"When I am acting I think of it as lending my body to Ultraman rather than "moving on my own." Because of this, I can say with confidence that I can "hear" Ultraman's voice more intimately than any other human."
Hideyoshi Iwata(岩田 栄慶, Iwata Hideyoshi) is a Japanese actor, suit actor, and stuntman, known for portraying most of the titular Ultras since Ultraman Nexus. He is a member of Tsuburaya Productions' action team, CASTAFF, and also runs an action training academy called 4ARTS.[2]
In May 1999, at the age of 18, Iwata went to Tokyo from the countryside. After watching a hero stage show at a amusement park, he immediately knew he wanted to be a suit actor, and knocked on the door of the stage show's dressing room.[3][4][5] He would eventually meet Motomi Iguchi, a member of CASTAFF and suit actor at Tsuburaya,[6][7] who helped him enter the industry.[8]
In addition to suit acting, Iwata has written and supervised scripts for minor Ultraman Series stage shows since 2013, mainly in the Kanto region.[9]
He started a YouTube channel in April 2023, where he talks about his experiences as a suit actor.
Personal Life[]
Screenwriter Junichiro Ashiki was his junior in college,[10][11] with Iwata eventually inviting him to work on the Ultraman Series.[12][13]
On July 10, 2019, an annual date known as 'Ultraman Day,' Hideyoshi publicly announced his marriage to his Ultraman Geed co-star Mayu Hasegawa, who portrayed Moa Aizaki, via his Twitter account.[14] Hasegawa had earlier announced her retirement from acting on April 30, 2019.[15] On September 8, 2020, Hideyoshi announced that his wife Mayu had given birth to their first child.[16]
↑ 1.01.1Role not specified in credits, but is likely to be an action-related role such as a stunt performer or suit actor based on its placement in the credits.
↑Credited under "suit actors" in episodes 2-5, 9-10, 12-13. Credited for voicing Alien Hook in episodes 2 and 10 separately.
↑Credited under "suit actors" in episodes 5-6, 9-10, EX.
Iwata as a ZAP SPACY Guard in Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey
Iwata as Alien Shadow Zenna in Ultraman Geed
Iwata as a GAFJ Pilot in Ultraman Z
Iwata as a TPU Soldier in Ultraman Decker
Miscellaneous[]
Iwata (right) with Mayu Hasegawa (middle) and Zenna's voice actor, Shintaro Asanuma (left).
Off-shoot image of Iwata as Gurego from Masahiro Sugie's Ameblo blog[76]
Trivia[]
On Twitter, director Hideki Oka described Iwata as "Mr. Stoic" (ミスターストイック, Misutā Sutoikku).[32]
During the filming of Ultraman Geed, Iwata trained Yuta Ozawa with Zero's fighting skills for scenes where his character was to be possessed by said Ultra.
Iwata was unable to appear as Ultraman Z in episode 13 of Z as his wife was giving birth at the time of recording, so Terai had to fill in. Knowing that Iwata was very particular about Z's image, Terai was worried when director Naoyuki Uchida asked him to exaggerate his movements and add ad-libs, with him even apologizing to Iwata afterwards, but was relieved when he learned that his "most reserved" takes had been used in the final edit.
Koichi Sakamoto had originally asked Terai to portray the unnamed GAFJ pilot in episode 22, but Terai suggested Iwata play the role as a "baby shower gift".
According to both Naoyuki Uchida and Kohshu Hirano, Terai and Iwata's depictions of Ultraman Z are subtly different. Uchida stated Terai's portrayal was more "cute" compared to Iwata's more "deliberate" style, while Hirano described Terai's portrayal as having a "warm aura" compared to Iwata's portrayal having a "divine feel".[78][79]
Iwata's stage name for portraying Windom in Ultraman Decker is named after Zenna's alias.
As both the suit and voice actor for Ultraman Blazar, Iwata simultaneously performed the same on-screen gestures while dubbing for the Ultra, which director Kiyotaka Taguchi commented was "strangely fitting".[83]
![Off-shoot image of Iwata as Gurego from Masahiro Sugie's Ameblo blog[76]](/wiki/File:O1080080914674661200.jpg "O1080080914674661200.jpg (71 KB)")