Writer/Producer Koji Steven Sakai's film and television projects have played on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Paramount+, Roku, and Tubi. He has worked with a variety of talented and award-winning actors and filmmakers, including Cuba Gooding Jr., Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, James Shigeta, Michael Jai White, Mel Gibson, Mickey Rourke, Randall Park, RZA, Samuel L. Jackson, Terrence Howard, and Wilson Cruz. He has written eleven feature films that have been produced and served as a producer on nine features. He has also produced a one-hour comedy special that premiered on Netflix and a comedy series that premiered on Hulu and Peacock. Koji recently completed writing for a Japanese television series slated for Disney+. In addition to his screenplays, Koji has written books and graphic novels, produces, writes, and co-hosts The Unofficial Official Story Podcast, and teaches screenwriting at UCLA Extension and New York Film Academy.
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Biography from TMDB.
- Writer and producer
- 12 on MovieCove · 15 credits in all
Known for
What are Koji Steven Sakai's films like?
Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 10
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 7
Grounded 11 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 3 · Intense 3
A split, not a type: Steady 6 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 2
A split, not a type: Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 1
Casual 7 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 1
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy4
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous4
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Koji Steven Sakai's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- Dwayne Perkins: Take Note (2016) · producer · free
- The People I've Slept With (2012) · writer, producer · free
- Ruthless (2023) · writer · free
- Beastly and Me (2012) · writer · free
- The Commando (2022) · writer, producer · free
- Boneyard (2024) · writer · free
- Skeletons in the Closet (2024) · writer, producer · free
Subscription and free streaming for Koji Steven Sakai's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
15 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.
Are You There?(2024)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Boneyard(2024)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Damaged(2024)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Nyctophobia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
House of the Owl(2024)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all shows
Skeletons in the Closet(2024)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
Ruthless(2023)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
The Commando(2022)
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Dying to Kill(2016)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Beastly and Me(2012)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
#1 Serial Killer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
Death Ride(2006)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all filmsAmerican Smuggler (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 10 titles, 9 of them dated from 2006 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Damaged (2024)
Highest rated
The People I've Slept With (2012)
Most popular right now
Damaged (2024)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Koji Steven Sakai's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 11th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 12th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th10
Shape of the crowd
10 of their 12 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Panned1
- Divisive1
- Mixed10
Reviewers score the dialogue 26/100 and the plot and story 29/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Koji Steven Sakai's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, every category sits near the median of all films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Koji Steven Sakai work with?
People who share at least 2 of Koji Steven Sakai's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Asif Akbar shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Asif AkbarShared titles: Boneyard (2024), Skeletons in the Closet (2024), Ruthless (2023), The Commando (2022)See all 4 shared titles with Asif Akbar
Writers
- Al BravoShared titles: Skeletons in the Closet (2024), Ruthless (2023), The Commando (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Al Bravo
- Dwayne PerkinsShared titles: Dwayne Perkins: Take Note (2016), Dying to Kill (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Dwayne Perkins
Actors
- Gianni CapaldiShared titles: Damaged (2024), The Commando (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Gianni Capaldi
- Jeff FaheyShared titles: Ruthless (2023), The Commando (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Jeff Fahey
- Lynn ChenShared titles: Dying to Kill (2016), The People I've Slept With (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Lynn Chen
Composers and editors
- R.J. CooperShared titles: Boneyard (2024), Skeletons in the Closet (2024), The Commando (2022)See all 3 shared titles with R.J. Cooper
- Mauricio YazigiShared titles: Ruthless (2023), The Commando (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Mauricio Yazigi
Producers
- Luke TaylorShared titles: Damaged (2024), Ruthless (2023), The Commando (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Luke Taylor
- Matthew HeldermanShared titles: Damaged (2024), Ruthless (2023), The Commando (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Matthew Helderman
- Stanley YungShared titles: Are You There? (2024), Dying to Kill (2016), The People I've Slept With (2012)See all 3 shared titles with Stanley Yung
- Vincent E. McDanielShared titles: Boneyard (2024), Skeletons in the Closet (2024), The Commando (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Vincent E. McDaniel
