Sab Shimono

Sab Shimono may be most recognized from bit roles as Japanese businessmen on TV sitcoms or as Axis army officers in World War II productions, but the American-born actor has a long, rich history on stage as well as on the big and small screens. While enrolled at the University of California-Berkeley, he took an acting class to boost his sagging GPA and found his life's calling. He headed to New York City, where he studied the craft under Stella Adler and Steve Ross, eventually landing on Broadway as Ito, opposite Angela Lansbury, in the 1966 run of "Mame." From there, he went to Hollywood, where he has spent over 40 years alternating between film, television, and the theater. His most notable performances have been in Alan Parker's internment camp drama "Come See the Paradise" in 1990 and in 1997's "Paradise Road," where he appeared as a prison camp colonel. He has found recurring work on television in the small screen spin-off of "Gung Ho" and as a voice actor for the animated series "Samurai Jack," "Jackie Chan Adventures," and "Avatar: The Last Airbender." Shimono has appeared in American Conservatory Theater productions of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's "Happy End" in 2005 and in 2007's "After the War" by Philip Kan Gotanda, with whom he has collaborated for over 25 years.