Issey Takahashi: Japanese Actor and Voice Performer

Issey Takahashi (born December 9, 1980) is a prominent Japanese actor and voice performer associated with film, television dramas, and theater. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Takahashi has maintained a prolific career spanning multiple decades, performing in a wide array of supporting and leading roles across Japanese media.

Portrait of Issey Takahashi — Issey Takahashi

Early Career and Voice Work

Takahashi entered the entertainment industry at a young age. Early in his career, he gained widespread recognition for providing the voice of Seiji Amasawa in the 1995 Studio Ghibli animated film Whisper of the Heart, directed by Yoshifumi Kondo. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, he appeared in numerous television series and feature films, progressively building a versatile portfolio.

Notable Film Appearances

Takahashi has appeared in various cinematic productions, ranging from mainstream blockbusters to independent films. Some of his notable movie credits include:

Whisper of the Heart (1995) as Seiji Amasawa (voice)
Swing Girls (2004) as Band Leader
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) as Crazy 88 #4
Shin Godzilla (2016) as a Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology bureaucrat
March Comes in Like a Lion (2017) as Takashi Hayashida
Wife of a Spy (2020) as Yusaku Fukuhara
Shin Ultraman (2022) as Ultraman
Rohan au Louvre (2023) as Kishibe Rohan

Television Roles

On television, Takahashi has starred in numerous NHK taiga dramas, as well as contemporary series across various networks. Notable drama credits include Quartet (2017), Nagi's Long Vacation (2019), Heaven and Hell: Soul Exchange (2021), and the title role in Six-Second Path: The Melancholy of Fireworks Master Seitaro Mochizuki (2023).