Matthew Chozick

Since April 2012, Chozick has starred weekly with Takeshi Kitano on Nippon TV's Sekai marumie! Terebi tokusôbu [ja], one of Japan's most popular comedy-variety shows.^[2][3][4] In addition to TV work, Chozick is known for acting in multiple films of Japan Academy Award-winning director Eiji Uchida [ja],^[5][6] for co-hosting a popular show on NHK Radio,^[7] and for his writing in Japanese and English.^[8][9][10] He also teaches at Temple University Japan Campus and has lectured at other universities in the US, UK, and Japan.^[11]

Chozick's directorial debut, Toshie the Nihilist, garnered numerous awards after premiering at the Academy Award and BAFTA qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival in 2021.^[12][13] That same year, Chozick also appeared in Sion Sono's Prisoners of the Ghostland, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival.

According to comments in several media interviews, Chozick is currently in post-production on a Japanese feature film he directed and wrote.^[14][15]

In 2026, Chozick's short film Civilization and Its Discontents was selected for exhibition at the National Art Center, Tokyo, as part of the 82nd Art Festival Genten, where it was recognized with a kaiyū honor.^[16]

Aside from creative work and teaching, Chozick publishes academic research in the fields of comparative literature, cultural studies, and translation theory.^[17][18] He has also edited, written, and translated several books. Chozick earned a PhD in the UK at the University of Birmingham^[19] and studied method acting in Los Angeles at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He has also trained in New York at the Barrow Group.