Takeshi Kaga (鹿賀 丈史) is a well known stage and movie actor in Japan, and is probably best known internationally for his portrayal of Chairman Kaga in the Japanese television show Iron Chef produced by Fuji TV. His birth name is Shigekatsu Katsuda.
Kaga was born on October 12, 1950 in the city of Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. His first experience on stage was at the age of seven when he joined the Kanazawa City Boys choral group.
In 1972, he joined the Japanese SHIKI musical company. While with the company, he played the role of Jesus in the Japanese stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar (1976), and role of Tony in West Side Story (1977). In 1980 left SHIKI to play the role of Sanada in the movie Yajuu Shisubeshi . He starred in several movies throughout the 1980s, but his most famous role would be that of "Chairman Kaga", the eccentric and flamboyant host of Ryoori no Tetsujin, a cooking competition show (1993–1999). It became very popular, not only in Japan, but around the world, and was broadcast in the United States and Canada under the name Iron Chef.
Despite his international fame with the show, he has not given up his love for musicals. In 1994 he starred in the popular Japanese production of Les Misérables as Jean Valjean. He also starred in Macbeth in 2000, and in Jekyll and Hyde as well as in The Threepenny Opera in 2001.
He currently appears on Time Shock 21 , a quiz show on Asahi Television in Japan.
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