Mackenyu

Mackenyu Maeda, known professionally as Mackenyu Arata or simply Mackenyu, is a Japanese actor born on November 16, 1996, in Los Angeles. He gained widespread recognition after starring in the live-action film trilogy Chihayafuru in 2016. He has since built an international career portraying prominent characters in screen adaptations of popular manga series, including Knights of the Zodiac and Netflix's One Piece.

Born to Japanese parents Tamami Chiba and action movie star Sonny Chiba, Mackenyu grew up alongside his younger brother Gordon and older half-sister Juri Manase. While attending Beverly Hills High School in its Advanced Placement Program, he pursued numerous athletic and musical activities. He began learning horseback riding and Yabusame at age seven, practiced Kyokushin Karate from age eight—earning third place at a national middle school tournament—and participated in gymnastics, water polo, and high school wrestling. He also began playing piano at age ten and played flute and saxophone in his high school brass band.

Mackenyu made early screen appearances during his youth in the 2005 television miniseries Team Astro and the 2007 film Oyaji. At age fifteen, watching a Japanese movie starring the late Haruma Miura inspired him to pursue acting professionally in Japan. He secured his first feature lead role in Take a Chance and starred in the acclaimed World War II short film Tadaima in 2015 before relocating to Japan later that year to access a wider range of acting roles.

His visibility expanded rapidly after he appeared in the 2015 feature Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future. In early 2016, he made his theatrical stage debut in the musical Boys Over Flowers and appeared on the cover of AM magazine. His performance as Arata Wataya in the two-part film Chihayafuru brought major critical recognition, earning him the 40th Japan Academy Newcomers of the Year Award in 2017. During this period, he also tackled a lead role in the feature film Night's Tightrope.

Mackenyu entered Hollywood productions with a supporting role in the 2018 science fiction movie Pacific Rim: Uprising. That same year, he maintained a busy schedule in Japan, starring in the drama series Kiss That Kills alongside the films Over Drive, Impossibility Defense, and Chihayafuru Part III. He was subsequently cast as the main antagonist, Yukishiro Enishi, in Rurouni Kenshin: The Final. In late 2020, he announced he would leave his agency, Top Coat, in April 2021 to pause domestic activities and concentrate on international projects.

Signed with Asian Cinema Entertainment, Mackenyu led the 2021 manga adaptation Brave: Gunjō Senki and was cast as Scar in the Fullmetal Alchemist live-action sequel. In 2023, he played Pegasus Seiya in Knights of the Zodiac and portrayed Roronoa Zoro in the Netflix series One Piece. In addition to acting, he became a brand ambassador for the Japanese men's grooming brand GATSBY in 2018, co-starring in television commercials for the line.

Mackenyu announced his marriage to a non-public figure seven years his senior on January 22, 2023, sharing the announcement date with his brother. Media outlets later reported that his wife gave birth to their first child in Honolulu, Hawaii, in late July 2023.