Actor
Ken Watanabe
Born 21 October 1959 · Uonuma, Niigata, Japan
Ken Watanabe is a Japanese actor of stage, film and television. He became a leading Japanese actor in the 1980s and 1990s, then gained international fame as a dignified, tragic figure in Hollywood films. He is best known for The Last Samurai, Letters from Iwo Jima and Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and Inception.
Key films
Tampopo (1985)
Early screen role in Juzo Itami's celebrated Japanese food comedy, a landmark of 1980s Japanese cinema.
The Last Samurai (2003)
His Hollywood breakthrough as Katsumoto, which earned him an Oscar nomination.
Batman Begins (2005)
Played Ra's al Ghul's emissary in Christopher Nolan's reboot, the first of his Nolan collaborations.
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
Led Clint Eastwood's Japanese-language war drama as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi.
Inception (2010)
Played Saito in Nolan's hit thriller, reinforcing his place in major Hollywood productions.
Key awards
- 2004: Academy Award nomination, Best Supporting Actor (The Last Samurai)
- 2007: Japan Academy Prize for Best Actor (Memories of Tomorrow)
- 2010: Japan Academy Prize for Best Actor (Shizumanu Taiyō / The Unbroken)
On Cinespective
Full filmography · 70
- 1984MacArthur's Children · as Tetsuo NakaiActor
- 1985Tampopo · as GunActor
- 1985Kekkon Annai MysteryActor
- 1986The Sea and Poison · as TodaActor
- 1986The Making of "Tampopo" · as SelfActor
- 1987Commando InvasionActor
- 1990Baian the Assassin · as Dr. BaianActor
- 1991A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era · as Ryoma SakamotoActor
- 1991Takeda Shingen · as NarratorActor
- 1992Ganryujima: Kojiro and Musashi · as KojirōActor
- 1992Oda NobunagaActor
- 1992Chronicle of the Town Magistrate · as Mochizuki KoheitaActor
- 1993Baian the Assassin: Showdown · as Dr. BaianActor
- 1993Hanzo, the RazorActor
- 1997Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald · as Raita OnukiActor
- 1998Bonds · as Detective Sako AkioActor
- 2000Space Travelers · as Sakamaki ("Crusher")Actor
- 2000The Whispered City · as IshidaActor
- 2001Love of a Thousand Years - Story of GenjiActor
- 2001Drowning Fish · as MiyotaActor
- 2001Proof of the Man 2001 · as Munesue KoichiroActor
- 2002Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS · as OkuboActor
- 2003The Last Samurai · as Moritsugu KatsumotoActor
- 2003T.R.Y. · as Masanobu AzumaActor
- 2003Another Battle/Conspiracy · as Fujimaki HiroakiActor
- 2003第三の時効Actor
- 2005Batman Begins · as Ra's al GhulActor
- 2005Memoirs of a Geisha · as ChairmanActor
- 2005Ashes and Snow · as Japanese Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2005Year One in the North · as Komatsubara HideakiActor
- 2006Letters from Iwo Jima · as General Tadamichi KuribayashiActor
- 2006Memories of Tomorrow · as Masayuki SaekiActor
- 2007Earth · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2007Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima' · as SelfActor
- 2007星ひとつの夜 · as Nonoyama HirojiActor
- 2009Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant · as Mr. TallActor
- 2009The Unbroken · as Hajime OnchiActor
- 2010Inception · as SaitoActor
- 2010Shanghai · as TanakaActor
- 2010A School Behind BarsActor
- 2011Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -Actor
- 2012Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home · as Junichiro KawaguchiActor
- 2013Unforgiven · as Jubee KamataActor
- 2014Godzilla · as Dr. Ishiro SerizawaActor
- 2014Transformers: Age of Extinction · as Drift (voice)Actor
- 2014Evolution Within Extinction · as SelfActor
- 2014Snow Jack · as Reiji KurataActor
- 2016The Sea of Trees · as Takumi NakamuraActor
- 2016Rage · as Yohei MakiActor
- 2017Transformers: The Last Knight · as Drift (voice)Actor
- 2017Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween · as Restaurant PatronActor
- 2017The Memories of Happiness · as Taro MiuraActor
- 2018Isle of Dogs · as Head Surgeon (voice)Actor
- 20187 Guardians of the Tomb · as FatherActor
- 2018Bel Canto · as Katsumi HosokawaActor
- 2018The King and I · as The King of SiamActor
- 2019Pokémon Detective Pikachu · as Lieutenant Hide YoshidaActor
- 2019Godzilla: King of the Monsters · as Dr. Ishiro SerizawaActor
- 2019An Artist of the Floating World · as Ono MasujiActor
- 2020Fukushima 50 · as Masao YoshidaActor
- 2020劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編Actor
- 2023The Creator · as HarunActor
- 2023True Love: Making The Creator · as SelfActor
- 2024Kensuke's Kingdom · as Kensuke (voice)Actor
- 2024All LivesActor
- 2025Kokuho · as Hanjiro HanaiActor
- 2025The Final Piece · as Shigeyoshi ToumyoActor
- 2025LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIERActor
- 2026Samurai Vengeance · as Kinji ShinodaActor
- 2026Yamazaki Riverside - Over an Actor's Shoulder - · as SelfActor
Filmography data from TMDB. The profile text is a draft written for Cinespective.