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IMDbPro

Ken Watanabe(I)

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000113
Ken Watanabe at an event for Inception (2010)
Take a closer look at the various roles Ken Watanabe has played throughout his acting career.
Play clip1:03
Ken Watanabe: Movie & TV Moments
62 Videos
99+ Photos
Ken Watanabe was born on October 21, 1959 in Uonuma, Japan. Both of his parents were teachers: his mother taught general education and his dad taught calligraphy. He became interested in acting at the age of 24, when a director of England's National Theater Company, where he was studying, told him that acting was his special gift. In 1978, he moved to Tokyo to pursue acting. He drew the attention of the critics when Yukio Ninagawa, a famous Japanese director, chose him for the lead role in one of his plays, even though Ken was still an acting student. He made his first TV appearance in 1982. His big career breakthrough came when he was chosen to play the lead in the Japanese national TV drama series called "Dokugan ryu Masamune". He played a samurai leader hero, making him a household name in Japan. In 1989, he collapsed while filming a movie in Canada due to leukemia. He made a miraculous comeback & co-starred with Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai (2003), which pushed him to the center stage of Hollywood.

Ken has a daughter, model, actress, & singer Anne Watanabe, & a son. He's an avid fan of Hanshin Tigers (Japanese professional baseball team) & Kobe Steel rugby team. He loves noodles.
BornOctober 21, 1959
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornOctober 21, 1959
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000113
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar

Photos183

Ken Watanabe in Yoshino (2022)
Ken Watanabe in Yoshino (2022)
Ken Watanabe in Yoshino (2022)
Hideaki Itô and Ken Watanabe in Yoshino (2022)
Ken Watanabe in Sometimes They Disappear (2022)
Hideaki Itô and Ken Watanabe in Sometimes They Disappear (2022)
Ken Watanabe in The Information Business (2022)
Ken Watanabe in The Information Business (2022)
Ken Watanabe and Ansel Elgort in I Want It That Way (2022)
Ken Watanabe in Read the Air (2022)
Ken Watanabe in Read the Air (2022)
Ken Watanabe in Kishi Kaisei (2022)

Known for

Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai (2003)
The Last Samurai
7.8
  • Katsumoto
  • 2003
Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Lukas Haas, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Elliot Page, Ken Watanabe, and Dileep Rao in Inception (2010)
Inception
8.8
  • Saito
  • 2010
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla
6.4
  • Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
  • 2014
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
6.0
  • Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
  • 2019

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • True Love
    • Post-production
  • Kensuke's Kingdom
    • (voice)
    • Post-production
  • Ken Watanabe and Ansel Elgort in Tokyo Vice (2022)
    Tokyo Vice
  • Tôbôsha
  • Kôichi Satô, Ken Watanabe, Narumi Yasuda, and Hidetaka Yoshioka in Fukushima 50 (2020)
    Fukushima 50
  • Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
    Godzilla: King of the Monsters
  • Ryan Reynolds in Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)
    Pokémon: Detective Pikachu
  • The King and I (2018)
    The King and I
  • Julianne Moore and Ken Watanabe in Bel Canto (2018)
    Bel Canto
  • Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston, and Koyu Rankin in Isle of Dogs (2018)
    Isle of Dogs
    • (voice)
  • Anthony Hopkins, Mark Wahlberg, Erik Aadahl, Jim Carter, Peter Cullen, Laura Haddock, and Isabela Merced in Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
    Transformers: The Last Knight
    • (voice)
  • The Memories of Happiness (2017)
    The Memories of Happiness
  • Gonenme no hitori (2016)
    Gonenme no hitori
  • Ken Watanabe in Rage (2016)
    Rage
  • Matthew McConaughey, Ken Watanabe, and Naomi Watts in The Sea of Trees (2015)
    The Sea of Trees
  • Fathers (2014)
    Fathers
  • Silver Jack (2014)
    Silver Jack

Producer

  • Ken Watanabe and Ansel Elgort in Tokyo Vice (2022)
    Tokyo Vice
  • Ken Watanabe in Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home (2012)
    Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home
  • Unite for Japan (2011)
    Unite for Japan
  • Memories of Tomorrow (2006)
    Memories of Tomorrow

Additional Crew

  • Half Kenneth (2009)
    Half Kenneth

Videos62

Godzilla Vs. the MonsterVerse
Clip 3:22
Godzilla Vs. the MonsterVerse
IMDbrief: Why the Psyduck Is Pikachu a Detective?
Clip 3:13
IMDbrief: Why the Psyduck Is Pikachu a Detective?
Ken Watanabe: Movie & TV Moments
Clip 1:03
Ken Watanabe: Movie & TV Moments
Tampopo
Clip 1:26
Tampopo
Tampopo
Clip 1:25
Tampopo
Inception
Clip 1:14
Inception
Inception
Clip 1:26
Inception
Inception
Clip 1:16
Inception
Inception
Clip 0:58
Inception
Memoirs of a Geisha
Clip 0:56
Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha
Clip 1:09
Memoirs of a Geisha
Batman Begins
Clip 1:07
Batman Begins

Personal details

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    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • October 21, 1959
    • Uonuma, Japan
    • Kaho MinamiDecember 3, 2005 - May 17, 2018 (divorced)
    • Dai Watanabe
  • Print ad, American Express credit card, 2006
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 4 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 3 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Japanese actor.
  • Quotes
    I'm not a big star in Japan. I'm an actor. I have a very normal life. Four days a week, I cook at home. A star doesn't do that.

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