Koichi Sakamoto
| Koichi Sakamoto | |
|---|---|
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| Native name | 坂本 浩一 |
| Born |
September 29, 1970 Tokyo, Japan |
| Years active | 1991 — present |
Koichi Sakamoto (Japanese: 坂本 浩一 Hepburn: Sakamoto Kōichi?, born on September 29, 1970 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese-born stunt actor, and producer for films and television. He is best known for his work as executive producer, as well as fight coordinator and frequent director, for the long running Power Rangers franchise.
Sakamoto graduated from Adachi ward Higashiayase junior high and high school, and went on to graduate from Matsudo Senshu University. A fan of Jackie Chan and Super Sentai, Sakamoto worked to become a stunt performer for Blue Mask on Hikari Sentai Maskman at live stunt shows, performing at Kōrakuen Stadium and Tokyo Dome.
He came to the United States in 1989 as a foreign student to learn English and became a stunt actor.
His first major stunt role was in 1994 with Guyver: Dark Hero as "Sakai." Sakamoto eventually married the film's unit production manager, Tamara Noland with whom they had one daughter, Matilda, prior to their separating. He went on to marry stuntwoman and suit actor Motoko Nagino in 2002.
Sakamoto had also formed Alpha Stunts Production and was enlisted as 2nd Unit Director for the "battle grid" scenes from Saban Entertainment syndicated live-action children's series VR Troopers. This led him to eventually replacing Jeff Pruitt as stunt coordinator for the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, along with his Alpha Stunts team. Sakamoto would then go on to become the 2nd Unit Director for the remainder of the Saban-era Power Rangers series, eventually filling the role of Producer, even completing the final storyboard for "Countdown to Destruction", the two-part series finale episode of Power Rangers in Space (originally drafted to be three episodes).
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