daughter, Sonoe Nakajima. You can check out some tweets of those remembering the legendary actor for yourself below.</s>TOKYO: The man who dressed in a rubber suit to play the original Godzilla, crashing through Japanese cities and destroying them with swipes of his massive tail, has died at the age of 88, film company Toho said on Tuesday.

Haruo Nakajima, who donned the cumbersome suit to play the monster who rose from the depths after a hydrogen bomb test in the original 1954 "Godzilla", died on Monday of pneumonia, a Toho spokesman said.

The first suit weighed 100 kg (220 lb) and was so hard to breathe in that an oxygen tube was attached, Nakajima reminisced in later years. He played the monster in a dozen films in total, running through to 1972.

The first "Godzilla" - his name a combination of "gorilla" and the Japanese word for whale - crashed ashore as a symbol of atomic weapons less than a decade after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, as well as of frustrations with the United States, which had just held a hydrogen bomb test at Bikini atoll that irradiated a boat full of Japanese fishermen.

The most recent film in the franchise, which has included both Japanese and U.S.-made films, came out from Toho in 2016.</s>Haruo Nakajima was the first actor to ever portray the classic movie monster Godzilla, and did so for twelve films over two decades. Sadly, he died Monday at the age of 88.

Nakajima began his career as a stuntman, before a producer noticed and liked his energy.

That first Godzilla costume, by the way, was made from CONCRETE, as rubber was a scarce resource post World War II. It weighed nearly 22o pounds!

Nakajima enjoyed traveling to fan conventions later in his life, and was incredibly proud of his work. He said in an interview, “In the end, the Godzilla I played remains on film forever. It remains in people’s memory, and for that I feel really grateful.”</s>TOKYO - Godzilla was not computer generated in its earliest romps in movies.

Instead, Haruo Nakajima suited up as Godzilla.

The actor, who took on this responsibility in every Godzilla film from the original in 1954 to 1972's Godzilla Vs Gigan for a Japanese movie studio, has died at age 88.

According to the Dateline portal, he started out in war and samurai films, including Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.

The Godzilla assignment was literally a beast of burden.

Because of a rubber shortage after World War II, materials like concrete were used to make the suit, lifting its weight up to 100kg.

Nakajima went on to play Godzilla a dozen times.

As the main suit actor for Toho Studios, he also played Mothra in 1961 and King Kong in 1967's King Kong Escapes, reported trade publication Variety.

Nakajima penned an autobiography, Monster Life, which was published in Japanese in 2010.</s>TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Haruo Nakajima, the Japanese actor best known for playing the role of movie monster Godzilla, died.



The 88-year old actor died of pneumonia after being hospitalized last month, the film company behind the monster said.



Nakajima, who began his career as a stunt actor in Samurai and war films in 1952, wore the monster suit in 1954.



Nakjima's adeptness at performing as Godzilla prompted the film's Japanese producers Toho studio to hire him in 11 more Godzilla sequences. He portrayed the lizard monster for the last time in the 1972 version, Godzilla vs. Gigan.



Godzilla is the story of a beloved but feared giant beast who emerges from the deep after a nuclear test, and as such was seen as symbolic of the evils of nuclear war.



The original Godzilla body suit was made from ready mixed concrete, which was painfully heavy, and would become hot under the studio lights.



Godzilla has since become a monster classic with dozens of Japanese and Hollywood movies featuring the character. 



Most of the modern era movies use computer graphics to create the monster.



Nakajima, who studied elephants and gorillas to prepare for his beastly role, believed that his Godzilla was the best.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX</s>Haruo Nakajima, who dressed in a rubber suit to play the original Godzilla, is seen in Tokyo in this photo taken by Kyodo May 12, 1966. — Handout via ReutersTOKYO, Aug 8 — The man who dressed in a rubber suit to play the original Godzilla, crashing through Japanese cities and destroying them with swipes of his massive tail, has died at the age of 88, film company Toho said today.

Haruo Nakajima, who donned the cumbersome suit to play the monster who rose from the depths after a hydrogen bomb test in the original 1954 Godzilla, died yesterday of pneumonia, a Toho spokesman said.

The first suit weighed 100kg and was so hard to breathe in that an oxygen tube was attached, Nakajima reminisced in later years. He played the monster in a dozen films in total, running through to 1972.

The first Godzilla —his name a combination of “gorilla” and the Japanese word for whale — crashed ashore as a symbol of atomic weapons less than a decade after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, as well as of frustrations with the United States, which had just held a hydrogen bomb test at Bikini atoll that irradiated a boat full of Japanese fishermen.

The most recent film in the franchise, which has included both Japanese and US-made films, came out from Toho in 2016. — Reuters</s>Nakajima was the man inside the Godzilla costume for 12 movies, starting with the original in 1954.

Haruo Nakajima, the first actor to play the role of Godzilla on the big screen, died Monday at age 88. The actor’s daughter, Sonoe Nakajima, confirmed the news and revealed her father died of pneumonia.

Whether you knew his name or not, you would certainly recognize his most iconic role. Beginning with Ishirō Honda’s 1954 original “Godzilla,” Haruo Nakajima played the lizard monster in 12 films. He was only 25 years old when he first put on the costume, which reportedly weighed over 200 pounds. His last appearance as Godzilla was in 1972’s “Godzilla vs. Gigan.”

Nakajima was born in Yamagata, Japan in 1929. He began acting at 23 when he landed a part in Hiroshi Inagaki’s “Sword for Hire” in 1952. The same year he donned the Godzilla costume for the first time, he also appeared in a small role in Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai.” Nakajima went on to be a contract actor for the Japanese movie studio Toho, where he played other monsters such as King Kong. He retired from acting in 1973, just a year after saying goodbye to Godzilla.
Haruo Nakajima, who portrayed the monster Godzilla from 1954 to 1972, dies at the age of 88.