Rome Kanda
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese tarento
, comedian
and actor
who resides in the United States.
Born in Kishiwada, Osaka
, Japan
, Kanda spent his early career as an actor with his debut movie Tokyo Pop
directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui
and filmed both in Japan
and the USA in 1987. After finding his own path to be an actor and comedian, he moved to the USA in 1999 and has made his first appearances on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
as a samurai
, and nowadays Kanda is most known for his hosting role on the "Majide" game on I Survived a Japanese Game Show
and works under the alias of Kei Kato on the G4
broadcasts of Kinniku Banzuke
.
He has also appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
, Saturday Night Live
and in a commercial for the New York Mets
as a sushi
chef. Kanda has also starred in films such as Takeshi Kitano
's film Sonatine
. His most recent film appearance has been a supportive role (President of Japanese corporation) in "The Informant!"(2009), a Matt Damon
vehicle directed by Steven Soderbergh
.
Kanda is familiar with variety of Japanese traditional performing arts and martial arts such as Buyō
, Karate
, Kendo
, Iaido
, among which is samurai sword fighting, which he teaches. while he continues to perform at a comedy club
in Hollywood as a comedian
.
Kanda was chosen to be one of the speakers at "TEDxTOKYO 2010 HIT RESET" (TEDxTokyo is operated under license from TED
event started in 2009 by Patrick Newell
and Todd Porter
) to be held in Tokyo on May 15, 2010.
Tarento
is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...
, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who resides in the United States.
Born in Kishiwada, Osaka
Kishiwada, Osaka
is a city located in Osaka, Japan. Founded November 1, 1922, the city is well-known for its Danjiri Matsuri.-History:The oldest evidence of life in Kishiwada is the Mayuyama Kofun . The most popular origin story of Kishiwada dates from the 14th century...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Kanda spent his early career as an actor with his debut movie Tokyo Pop
Tokyo Pop
is a music-centric movie from 1988 that tells the story of a girl from the USA, a boy from Japan, and a briefly successful pop band. The movie contrasts American customs with Tokyo lifestyles, as it presents an evolving love story between the two main characters....
directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui
Fran Rubel Kuzui
Fran Rubel Kuzui is an American movie director and producer. She received her Masters degree from New York University and was a script supervisor for a decade, prior to her first film, 1988's Tokyo Pop, which she co-wrote and directed...
and filmed both in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the USA in 1987. After finding his own path to be an actor and comedian, he moved to the USA in 1999 and has made his first appearances on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, commonly called Ned's Declassified for short, is an American live-action situation comedy on Nickelodeon that debuted in the channel's Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004. The series' actual pilot episode aired on September 7, 2003...
as a samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
, and nowadays Kanda is most known for his hosting role on the "Majide" game on I Survived a Japanese Game Show
I Survived a Japanese Game Show
I Survived a Japanese Game Show is an American reality show that saw its first season premiere on ABC June 24, 2008. The show followed a group of Americans, who leave the United States for Japan where they competed in a Japanese style game show. The winner takes home US $250,000...
and works under the alias of Kei Kato on the G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
broadcasts of Kinniku Banzuke
Kinniku Banzuke
a.k.a. Unbeatable Banzuke was a weekly Japanese television program and the premier sports entertainment variety show of the Tokyo Broadcasting System . Its successors were and . They succeeded by Muscle Musical...
.
He has also appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
, Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
and in a commercial for the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
as a sushi
Sushi
is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
chef. Kanda has also starred in films such as Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
's film Sonatine
Sonatine
is a 1993 Japanese film by Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano. It won numerous awards and became one of Kitano's most successful and praised films, garnering him a sizable international fan base.-Plot:Kitano plays Murakawa, a Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life...
. His most recent film appearance has been a supportive role (President of Japanese corporation) in "The Informant!"(2009), a Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
vehicle directed by Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
.
Kanda is familiar with variety of Japanese traditional performing arts and martial arts such as Buyō
Buyo
or is a traditional Japanese performing art, a mixture of dance and pantomime.- Japanese classical dance :******-Video:* * Japanese Dance * *...
, Karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, Kendo
Kendo
, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
, Iaido
Iaido
is a modern Japanese martial art associated with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard, striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard...
, among which is samurai sword fighting, which he teaches. while he continues to perform at a comedy club
Comedy club
A comedy club is a venue, typically a nightclub, bar, or restaurant where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, magicians, ventriloquists and other comedy acts...
in Hollywood as a comedian
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
.
Kanda was chosen to be one of the speakers at "TEDxTOKYO 2010 HIT RESET" (TEDxTokyo is operated under license from TED
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
event started in 2009 by Patrick Newell
Patrick Newell
Patrick David Newell was a British actor known for his large size. It is reputed he gained weight as a deliberate attempt to boost his career, marking him out for some niche roles...
and Todd Porter
Todd Porter
Todd Mitchell Porter is a computer and video game developer who has also written the children's book Firefly Fred. He is married to Dallas attorney Liz Porter and lives with his wife and children in Highland Park, Texas.- Game development history :...
) to be held in Tokyo on May 15, 2010.