Kitao Sakurai

Kitao Sakurai
Born1983 (age 42–43)
Kyoto, Japan
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
  • cinematographer
Years active1995 – present
Japanese name
Kanji桜井 北尾
Hiraganaさくらい きたお
Katakanaサクライ キタオ
Transcriptions
RomanizationSakurai Kitao

Kitao Sakurai (Japanese: 桜井 北尾, Hepburn: Sakurai Kitao; born 1983) is a Japanese-born American filmmaker and actor.[1][2][3] He is best known for his collaborations with comedian Eric André, as the principal director of The Eric Andre Show (2012–23) and the writer-director of the film Bad Trip (2021).[4] He is directing the upcoming film adaptation of the fighting video game Street Fighter.[5]

Early years

Sakurai was born in Kinugasa district of Kyoto in 1983, and was raised in Cleveland, Ohio.[6][7][8][9]

Originally a child actor, he made his debut aged 12 with a supporting role in the martial arts action film Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back (1995). He also appeared in the made-for-television film The Best Bad Thing (1997) and Kevin Smith's Dogma (1999).[10]

Career

Film

Sakurai trained as a cinematographer and shot independent and short films throughout the early 2000s.[10] He made his feature directorial debut with the low-budget crime thriller Aardvark (2010), which was shot in his hometown of Cleveland.[11]

In 2021, he directed the hidden camera comedy film Bad Trip, starring regular collaborator Eric André.[4][12][13][14]

Sakurai directed The Passage, a short film co-written by and starring American comedian Phil Burgers ("Dr Brown"). It premiered at Sundance in 2018, and won Best Short Fiction prize at the LA Film Festival, Best Comedy at Aspen Shortsfest, and the Grand Jury Prize at the Nashville Film Festival.[15][16]

In February 2025, Sakurai was announced as the director of the live-action film adaptation of the Street Fighter video game franchise.[17][5] The film scheduled to be released in the United States by Paramount Pictures on October 16, 2026.[18][19]

Sakurai co-founded the New York-based production company Naked Faces, with Andrew Barchilon.[20]

Television

Beginning in 2012, Sakurai was the regular director for The Eric Andre Show, directing 62 of 68 total episodes between 2012 and 2023.[21][22]

He directed 5 episodes of the FXX sitcom Dave.

In 2023, Sakurai directed the pilot episode of Twisted Metal. He subsequently directed three episodes in the first season.

He directed the pilot episode and was an executive producer of the Amazon Prime Video series Butterfly.

He has also directed numerous television commercials.[23]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes titles that have not yet been released

Feature films

Year Title Director Writer DoP. Notes Ref.
2006 Transformations No No Yes
2009 You Wont Miss Me No No Yes [11]
2010 Aardvark Yes Yes No [11]
2021 Bad Trip Yes Yes No [4]
2026 †Street Fighter Yes No No Post-production [5]

Acting roles

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back Justin Banning
1997 The Best Bad Thing Zenny Hata
1999 Dogma Stygian Triplet
2010 Aardvark Darius Szopa
2011 Treatment Tennis Instructor
We Are the Hartmans Music Video Director

Television

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Notes
2012-23 The Eric Andre Show Yes Yes Yes Director; 62 episodes
Writer; 25 episodes
Exec. producer; 61 episodes
2012 The Eric Andre New Year's Eve Spooktacular Yes Yes Yes Special
2021 The Premise Yes No No 1 episode
2021-23 Dave Yes No No Director; 5 episodes
2023 Twisted Metal Yes No No Director; 4 episodes
Exec. producer; 10 episodes
2025 Butterfly Yes No Yes Director; 2 episodes
Exec. producer; 2 episodes

References

  1. ^ Cordero, Rosy (April 19, 2022). "'Twisted Metal': Kitao Sakurai To EP & Direct Anthony Mackie-Led Peacock Series". Deadline Hollywood via Yahoo!. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  2. ^ Cordero, Rosy (December 11, 2023). "Kitao Sakurai Set To Direct Prime Video Series 'Butterfly'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  3. ^ Hunt, A.E. (August 23, 2018). "Writer/Director Kitao Sakurai on Designing the Deliberate Randomness of The Eric Andre Show and The Passage". Filmmaker. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Blistein, Jon (March 31, 2021). "'The Breakdown' With Eric Andre and Kitao Sakurai". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Kit, Borys (February 19, 2025). "'Street Fighter' Finds Its Director in Kitao Sakurai". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  6. ^ Knegt, Peter (November 5, 2010). "FUTURES: "Aardvark" Director Kitao Sakurai". IndieWire. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  7. ^ Dutta, Debopriyaa (March 16, 2022). "72 Hours: Bad Trip Director Kitao Sakurai Making Movie Written By Cobra Kai Creators". Slash Film. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  8. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (June 29, 2010). "TRAILER DEBUT: Sneak Peek of "Aardvark" from Rooftop Films, SnagFilms & indieWIRE". IndieWire. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  9. ^ Leston, Ryan (April 20, 2022). "Twisted Metal TV Series: Eric Andre Show Director Joins the Project". IGN. Retrieved February 3, 2024. ...the 39-year-old actor and filmmaker...
  10. ^ a b Webmaster (2011-07-20). "Kitao Sakurai". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  11. ^ a b c Brennan, Billy (July 17, 2011). "Kitao Sakurai". Filmmaker. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  12. ^ Squires, John (April 19, 2022). ""Twisted Metal" TV Series Lands Director Kitao Sakurai". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  13. ^ Papineau, Tripp (April 20, 2022). "'Twisted Metal' Taps Kitao Sakurai to Direct Series Adaptation". Collider. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  14. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 15, 2022). "'Bad Trip' Director Kitao Sakurai To Helm '72 Hours' For Sony Pictures; 'Cobra Kai' Creators Penning Script". Deadline Hollywood via Yahoo!. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  15. ^ Kelly-Clyne, Luke (28 November 2018). "I Loved The Passage Even Though I Didn't Like It At All". Vulture. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  16. ^ The Passage at IMDb
  17. ^ Cassidy, Mark (September 27, 2024). "STREET FIGHTER Movie Reportedly Enlists BAD TRIP Director Kitao Sakurai To Helm". Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  18. ^ Couch, Aaron (September 4, 2025). "'Street Fighter' Moves to Paramount as Legendary Deal Becomes Official". The Hollywood Reporter.
  19. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 4, 2025). "Paramount Sets Three Year Distribution Deal With Legendary". Deadline. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  20. ^ Barchilon, Andrew; Sakurai, Kitao (June 27, 2012). "FIRST PERSON; "The Eric Andre Show" Creators Andrew Barchilon and Kitao Sakurai on Embracing Ineptitude in Their Talk Show Parody". IndieWire. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  21. ^ Hamman, Cody (April 20, 2022). "Twisted Metal TV series: Bad Trip's Kitao Sakurai to direct multiple episodes of video game adaptation". JoBlo.com. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  22. ^ Flook, Ray (April 19, 2022). "Twisted Metal: Kitao Sakurai Directing Peacock/Anthony Mackie Series". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  23. ^ "Kitao Sakurai". PRETTYBIRD. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
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