SABU Photo

SABU

Directing

0.7 Popularity Nov 18, 1964 (60 years old) Wakayama, Japan

Sabu (サブ, Sabu, born November 18, 1964) is the pseudonym of Japanese actor and director Hiroyuki Tanaka.

Born in Wakayama Prefecture, Sabu studied at an Osaka fashion school before deciding to go to Tokyo to become a professional musician. It was suggested he try acting and in 1986 he made his ...

Biography

Sabu (サブ, Sabu, born November 18, 1964) is the pseudonym of Japanese actor and director Hiroyuki Tanaka.

Born in Wakayama Prefecture, Sabu studied at an Osaka fashion school before deciding to go to Tokyo to become a professional musician. It was suggested he try acting and in 1986 he made his film debut in Sorobanzuku. He earned his first starring role in the 1991 World Apartment Horror, a live-action film directed by Katsuhiro Ōtomo of Akira fame. Working from a script he wrote himself, he made his directorial debut with the 1996 Dangan Runner, a film that set his early style of "quirky action-comedies propelled by characters who hurtle headlong though squirming narratives steered more by the forces of incidence and coincidence than the actions of the protagonists themselves." Shin'ichi Tsutsumi played the lead in Sabu's first five films. Blessing Bell, starring Susumu Terajima (who has played minor roles in nearly all of Sabu's films), was a turn away from his kinetic, parodic, and black comedy narratives, and earned the NETPAC Award at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival. Later films featured the J-pop band V6. In 2009, he directed The Crab Cannery Ship, a modern adaptation of a classic of Japanese proletarian literature written by Takiji Kobayashi.

He has continued to work as an actor, such as in Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer (2001).

His film Chasuke's Journey was selected to be screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.

Filmography 68

2023
Under Your Bed Movie

Director

2021
2021
Jam: The Drama TV

Director

2021
Jam: The Drama TV

Teleplay

2019
Dancing Mary Movie

Editor

2019
Dancing Mary Movie

Director

2019
Dancing Mary Movie

Writer

2018
Jam Movie

Editor

2018
Jam Movie

Screenplay

2018
Jam Movie

Director

2017
Mr. Long Movie

Director

2017
Mr. Long Movie

Screenplay

2017
Happiness Movie

Director

2017
Happiness Movie

Screenplay

2016
Silence Movie

as Samurai #1

2015
Chasuke's Journey Movie

Screenplay

Photos 1

SABU Photo

Personal Details

Known For Directing
Gender Not specified
Birthday November 18, 1964 (60 years old)
Place of Birth Wakayama, Japan
Also Known As Hiroki Tanaka, 田中博行, サブ and 2 more
Years Active 1991 - 2023
Popularity 0.7
Career Stats
68 Total Credits
20 Movie Roles
1 Photos