Andrew Koji (born 1987) is a British actor and martial artist. He had his breakout role as Ah Sahm in the Cinemax series Warrior (2019–2023). Koji went on to play Storm Shadow in Snake Eyes (2021) and Yuichi "The Father" Kimura in Bullet Train (2022).
Andrew Koji | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987 (age 36–37) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2006–present |
Life and career
editKoji was born in 1987 to an English mother and a Japanese father. His parents separated when he was young, and he was brought up by his mother in Epsom.[1]
Koji started in the industry doing extra work and making short films as a teenager. At 18, he moved to Thailand while still training in martial arts and did some small jobs in the film industry.[2] He subsequently worked in Japan's film industry for a few years, before returning to England to train at the Actors' Temple Studio in London.[2] Eventually, Koji started getting more jobs in theatre and television in the UK. Regarding his opportunities there, he stated: "In the UK I would say my dual heritage has not particularly been advantageous. Opportunities for East Asian actors at the time was and still is quite limited—although things are changing."[2]
Koji dropped out of university at the age of 19 to focus on acting and martial arts. In his twenties, Koji studied and competed in taekwondo and trained in Shaolin kung fu at the Shaolin Temple UK.[3] He has written and produced his films, and has also worked as a stunt double; most notably on Fast & Furious 6.[3] He has also performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, Royal Court, Charing Cross Theatre, and Ovalhouse among others.[4]
By 2017, Koji was discouraged by a recent lack of television roles and considered a career change. His agent and his mother convinced him to submit an audition tape for the lead role of Ah Sahm in the Cinemax series Warrior, which he secured.[5][6]
Based on an original idea by Bruce Lee for the 1972 series Kung Fu, that starred David Carradine, and was produced by filmmaker Justin Lin, Warrior is centered around a martial arts prodigy in the late 1870s who emigrates from China to America in search of his sister, only to be drawn into the Tong Wars of San Francisco.[7] In a nod to Lee's idea for the character's ethnic background, Ah Sahm is of partial European ancestry, which Koji found fitting for the character and relatable due to his own ancestry.[8] The first season premiered in April 2019, and the second season premiered in October 2020.[9]
Koji played Storm Shadow in the 2021 film Snake Eyes,[10] and assassin Yuichi Kimura in David Leitch's 2022 action film Bullet Train. In 2023, he appeared in the action-fantasy film Boy Kills World, directed by Moritz Mohr,[11][12] and joined Netflix series Black Doves.[13]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Project One | Soldier | Short film |
| 2007 | FB: Fighting Beat | Kali | |
| 2009 | 20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope | Thai Gangster | |
| 2011 | The Missing Day | Huan | |
| Mercutio's Dreaming: The Killing of a Chinese Actor | Lawrence Yang | Short film | |
| Gorjilla (Gojira) Suit | Yoshi | Short film | |
| 2013 | Fast & Furious 6 | Undercover police, stunt double for Sung Kang | Extra role (uncredited) |
| Scrutiny | Stefan Aire | ||
| Above the Waist | Ken | Short film; writer and producer; Won Best Actor Award, Asian on Film Festival | |
| A Situation | Yuji | ||
| #aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei | 1st Policeman / 1st Soldier | ||
| 2014 | Way of the Warrior | Goro | Short film |
| Hollow | Swordman | Short film | |
| Chameleon | Guard Kuro | Short film | |
| 2015 | Backwater | Justin Lau | Short film |
| Luck | Rai | ||
| Deep Pan Fury | Katashi Kimoto | ||
| 2016 | Hall of Mirrors | Basil | Short film; writer and producer |
| 2017 | Trendy | Estate Agent 1 | |
| 2019 | Sandwich | Michael | Short film |
| 2021 | Snake Eyes | Tomisaburo Arashikage / Storm Shadow | |
| Cake Bomb | August | Short film | |
| 2022 | The Como Connection | August | Short film |
| Bullet Train | Yuichi Kimura | ||
| Sandwich 2: Machete to Wasabi | Michael | Short film | |
| 2023 | Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes | Felix | |
| Boy Kills World | Basho | ||
| Hubris | Alfie | Short film | |
| TBA | Worth the Wait | TBA | Post-production |
| TBA | Rob & Lucy | TBA | In production |
| TBA | Sixteen | TBA | Pre-production |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010, 2015 | Casualty | Keong Murong / Haro Reid | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Narrow Escapes | WW2 Soldier | |
| Seconds from Disaster | ATC Officer-JAL 123 | Episode: "Terrified Over Tokyo" | |
| 2013 | The Wrong Mans | Jason | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | Film Lab Presents | Sam | Episode: "Deciding to Live" |
| 2015 | Acquitted | Chen Liang | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Call the Midwife | Benny Su | Episode: #5.3 |
| 2017 | Jade Dragon | Mikey | 2 episodes |
| Finding Akira | James | TV film | |
| 2018 | The Innocents | Andrew | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | American Gods | CEO | Episode: "The Greatest Story Ever Told" |
| Peaky Blinders | Brilliant Chang | 2 episodes | |
| 2019–2023 | Warrior | Ah Sahm | Main role; 30 episodes |
| TBA | Black Doves | Jason | |
| TBA | Gangs of London | TBA | Main role |
| TBA | Haven | TBA |
Video Games
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Final Fantasy XIV | Hien Rijin |
| 2024 | Black Myth: Wukong | Erlang Shen |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Production Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Star Wars Stage Show | Jedi | Weird and Wonderful | |
| Richard III | Richard | The Actors Temple | |
| A Streetcar Named Desire | Stanley Kowalski | The Actors Temple | |
| 2013 | The Fu Manchu Complex | Dr. Petrie | Moongate Productions/ Mark Cartwright Productions |
| The Arrest of Ai Weiwei | Policeman / Soldier | Hampstead Theatre | |
| The Forgotten of the Forgotten | Guo | Radar Festival | |
| Hidden | Jason/ Various other roles | Royal Court Theatre | |
| 2016 | In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel | The Barman | Charing Cross Theatre |
| Shangri-La | Karma | Yellow Earth | |
| 2017 | Snow in Midsummer | Fang | RSC |
| A Tale of Two Cities | Jacques | Regents Park Open Air Theatre |
References
edit- ^ Francisco, Eric (7 October 2020). "Warrior's star isn't the next Bruce Lee, he's the first Andrew Koji". Inverse. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Tau, Timothy (2 April 2019). "Andrew Koji Talks Cinemax's New Martial Arts Series Warrior". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Andrew Koji". Martial Arts & Action Entertainment. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ^ "Andrew Koji Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ "Warrior Star Andrew Koji on Nearly Giving Up on Acting, Larger Than Life Fight Scenes, and More". TV Shows. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (11 October 2017). "'Warrior': Cinemax Sets Cast & Director For Bruce Lee-Inspired Martial Arts Series". Deadline. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ Hale, Mike (2 April 2019). "Review: 'Warrior,' Pitched by Bruce Lee and Made by Cinemax". New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ^ Bundy, Andrew (3 April 2019). "'Warrior' Star Andrew Koji Discusses Shooting Fight Scenes For A TV Series & His Multi-Ethnic Connection To Bruce Lee [Interview]". The Playlist. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (24 April 2019). "'Warrior' Renewed For Season 2 By Cinemax". Deadline. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (23 August 2019). "'Snake Eyes': Andrew Koji to Play Storm Shadow in 'GI Joe' Movie Spinoff (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "'Snake Eyes's Andrew Koji Joins Brad Pitt in Sony's 'Bullet Train'". 15 September 2020.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (10 January 2022). "Andrew Koji Joins Bill Skarsgard And Samara Weaving In 'Boy Kills World'". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Hibbs, James (25 October 2023). "Happy Valley's Sarah Lancashire joins Keira Knightley in Black Doves". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 October 2023.