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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
August 6, 1946
Place of Birth
N/A
Also Known As
- 堺 正章
- The Spiders
- 사카이 마사아키
- 堺正明
Masaaki Sakai
0.9 Popularity
Biography
Born the son of Shunji Sakai, a famous comedian in Japan, Sakai initially came to fame by fronting the group sounds band The Spiders. This group, formed in 1962, was popular throughout the 1960s; they spawned several hit songs as well as thirteen situation comedy films featuring their music. He took the title role of Songoku (Monkey) in the 1970s Japanese TV program Saiyūki. This gained him fame in many English-speaking countries in the early 1980s when it was dubbed by the BBC and retitled Monkey. Due to his fame playing the mythical character Songoku, Sakai created a dance called "the Monkey" which became a craze in Japan. Sakai went on to a successful solo career after The Spiders disbanded, and continued acting in films and on television. In 1999, he formed the band Sans Filtre with two former Spiders, Hiroshi Kamayatsu and Takayuki Inoue. They released their first album Yei Yei in 2000. Sakai is known in Japan as a car enthusiast and regularly took part in the annual Mille Miglia race in Italy with his wife as a co-driver. He won a similar Japanese road race on October 18, 2000 driving a 1947 Cisitalia 202 MM with Inoue Takayuki (the guitarist from Sans Filtre) as co-driver. Due to business commitments he gave up racing in 2002 and gave his Alfa Romeo race car to Masahiko Kondō who is also a singer and race enthusiast. He is also a hobby archer. Sakai has been married and divorced twice, and has two daughters. He is an active supporter of AIDS charities. His show-business nickname is "Machaaki".
Known For
6.0
Yuzo Nobusawa
Spirit World
2025
6.0
Kono Subarashiki Sekai
2023
6.3
The Castle of Crossed Destinies
2012
5.5
Yuzo Tsutai
Beautiful World
2012
0.0
타치키 쇼고
Impossible Love
2008
🎬
0.0
ザッツ宴会テイメント
2008
0.0
The Fearless Otojiro's Company
2007
0.0
Long Wedding Road! Tokyo vs. Osaka Wakeari Kon Monogatari
2007
7.0
Asahi Ishikawa (Old)
Yunagi City, Sakura Country
2007
7.5
The Black Swindler
2006
Credits
Spirit World
as Yuzo Nobusawa
2025
6.0
Kono Subarashiki Sekai
2023
6.0
The Castle of Crossed Destinies
2012
6.3
Beautiful World
as Yuzo Tsutai
2012
5.5
Impossible Love
as 타치키 쇼고
2008
0.0
🎬
ザッツ宴会テイメント
2008
0.0
The Fearless Otojiro's Company
2007
0.0
Long Wedding Road! Tokyo vs. Osaka Wakeari Kon Monogatari
2007
0.0
Yunagi City, Sakura Country
as Asahi Ishikawa (Old)
2007
7.0
The Black Swindler
2006
7.5
A Hardest Night!!
as Boss
2005
6.2
The Most Useful School in the World
2004
0.0
Locomotive Teacher
2004
0.0
Churasan
as Kohagura Keibun
2001
9.7
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
1998
0.0
Best Friend
as Kurosawa Michihiko
1995
0.0
🎬
Papa Survival
1995
1.0
Furuhata Ninzaburo
as 中村右近
1994
9.0
🎬
The Notorious Bored Samurai 9
as Kinai
1994
0.0
Bored Hatamoto: Letter of Death
1993
0.0
🎬
The Notorious Bored Samurai 2
as Sasao Kinai
1988
0.0
Trinacria: Porsche 959
1987
0.0
Sayonara Sankaku Mata Kite Shikaku
1982
0.0
🎬
The TOP10
1981
0.0
Tennō no Ryōriban
1980
8.0
Monkey
as Monkey
1978
8.0
I Am A Man of Honor
1977
0.0
Japan Beauty Story
1974
0.0
Machi no Hi
as Chiyomatsu Sakanoshita
1974
0.0
Toshigoro
as Okabe
1973
0.0
喜劇 右向けェ左！
1970
0.0
Kigeki dokkiri dai tōsō
1970
0.0
The Tempters: Smile After Tears
1969
0.0
The Age of Undutiful Children
1968
0.0
The Spiders' The Road to Bali
as Masaaki Sakai
1968
0.0
The Spiders: Big Commotion!
1968
0.0
The Spiders' The Noisy Parade
as Masaaki Sakai
1968
0.0
My Sweetheart
1967
0.0
The Spiders' The Reckless Operation
as Masaaki
1967
0.0
The Greatest Challenge of All
1967
7.0
The Sunset Is Crying
1967
0.0
Las Vegas Free-For-All
1967
0.0
Youth A Go Go!
1966
0.0
A Girl of the Plateau
as Sabu
1965
0.0
Tokyo wa Koisuru
1965
0.0
Flowering Maidens
as Sabu
1965
0.0
🎬
Song of Happiness
1964
0.0
High School Juniors (Part II)
1964
0.0
Let's Dance Bon-Odori in Hawaii
as Masaya Matsui
1964
5.3
Here Because of You
as Akira Tanaka
1964
5.5
Friends
1964
0.0
The School Cap
as Matsubara
1963
0.0
High School Third Graders
1963
0.0
Road to Hawaii
1954
0.0
パパ・サヴァイバル
N/A
0.0