Of the unnamed atoll elders who are initially grateful for the Mariner's arrival and later want him dead, the most vocal is played by Sab Shimono. Shimono's elder makes the indecent proposition to the Mariner, and later speaks to the atoll residents as they prepare to "recycle" the hero.
Many of Shimono's most prominent live-action appearances in film and TV took place before his casting in "Waterworld." Among his more well-known roles, he played Mr. Saito, one of the transplanted Japanese executives in the 1986 comedy "Gung Ho," and the subsequent TV series. He also played the arrogant medical examiner "Painless" Kumagai in the 1990 legal thriller "Presumed Innocent," and the villain Lord Norinaga in 1993's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles III."
Though he's continued to work in live-action, Shimono scored a lot of wonderful voice roles in animated shows, films, and video games after "Waterworld." He was the voice of Uncle Chan on "Jackie Chan Adventures," performed multiple characters, including Monk Gyatso, on "Avatar: The Last Airbender," and portrayed the titular hero's father, the Emperor, on "Samurai Jack." In more recent years, he's given his voice to a much more personal project. Shimono co-hosts the podcast "Order 9066," which explores the internment of around 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of whom were American citizens, within "relocation" camps during World War II. This is, unfortunately, an event with which Shimono has personal experience.
