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28 Facts About Kane Kosugi

1.

Kane Takeshi Kosugi is an American actor and martial artist of Japanese and Chinese descent.

2.

The son of Japanese martial arts film star Sho Kosugi, Kane began his career as a child actor starring opposite his father in films like Revenge of the Ninja and Pray for Death.

3.

Kane Kosugi first gained recognition in Japan for his starring role as Jiraiya in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, being the second American-born sentai ranger.

4.

Kane Kosugi has appeared in over 30 films and television series, including the video game adaptations DOA: Dead or Alive and Street Fighter Alpha.

5.

Kane Kosugi competed on six seasons of the obstacle challenge program Sasuke, where he was the first American competitor.

6.

In Japan, Kane Kosugi is considered gaijin tarento due to his Nisei foreign born heritage.

7.

Since 1983, Kane Kosugi has appeared in various roles as a voice actor for video games, stunt actor in movies and character actor in both English language and Japanese language films.

8.

Kane Kosugi has been in other movies starring his father as well.

9.

Kane Kosugi has an extensive martial arts background in wushu, ninjutsu, taekwondo, karate, judo and kendo.

10.

Kane Kosugi made his Japanese acting debut in the 1993 television series Ryukyu no Kaze, the 31st entry in NHK's long-running taiga drama series.

11.

Kane Kosugi followed this up with his first lead film role in the two-part Toei V-Cinema movies Za Kakuto Oh and Za Kakuto Oh 2 directed by his father.

12.

Kane Kosugi was the only American-born cast member of Kakuranger and his character spoke almost exclusively in English during his first few episodes.

13.

Kane Kosugi could be seen regularly on the NHK children's program Karada de Asobo, which was a weekday exercise show that ran until March 2010.

14.

Kane Kosugi had a brief role as a Yakuza member in the action-thriller, War, with Jason Statham and Jet Li.

15.

Kane Kosugi played Ryu Hayabusa, a master Ninja in the live action adaptation of the video game DOA: Dead or Alive, directed by Corey Yuen.

16.

In 2013, Kane Kosugi played the lead villain Nakamura in the film Ninja: Shadow of a Tear opposite Scott Adkins.

17.

In 2016, Kane Kosugi played "God Lee" in the Takashi Miike-directed adaptation of manga and anime Terra Formars.

18.

Kane Kosugi went to China to play a disfigured assassin in the straight to streaming action-horror film Heaven Inspector, followed by a role as "The Rider" in the recently released film The Driver opposite Mark Dacascos.

19.

Kane Kosugi is set to reunite with Dacascos on One Night in Bangkok while another film he shot, Maxx, is currently in post-production.

20.

From 1997 to 2004, Kane Kosugi participated in the Japanese physical competition program Sportsman No 1 Decisive Battle, competing first against other celebrities and then against professional athletes, achieving unparalleled success winning a record 6 tournaments and finishing second in 4 others.

21.

Kane Kosugi was the first competitor to beat the Spider Climb in the final stage, doing so in Sasuke 8.

22.

Kane Kosugi kept his streak of first stage clears alive, and became the oldest competitor to ever clear the First Stage at age 48.

23.

Kane Kosugi was born in Los Angeles, California, on October 11,1974, as the eldest of three siblings.

24.

Kane Kosugi's parents are legendary Ninja film actor Sho Kosugi, who is Japanese; and Shook Kosugi, who is Chinese Hakka.

25.

Kane Kosugi was romantically involved with female golfer Riko Higashio, but broke up in 2005 when they seemed on the verge of marriage.

26.

In December 2009, Kane Kosugi married a woman from Hong Kong.

27.

On March 4,2019, Kane Kosugi became a dad when his wife gave birth to a baby daughter.

28.

Kosugi and his father were seemingly no longer on speaking terms due to Kane choosing a career in Japanese television instead of helping to run some of his schools under the banner of his institute, and even taking some of Sho's staff with him.