Masao Nakasone

was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He voiced Ultraman's grunts in the original Ultraman series, including the iconic sound. His grunts are still used to this day. He also voiced the character's speaking voice in one episode.
==Death==
Nakasone was found dead at his own house. Police reported this to fellow voice actor Nobuo Tanaka on September 2, 1993 at 3:00 pm because his name was written in a notebook belonging to Nakasone and because he lived nearby (although Tanaka was unaware of this). The cause of death was reported to be a cold,https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/中曽根雅夫 and is theorized to have been influenced by depression, as he had divorced with his wife and separated from his family.
Nobuo Tanaka recalled about Masao Nakasone, "Although he looked intimidating, he was an extremely kind man." He also said that, one year prior to his death, Nakasone was looking to return to acting and was in contact with many production companies.
==Roles==
===Voice acting===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1966	Ultra Q 	Newspaper narrator	Episode 10 "The Underground Super Express Goes West"Uncredited
1966	Ultra Q 	M1 	Episode 10 "The Underground Super Express Goes West"Uncredited
1966	Ultraman 	Ultraman 	GruntsSpeaking voice in episode 33 "The Forbidden Words"
1967	Kaiju Booska	White Wall Devil 	Episode 25
1972	Mirrorman 	Invaders 	Episodes 17, 26, 33
===Stock grunts===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1970	Ultra Fight 	Ultraman 	
1970	Ultra Fight 	Ultraseven 	
1971	Return of Ultraman 	Ultraman Jack 	
1971	Return of Ultraman 	Ultraman 	Episode 38 "When the Ultra Star Shines"
1971	Return of Ultraman 	Ultraseven 	Episode 38 "When the Ultra Star Shines"
1972	Ultraman Ace 	Ultraman Ace 	
1972	Ultraman Ace 	Zoffy 	
1972	Ultraman Ace 	Ultraman 	
1972	Ultraman Ace 	Ultraseven 	
1972	Ultraman Ace 	Ultraman Jack 	
1972	Ultraman Ace 	Father of Ultra 	Lower-pitchEpisode 27 "Miracle! Father of Ultra"
1990	Ultraman: Towards the Future 	Ultraman Great 	Japanese dub
1993	Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero 	Ultraman Powered 	Japanese dub
1994	Ultraseven 	Ultraseven 	Some grunts in the TNT/TPS/Cinar English dub
1995	Ultraman Neos Pilot 	Ultraman Neos 	
1997	Ultraman Tiga 	Ultraman 	Episode 49 "The Ultra Star"
2006	Ultraman Mebius 	Ultraman 	Episode 1 "A Fateful Encounter"Episode 47 "Mefilas's Game"Episode 50 "Words from the Heart -Final Trilogy III-"
2006	Ultraman Mebius 	Ultraman Jack 	Episode 50 "Words from the Heart -Final Trilogy III-"
2006	Ultraman Mebius Gaiden: Hikari Saga 	Zoffy 	SAGA 1: Arb's Tragedy
2006	Ultraman Mebius Gaiden: Hikari Saga 	Ultraman 	SAGA 1: Arb's Tragedy
2006	Ultraman Mebius Gaiden: Hikari Saga 	Ultraman Jack 	SAGA 1: Arb's Tragedy
2006	Ultraman Mebius & the Ultra Brothers 	Ultraman 	
2006	Ultraman Mebius & the Ultra Brothers 	Ultraman Jack 	
2006	Ultraman Mebius & the Ultra Brothers 	Ultraman Ace 	
2008	Great Decisive Battle! The Super 8 Ultra Brothers 	Ultraman 	
2008	Great Decisive Battle! The Super 8 Ultra Brothers 	Ultraman Jack 	
2008	Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle 	Ultraman 	Episode 13 "Planet Escape"
2009	Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey 	Ultraman 	Episode 13 "Planet Destruction"
2009	Mega Monster Battle Ultra Galaxy: The Movie 	Ultraman 	
2010	Ultra Galaxy Legend Gaiden: Ultraman Zero vs. Darklops Zero	Imit-Ultraman (SR) 	
2010	Ultra Galaxy Legend Gaiden: Ultraman Zero vs. Darklops Zero	Imit-Zoffy (SR) 	
2010	Ultra Galaxy Legend Gaiden: Ultraman Zero vs. Darklops Zero	Imit-Ultraman Jack (SR)	
2013	New Ultraman Retsuden 	Ultraman 	
2013	New Ultraman Retsuden 	Zoffy 	
2013	New Ultraman Retsuden 	Ultraman Jack 	
2013	New Ultraman Retsuden 	Ultraman Ace 	
2013	New Ultraman Retsuden 	Father of Ultra 	
2013	New Ultraman Retsuden 	Ultraman Great 	
2013	New Ultraman Retsuden 	Ultraman Powered 	
2013	New Ultraman Retsuden 	Ultraman King 	
2013	Ultraman Ginga 	Ultraman 	Dark Spark War flashbacks in episodes 1, 7, 11Episode 10 "Darkness and Light"Episode EX "Friends Left Behind"
2013	Ultraman Ginga 	Ultraman Jack 	Dark Spark War flashbacks in episodes 7, 11
2013	Ultraman Ginga 	Zoffy 	Dark Spark War flashbacks in episodes 7, 11
2013	Ultraman Ginga 	Ultraman Dark 	Distorted gruntsEpisode 9 "The Jet Black Ultra Brothers"
2014	Ultraman Ginga S 	Ultraman 	Strium Brace
2014	Ultraman Ginga S 	Zoffy 	Strium Brace
2014	Ultraman Ginga S 	Ultraman Jack 	Strium Brace
2015	The・Ultraman: Jackal vs. Ultraman 	Ultraman 	
2015	The・Ultraman: Jackal vs. Ultraman 	Ultraman Jack 	
2016	Ultraman X The Movie: Here He Comes! Our Ultraman 	Ultraman 	
2016	Ultraman Orb 	Ultraman 	Ultra Fusion Cards
2016	Ultraman Orb 	Ultraman Jack 	Ultra Fusion Cards
2016	Ultraman Orb 	Zoffy 	Ultra Fusion Cards
2017	Ultra Fight Orb 	Ultraman Jack 	
2017	Ultra Fight Orb 	Zoffy 	
2017	Ultraman Geed 	Ultraman 	Ultra Capsule
2017	Ultraman Geed 	Father of Ultra 	Lower-pitchUltra Capsules
2017	Ultraman Geed 	Ultraman King 	Lower-pitchUltra Capsules
2017	Ultraman Geed 	Zoffy 	Ultra Capsules (King Sword)
2017	Ultraman Geed 	Ultraman Jack 	Ultra Capsules (King Sword)
2020	Ultraman Z 	Ultraman 	Ultra Medal
2020	Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy 	Ultraman 	Chapter 2 "The Divergence"
2020	Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy 	Ultraman Jack 	Chapter 2 "The Divergence"
2021	Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga 	Ultraman 	Ultra MedalEpisode 8 "The Propagating Invasion"
2022	Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad 	Ultraman 	
2022	Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad 	Ultraman Jack 	
2024	Ultraman: Rising 	Ultraman 	Rise scene
====Video games====
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1998	Ultraman Fighting Evolution 	Ultraman 	
2002	Ultraman Fighting Evolution 2 	Ultraman 	
2002	Ultraman Fighting Evolution 2 	Zoffy 	Lower-pitch
2002	Ultraman Fighting Evolution 2 	Ultraman Jack	
2004	Ultraman Fighting Evolution 3 	Ultraman 	
2004	Ultraman Fighting Evolution 3 	Zoffy 	Lower-pitch
2004	Ultraman Fighting Evolution 3 	Ultraman Jack	
2005	Ultraman Fighting Evolution Rebirth	Ultraman 	
2006	Ultraman Fighting Evolution 0 	Ultraman 	
2006	Ultraman Fighting Evolution 0 	Zoffy 	Lower-pitch
2006	Ultraman Fighting Evolution 0 	Ultraman Jack	
2022	Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher 	Ultraman 	
====Stage====
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2016	Ultraman Festival 2016 Live Stage Part 1	Ultraman	
2016	Ultraman Festival 2016 Live Stage Part 2	Ultraman	
2018	Ultra Family Grand Assembly 2018 	Ultraman	
===Other Roles===
*8 Man
*Princess Knight
*Tiger Mask - Antonio Inoki
==Trivia==
*According to Hajime Tsuburaya, Masao Nakasone was meant to be the voice actor for Ultraman (both of speaking voice and grunts) but due to his absence at that time for unknown reasons, he was unable to do so. Therefore, Hisashi Kondo took the role as Ultraman's speaking voice. However, Ultraman's grunts are still made by Masao.
**However, Masao did the role as Ultraman's real speaking voice and grunts was the fight with Alien Mefilas in the 33rd episode.
*According to Toshihiro Iijima, one of the directors of Ultraman, after they had Ultraman's design, they chose Masao Nakasone to do some grunts for him. After completing the voice, they mixed a bunch of those together and got "Shuwatch". However, in reality, Ultraman actually shouted "Shwa" in many first episodes instead but later they added "ch" sound at the end to make a clear "Shuwatch".
*Nakasone is similar to Ultraman Taro's original voice actor Saburo Shinoda in that they only voiced their respective Ultras once and their grunts are still often used.
==References==
Category:Real Life People
Category:Actors
Category:Male Actors
Category:Deceased Actors
Category:Voice Actors