Miiko Taka (高美以子, Taka Miiko) is a Nisei Japanese American actress best known for co-starring with Marlon Brando as Hana-ogi in the 1957 movie Sayonara.
Taka was born in Seattle, but raised in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from Los Angeles High School. After director Joshua Logan's first choice for the role of Hana-ogi, Audrey Hepburn, turned him down, he looked to cast an unknown actress. Taka, who at the time was working as a clerk at ...
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Miiko Taka (高美以子, Taka Miiko) is a Nisei Japanese American actress best known for co-starring with Marlon Brando as Hana-ogi in the 1957 movie Sayonara.
Taka was born in Seattle, but raised in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from Los Angeles High School. After director Joshua Logan's first choice for the role of Hana-ogi, Audrey Hepburn, turned him down, he looked to cast an unknown actress. Taka, who at the time was working as a clerk at a travel agency in Los Angeles, was discovered by a talent scout at a local Nisei festival. Although she had no previous acting experience, Variety gave her a positve review in their review of the film. Warner Bros. gave her a term contract as a result of her performance in Sayonara.
After Sayonara, she steadily worked in various movies starring James Garner, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, and Toshiro Mifune (whom she also worked alongside of in the 1980 television miniseries, Shõgun). She also served as a translator for Mifune as well as Akira...
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