Patrick Harlan

Last updated
Patrick Harlan
Patrick Harlan - Kyoto - 2017 Aug 19.jpg
in 2017
Born
Colorado, U.S.
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • TV personality
  • voice actor
Years active1996–present

Patrick Harlan is an American-born Japanese entertainer, comedian, and voice actor. He is known for being a member of the comedy duo, Pakkun Makkun, and is also known by his stage name Pakkun.

Contents

Life and career

Harlan was born in Colorado, and graduated from Harvard University with a degree in the Comparative Study of Religion. [1] He first came to Japan on a tour with the Harvard Glee Club in 1993. He lived in Fukui and taught at an English conversation school. He studied Japanese on his own and passed the highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test after 2 years in the country. [2] He moved to Tokyo in 1996 to pursue an acting career.

In 1997, Harlan and Makoto Yoshida formed the comic duo Pakkun Makkun, with Harlan as the boke (funny guy) and Yoshida as the tsukkomi (straightman). They were the first international pair on the Japanese comedy scene in decades. They quickly made a name for themselves, winning the Tokyo FM King of Comedy Tournament and making it to the finals of NHK's Shinjin Engei Taisho both in 1999. They were also finalists on NHK's Bakusho Onair Battle in 2000. Pakkun Makkun became regular face on Japanese television with a daily corner on the popular afternoon show Just on TBS for five and a half years. Pakkun Makkun took their Manzai style to Las Vegas in 2004 and Los Angeles in 2007, performing both times in English with their straight man and funny guy roles reversed.

In addition to comedy, Harlan works as an actor, DJ, commentator, and TV show host. As a solo performer Patrick became well known as the host of NHK's Eigo de Shabera Night, and later the secondary host or "Friday Partner" of Nihon Television's Omoikkiri Ii Terebi with Mino Monta. From 2010 to 2014, Harlan was the main MC of 7Sta Bratch and 7Sta Live on TV Tokyo. In the 2010s, Harlan began commenting on news and current events and in 2015 became the moderator of "GAIKOKUJIN KISHAHA MITA (Through Foreign Journalists' Eyes)" a weekly current affairs discussion program on BS-TBS television. He was the anchor of Fuji Television's Hodo Prime Sunday in 2018, and the Wednesday night anchor for Abema Prime from 2015 to 2019. Since 2012, he has been an adjunct professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology teaching courses in Communication and Rhetoric and International Relations Theory.

Harlan was chosen as the most likeable commentator on TV in a 2017 online survey of 29,147 people [3] and the commentator with the "best personality" in a 2023 survey of 200 television directors and producers. [4]

Patrick Harlan at Expo 2005 Patrick Harlan at Expo 2005 cropped.jpg
Patrick Harlan at Expo 2005

Television

Voice work

Books

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References

  1. Hidemine, Takahashi (March 15, 2003). "Making People Laugh With an Eye to the Future". web-japan.org. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  2. Eigo Town, interview with Pakkun Makkun
  3. "コメンテーター好感度ランキング。1位は大活躍のあの人!". LINE Platform Blog. LINE. July 26, 2017.
  4. "テレビ関係者200人が選ぶ「本当に性格がいいコメンテーター」"鬼嫁""熱男"を抑えた1位の超インテリ芸人は?". Yahoo News Japan. Shukan Flash. May 12, 2023.
  5. "Rika's TOKYO CUISINE | Dining with the Chef | NHK WORLD - English".
  6. 1 2 "Patrick Harlan (visual voices guide)". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved June 6, 2019. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  7. "Resident Evil Fan : Resident Evil Voice Actors".