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Ken Watanabe

Ken Watanabe

Acting October 21, 1959 (67 years old) Uonuma, Niigata, Japan

Biography

Ken Watanabe (born October 21, 1959) is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. To English-speaking audiences he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Letters from Iwo Jima and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in The Last Samurai, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Among other awards, he has won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Actor twice, in 2007 for Memories of Tomorrow and in 2010 for Shizumanu Taiyō. He is also known for his roles in director Christopher Nolan's Hollywood blockbusters Batman Begins and Inception.

Movies 70

Inception 8.4

Inception

as Saito

2010
Godzilla 6.4

Godzilla

as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa

2014
Godzilla: King of the Monsters 6.7

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa

2019
Batman Begins 7.7

Batman Begins

as Ra's al Ghul

2005
Transformers: Age of Extinction 6.0

Transformers: Age of Extinction

as Drift (voice)

2014
The Last Samurai 7.6

The Last Samurai

as Moritsugu Katsumoto

2003
Transformers: The Last Knight 6.1

Transformers: The Last Knight

as Drift (voice)

2017
The Creator 7.0

The Creator

as Harun

2023
Isle of Dogs 7.8

Isle of Dogs

as Head Surgeon (voice)

2018
Pokémon Detective Pikachu 6.9

Pokémon Detective Pikachu

as Lieutenant Hide Yoshida

2019
Memoirs of a Geisha 7.6

Memoirs of a Geisha

as Chairman

2005
Kokuho 7.9

Kokuho

as Hanjiro Hanai

2025
Letters from Iwo Jima 7.5

Letters from Iwo Jima

as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi

2006
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant 5.9

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

as Mr. Tall

2009
Tampopo 7.8

Tampopo

as Gun

1985
7 Guardians of the Tomb 5.3

7 Guardians of the Tomb

as Father

2018
The Sea of Trees 6.2

The Sea of Trees

as Takumi Nakamura

2016
Shanghai 6.1

Shanghai

as Tanaka

2010
Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald 7.6

Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald

as Raita Onuki

1997
Fukushima 50 6.5

Fukushima 50

as Masao Yoshida

2020
The Final Piece 7.7

The Final Piece

as Shigeyoshi Toumyo

2025
Earth 7.7

Earth

as Narrator (voice)

2007
Bel Canto 5.4

Bel Canto

as Katsumi Hosokawa

2018
Kensuke's Kingdom 7.1

Kensuke's Kingdom

as Kensuke (voice)

2024
Rage 6.9

Rage

as Yohei Maki

2016
Year One in the North 5.7

Year One in the North

as Komatsubara Hideaki

2005
Samurai Vengeance 8.6

Samurai Vengeance

as Kinji Shinoda

2026
The Unbroken 6.7

The Unbroken

as Hajime Onchi

2009
All Lives 7.2

All Lives

2024
The King and I 7.0

The King and I

as The King of Siam

2018
True Love: Making The Creator 6.2

True Love: Making The Creator

as Self

2023
The Sea and Poison 7.0

The Sea and Poison

as Toda

1986
Unforgiven 7.0

Unforgiven

as Jubee Kamata

2013
Yamazaki Riverside - Over an Actor's Shoulder -

Yamazaki Riverside - Over an Actor's Shoulder -

as Self

2026
Oda Nobunaga 8.0

Oda Nobunaga

1992
Space Travelers 6.1

Space Travelers

as Sakamaki ("Crusher")

2000
Drowning Fish 7.7

Drowning Fish

as Miyota

2001
The Whispered City 9.0

The Whispered City

as Ishida

2000
MacArthur's Children 5.5

MacArthur's Children

as Tetsuo Nakai

1984
Takeda Shingen 10.0

Takeda Shingen

as Narrator

1991
Memories of Tomorrow 6.1

Memories of Tomorrow

as Masayuki Saeki

2006
Snow Jack

Snow Jack

as Reiji Kurata

2014
Ganryujima: Kojiro and Musashi 8.5

Ganryujima: Kojiro and Musashi

as Kojirō

1992
An Artist of the Floating World

An Artist of the Floating World

as Ono Masuji

2019
The Memories of Happiness

The Memories of Happiness

as Taro Miura

2017
Evolution Within Extinction 7.7

Evolution Within Extinction

as Self

2014
Chronicle of the Town Magistrate

Chronicle of the Town Magistrate

as Mochizuki Koheita

1992
Love of a Thousand Years - Story of Genji 5.9

Love of a Thousand Years - Story of Genji

2001
A School Behind Bars 10.0

A School Behind Bars

2010
Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS 8.0

Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS

as Okubo

2002
T.R.Y. 7.2

T.R.Y.

as Masanobu Azuma

2003
Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -

Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -

2011
Kekkon Annai Mystery 8.8

Kekkon Annai Mystery

1985
Bonds 5.6

Bonds

as Detective Sako Akio

1998
Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima'

Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima'

as Self

2007
LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER

LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER

2025
A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era 7.5

A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era

as Ryoma Sakamoto

1991
Baian the Assassin: Showdown

Baian the Assassin: Showdown

as Dr. Baian

1993
Ashes and Snow 7.3

Ashes and Snow

as Japanese Narrator (voice)

2005
星ひとつの夜

星ひとつの夜

as Nonoyama Hiroji

2007
Another Battle/Conspiracy

Another Battle/Conspiracy

as Fujimaki Hiroaki

2003
Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home 6.4

Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home

as Junichiro Kawaguchi

2012
Proof of the Man 2001

Proof of the Man 2001

as Munesue Koichiro

2001
劇場の灯を消すな!PARCO劇場編 7.0

劇場の灯を消すな!PARCO劇場編

2020
第三の時効

第三の時効

2003
Baian the Assassin

Baian the Assassin

as Dr. Baian

1990
Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween

Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween

as Restaurant Patron

2017
The Making of "Tampopo"

The Making of "Tampopo"

as Self

1986
Hanzo, the Razor

Hanzo, the Razor

1993
Commando Invasion 6.8

Commando Invasion

1987

TV Shows 35

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