EXCLUSIVE: Artists First has signed Joey Iwanaga, a second-generation Japanese-American actor recognized for his work in action films, for management.
Most notably, Iwanaga played the lead villain opposite Xie Miao and Joe Taslim in The Furious, the adrenaline-filled martial arts movie directed by stunt coordinator-turned-filmmaker Kenji Tanigaki, which released in theaters last month, after world premiering at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival, debuting at #1 in the Chinese market.
The film centers on Wang Wei (Miao), a mysterious mute tradesman who is forced into a violent underworld after his daughter is kidnapped by a Southeast Asian child trafficking syndicate. Joining him in unleashing formidable combat skills to help bring down the criminal organization is Navin (Taslim), a grieving journalist searching for his missing wife.
Hailed as one of the most accomplished action films of recent — with a 98% fresh critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 95% fan rating — the film has Iwanaga playing Paklung, the sociopathic son-in-law of a powerful gangster who leads the child trafficking syndicate.
Iwanaga comes from a dance and martial arts background that includes full-contact karate, boxing, taekwondo, hip-hop, ballet, and more. He started his acting career at 16 with a leading role in the feature Dancing Karate Kid (2013), hitting on his international breakthrough with Enter the Fat Dragon (2020) opposite Donnie Yen. Other credits include Alice in Borderland and Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part 1 – The Final.
Next up, Iwanaga will be seen in the live-action Japanese film Blue Lock, based on the manga of the same name.
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