Scott Takeda (born March 21, 1967) is an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He is known for his recurring roles on the soap operas Days of Our Lives (2016–17, as Dr. Lee) and General Hospital (2019–21, as Judge Lowe), and for appearances in films such as Everything Must Go (2010), Dallas Buyers Club (2013), Gone Girl (2014), Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016), The Space Between Us (2017), and The Tale (2018).
Early life and education Takeda was born and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado. He is of Japanese descent.“Local ‘Gone Girl’ actor discusses commuting for films,” NBC Channel 9 News Denver, October 4, 2014. He earned a bachelor of science in journalism at the University of Colorado in Boulder.Natasha Lewin, “Chatting With Scott Takeda of Gone Girl,” The Tolucan Times, October 16, 2014.“In Their Own Words… Scott Takeda of ‘Gone Girl’,” One Film Fan, October 3, 2014.
Career
Broadcast journalism Takeda began his career on-camera as a television news reporter in Pocatello, Idaho in 1990, before transitioning to producing for stations in Toledo, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Denver, Colorado.Jamie Swinnerton, “Colorado’s Scott Takeda Catching Fire as an Actor on the Small and Big Screens,” Westword, June 3, 2014.Stephanie Richards, “Scott Takeda: Denver’s Funny Storyteller,” 303 Magazine, November 27, 2012. He worked as a photojournalist/producer for the CBS-owned television station KCNC in Denver, from 1992 until 1994.Joanne Ostrow, “Denver’s Scott Takeda takes on ‘Star-Crossed’,” The Denver Post, February 6, 2014. From 1995 to 1997, he was a producer and director for the syndicated children's show News-for-Kids.Joshua Hubbard, “Former Denver journalist turns into Hollywood actor,” 9news.com, May 14, 2014.
Acting Takeda's television acting debut came with a guest star role on Easy Money on The CW in 2009.Sebastian Holguin, “Scott Takeda Takes ABQ Film Industry by Storm,” ABQ Live, March 27, 2015. He later played the character of Stella's father, Mr. Yamada, in the 2011 Disney Channel TV movie Lemonade Mouth. In 2015, he guest starred on the television series American Crime (ABC), The Messengers (The CW) and Grimm (NBC),Linda Ge, “Scott Takeda Joins Tina Fey and Margot Robbie in Paramount’s Middle East Comedy,” TheWrap, February 13, 2015. as well as Halt and Catch Fire on AMC, Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime) and Star-Crossed (The CW) in 2014.
Takeda portrayed a bank manager in the film Everything Must Go (2010), starring Will Ferrell;Lesley McClurg, “Denver journalist-turned-actors rising in Hollywood,” Colorado Public Radio, June 4, 2014. Mr. Yamata in Dallas Buyers Club (2013), directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and starring Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto; and a television producer in Gone Girl (2014), directed by David Fincher and starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.Hilary Lewis, “How the ‘Gone Girl’ Cast Avoids Spoilers,” The Hollywood Reporter, September 27, 2014. He appeared in the 2016 film Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, produced by Lorne Michaels, and starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton and Alfred Molina.Alexa Harrison, "‘Whiskey Tango Foxtrot’ Star Margot Robbie Recalls the Advice She Gave Leonardo DiCaprio on Oscar Night," Variety, March 2, 2016. He filmed two supporting roles where his scenes were ultimately cut: in Fair Game (2010), starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn,Edward Douglas, “Fair Game,” ComingSoon.net, October 31, 2010. and Little Fockers (2010), starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Takeda appears in the film The Tale, directed by Jennifer Fox and starring Laura Dern, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival."Scott Takeda – The Outsider," Starry Mag, October 12, 2017."2018 Sundance Film Festival: Feature Films Announced," Sundance Institute, November 29, 2017.
Takeda is a SAG-AFTRA actor.“Actor Scott Takeda’s Working Together Improv Show in Albuquerque,” oneheadlightink.com, March 26, 2015. He studied improvisational comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles. He performs regularly with an improv troupe in Denver. In 2014, he starred in Working Together, an improv show stylized like a 1990s sitcom that premiered at the Voodoo Comedy Playhouse in Denver, and had a 2015 run at The Box Performance Space in Albuquerque, New Mexico.Alex Brown, “10 Things to Do for $10 in Denver This Weekend,” Westword, September 4, 2014. He was the keynote speaker at the University of Colorado's CU Boulder Asian Graduation Celebration on May 6, 2017."CUE hosting graduation celebration for Asian students May 6," colorado.edu, April 20, 2017.
Filmmaking and photography Takeda runs Takeda Entertainment, a production company that produces corporate films and documentaries, including the Emmy-nominated 1996 documentary The Holocaust: Colorado Remembers, which he wrote, directed and produced.Maria Rochelle, “Interview with Scott Takeda,” mariarochelle.com, April 2015. In 2016, Takeda and his filmmaking partners at BS Filmworks signed an agreement with ShortsTV for US television distribution of their short film If Not Now. ShortsTV also purchased US and international distribution rights for the BS Filmworks short The Decision. Both films were directed by Lori Allred and produced by Takeda and Brock Sherman.Ryan Warner, "In Alzheimer's Film, Daughter Explores Pain Of The Day Mother Forgot Her," Colorado Public Radio, July 28, 2016."Colorado Filmmakers Get Distribution Through Shorts.TV," The Denver Post, July 11, 2016. Takeda's 2017 short film The Outsider, which he wrote, directed and starred in, and produced with Allred and Sherman, premiered at the Denver Film Festival in November 2017, and was named runner-up for the True Grit Award for Colorado Filmmakers.Cori Anderson, "Here are the Films That Won Awards at the 40th Denver Film Festival," 303 Magazine, November 13, 2017. The Outsider is distributed through ShortsTV. In 2019, Takeda and Allred held a cast and crew screening for their upcoming short film Remembering Us at the Sie Film Center in Denver. The film is about the struggles surrounding traumatic brain injuries. Remembering Us premiered at the Breckenridge Film Festival in September 2020. In 2020, Takeda and Allred opened up a new production company for their films called Wine Dog Pictures.
As a still photographer, he has exhibited his work at galleries around Colorado, and had a show at the Split Gallery in Croatia in 2015.Ivana Zupan, "Scott Takeda – Scene. Street. Story. Exhibition in Marmontova," croatia-split.com, August 24, 2015. He did a segment on KUSA-TV's 9News in 2016, showing photos from his Scene Street Story collection and offering photography tips to viewers."Tips to take better smartphone photos," KUSA-TV, May 13, 2016.
Personal life Takeda lives in Denver, Colorado, with his producer wife, Lori Allred.
Awards Idaho State Broadcasters Association Photographer of the Year, 1990 Ohio News Photographer of the Year, 1992“ONPA Photographers of the Year,” onpa.org. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Winner, Heartland Regional Emmy, Target Audience Program, News for Kids – Kids Make a Difference, KCNC Denver, 1996"1996 Winners," emmyawards.tv. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Winner, Heartland Regional Emmy, Youth/Children's Program, News for Kids – Halloween, KCNC Denver, 1997"1997 Winners," emmyawards.tv. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Nominee, Heartland Regional Emmy, Best Informational/Instructional Program, The Holocaust: Colorado Remembers, KCNC, Denver, producer, 1998"1998 Nominees," emmyawards.tv. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Nominee, Heartland Regional Emmy, Commercial – Single Spot, "ABC Custom Framing – Image", Short Sirkit Creative, producer/director, 2005"2005 Nominees," emmyawards.tv. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Winner, Heartland Regional Emmy, Musical Composition/Arrangement, "U-Hills Plaza – 2005 Image", Short Sirkit Creative, writer, 2006"2006 Winners," emmyawards.tv. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Nominee, Heartland Regional Emmy, Community/Public Service (PSA) – Campaign, "Optimum Wellness 2007 – Healthy Eating Campaign", creative director / director, 2008"2008 Nominees," emmyawards.tv. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Winner, Heartland Regional Emmy, Advanced Media – Commercial, "Western Dairy Association Image 2008", producer/writer, 2009"2009 Winners," emmyawards.tv. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Winner, Heartland Regional Emmy, Informational/Instructional Feature/Segment, "Pizza Day – A Win-Win For Everybody", director/writer, 2010"2010 Winners," emmyawards.tv. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Nominee, Heartland Chapter Emmy, Public/Current/Community Affairs Feature/Segment, "Have You Been Tested?", director, 2011"2011 Nominees," emmyawards.tv. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Winner, Suncoast Emmy, Human Interest – News, "Melissa's Story", director, 2015"The 39th Annual Suncoast Emmy Awards," suncoastchapter.org, 2015. Runner-up, True Grit Award for Colorado Filmmakers, Denver Film Festival, 2017
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes2004 Fall River Zach2005 11:59 Newsroom Journalist2008 Text Dr. Tanaka2010 Everything Must Go Bank Manager Fair Game Dr. Jonas Director's cut 2011 Last Call Don Short film2013 The Dysfunctional Dynamics The Violet Avenger Short film Dallas Buyers Club Mr. Yamata Dark Around the Stars Natto 2014 Gone Girl TV Producer 2015 Code of Honor Attorney Ito 2016 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Ed Faber 2017 The Space Between Us Dr. Gary Loh The Outsider Brett Short film; also writer and director2018 The Tale Master of Ceremonies 2020 A Deadly Price For Her Pretty Face Mr. Mobely 2021 Silk Road Bank Manager Bob Scenes deleted2025 Control Freak Dr. Chen
Television / Web series Year Title Role Notes 2009 Easy Money Dr. Shan Jing Season 1, episode 6 2011 Lemonade Mouth Mr. Yamada Disney Channel TV movie 2011 The Secret Lives of Wives Dr. Fung Lifetime TV movie 2013 Overlook, NM Chief of Police Bob Tanaka Season 1, episodes 1–42014 Star-Crossed Dr. Lerner Season 1, episode 7 Nashville Dr. Lau Season 2, episode 20 Drop Dead Diva Captain Nasami Season 6, episode 13 Halt and Catch Fire Hirohiko Taketa Season 1, episode 5 Paranormal Pizza Roger Web series2015 The Messengers Han Lin Season 1, episode 6 American Crime Mike Narasaki Season 1, episode 8 Grimm Mr. Adams Season 4, episode 222016 Devious Maids Dr. Brooks Season 4, episode 5 The Night Shift Tom Jeng Season 3, episode 42017 Days of Our Lives Dr. Lee Season 52, recurring Grey's Anatomy ND Attending Season 13, episode 12 Stalked by My Ex Rich Lifetime TV movie2018 Drunk History Japanese Man Season 5, episode 1 The Man in the High Castle Mr. Kobayashi Season 3, episode 9 The Americans David Sato Season 6, episode 3 Preacher Hiroki Matsukata Season 3, episode 8 The First Todd Hikari Season 1, recurring Mr. Mercedes Dr. Marley Season 2, episode 102019 The Resident Dr. Xavier Lee Season 2, episode 23 Dynasty Mr. Han Season 3, episode 3 2019-21 General Hospital Judge Richard Lowe Seasons 57-59, recurring2020 Messiah Mr. Mishida Season 1, episode 6 Model Citizen Mr. Mobley Lifetime TV movie Once Upon a Main Street Billy Lifetime TV movie2021 High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Menkies Judge Season 2, recurring Sweet Pecan Summer Tom Lin Hallmark TV movie The Premise Doctor Hopkins Season 1, episode 1 A Picture Perfect Holiday Bill Lifetime TV movie 2022 Sprung Trooper Williams Season 1, episode 10
References
External links Official website Takeda Entertainment Wine Dog Pictures Scott Takeda Photography