地球防衛軍
(December 16, 1927 – July 25, 1984), born , was a Japanese film actor. While Hirata starred in many movies (including Hiroshi Inagaki's "Samurai" trilogy), he is most well known for his work in the "kaiju" genre, including such films as "King Kong vs. Godzilla", "The Mysterians", "Terror of Mechagodzilla", "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla", and his most famous role of Dr. Daisuke Serizawa, the brilliant but disturbed young scientist in the original "Godzilla", released in 1954. Hirata was married to the popular actress Yoshiko Kuga from 1961 until his death. He died at age 56 in 1984 after a long battle with lung cancer.