Haruo Nakajima Dead: Original 'Godzilla' Actor Dies, Aged 88

Haruo was given very little direction in that first film. He took cues from the Tokyo zoo, where he studied how the larger animals behaved, according to Variety.com.

Godzilla may have ― literally ― been Nakajima’s biggest role, but he also scared up attention as ‘Mothra’ in the 1961 Toho film, and as King Kong in 1967’s ‘King Kong Escapes’.

Nakajima wrote about his life in 2010 in a Japanese-language autobiography, ‘Monster Life: Haruo Nakajima, the Original Godzilla Actor’.

In his later years, the actor spent time going to fan conventions. He was proud of his work, according to the video above.

“In the end, the Godzilla I played remains on film forever,” he said. “It remains in people’s memory, and for that I feel really grateful.”

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.