| Ken Watanabe 渡辺 謙 |
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Ken Watanabe in 2007 |
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| Born | October 21, 1959 Koide, Niigata, Japan |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | Yumiko Watanabe (div. 2005) Kaho Minami (2005–present) |
| Website | |
| kdash | |
Ken Watanabe (渡辺 謙 Watanabe Ken, 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.
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Watanabe was born in Koide, Niigata prefecture. His mother was a school teacher and his father taught calligraphy.[1] Ken has two children. His daughter Anne Watanabe is a model.
After graduating from high school in 1978, Watanabe moved to Tokyo to begin his acting career, getting his big break with the Tokyo-based theater troupe En. While with the troupe, he was cast as the hero in the play Shimodani Mannencho Monogatari, under Yukio Ninagawa's direction. The role attracted critical and popular notice.
In 1982, he made his first TV appearance in Michinaru Hanran (Unknown Rebellion), and his first appearance on TV as a samurai in Mibu no koiuta. He made his feature-film debut in 1984 with MacArthur's Children.
Watanabe is mostly known in Japan for playing samurai, as in the 1987 Dokuganryu Masamune (One eyed dragon, Masamune) the 50-episode NHK drama for which he is now best known. He played the lead character, Matsudaira Kurō, in the television jidaigeki Gokenin Zankurō, which ran for several seasons. He has gone on to earn acclaim in such historical dramas as Oda Nobunaga, Chushingura, and the movie Bakumatsu Junjo Den.
In 1989, while filming Haruki Kadokawa's Heaven and Earth, Watanabe was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. He returned to acting while simultaneously undergoing chemotherapy treatments, but in 1991 suffered a relapse.
As his health improved his career picked back up. He co-starred with Koji Yakusho in the 1998 Kizuna, for which he was nominated for the Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2002, he quit the En (Engeki-Shudan En) theatre group where he had his start and joined the K-Dash agency. The film Sennen no Koi (Thousand-year Love, based on The Tale of Genji) earned him another Japanese Academy Award nomination.
In 2006, he won Best Lead Actor at the Japanese Academy Awards for his role in Memories of Tomorrow (Ashita no Kioku), in which he played a patient with Alzheimer's Disease.
Watanabe was introduced to most Western audiences by the 2003 film The Last Samurai. His performance as Katsumoto earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Watanabe appeared in the 2005 films Batman Begins, playing Ra's Al Ghul, and Memoirs of a Geisha, playing Chairman Iwamura. In 2006, he starred in Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, playing Tadamichi Kuribayashi. He reprised his role as Ra's Al Ghul in the Batman Begins video game. He has filmed advertisements for American Express, Yakult, and NTT DoCoMo. In 2004, he was featured in People Magazine 's 50 Most Beautiful People edition. In 2009, he appeared in The Vampire's Assistant. In 2010, he co-starred in Inception, playing Saito
Watanabe's daughter Anne Watanabe (1986-) is also an actress and fashion model.
In 1989 Watanabe was diagnosed with bone marrow leukemia, but he recovered later on.
In 2006 Watanabe revealed in his autobiography "Dare? - Who Am I?" that he has hepatitis C. At a press conference held 23 May 2006 in Tokyo's Ginza district, he said he was in good condition but was still undergoing treatment.[2]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | MacArthur's Children | Tetsuo Nakai | |
| Bruce's Fists of Vengeance | |||
| 1985 | 9 Deaths of the Ninja | Sensei | |
| Kekkon Annai Mystery (結婚案内ミステリー Kekkon Annai Misuterī) |
Funayama Tetsuya/Masakazu Sekine | ||
| 1986 | The Sea and Poison (海と毒薬 Umi to Dokuyaku) |
Toda | |
| Tampopo | Gun | ||
| 1987 | Karate Warrior (Il ragazzo dal kimono d'oro) |
Master Kimura | |
| Commando Invasion | |||
| 1988 | Karate Warrior 2 (Il ragazzo dal kimono d'oro 2) |
Master Kimura | |
| 1989 | Violent Zone | Old Mishima | |
| 1998 | Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald | Raita Onuki, Truck Driver | |
| 2000 | Space Travellers (スペーストラベラーズ Supēsu toraberāzu) |
Sakamaki | |
| 2000 | Ikebukuro West Gate Park |
Inspector Yokoyama | TV series |
| 2001 | Genji: A Thousand-Year Love (千年の恋 ～ひかる源氏物語 Sennen no koi - Hikaru Genji Monogatari) |
Fujiwara Michinaga/Fujiwara Nobutaka | |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Katsumoto Moritsugu | |
| T.R.Y. | Masanobu Azuma | ||
| 2004 | Castle of Sand (砂の器 Suna no utsuwa) |
Shūichirō Imanishi | TV series |
| 2005 | Memoirs of a Geisha | Ken Iwamura | |
| Batman Begins | Ra's al Ghul's Decoy | ||
| Year One in the North (北の零年 Kita no zeronen) |
Hideaki Komatsubara | ||
| 2006 | Memories of Tomorrow | Masayuki Saeki | First starring role |
| Letters from Iwo Jima | General Tadamichi Kuribayashi | ||
| 2009 | The Unbroken (Shizumanu Taiyo) |
Hajime Onchi | |
| Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant | Mr. Hibernius Tall | ||
| 2010 | Shanghai | Captain Tanaka | |
| Inception | Saito |
| Year | Organization | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Elandor Awards | Newcomer Award | Umi to Dokuyaku | Won |
| 1999 | Japanese Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kizuna | Nominated[3] |
| 2002 | Japan Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Sennen no Koi Story of Genji | Nominated[3] |
| 2003 | Japan Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Hi Wa Mata Noboru | Nominated[3] |
| Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Last Samurai | Nominated[3] | |
| 2004 | Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated[3] | |
| Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated[3] | ||
| Blue Ribbon Awards | Special Award | Won[3] | ||
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated[3] | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated[3] | ||
| Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated[3] | ||
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated[3] | ||
| Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated[3] | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated[3] | ||
| Television Drama Academy Awards (Winter) | Best Supporting Actor | Suna no Utsuwa | Won[4] | |
| 2006 | Hochi Film Awards | Best Actor | Memories of Tomorrow | Won[3] |
| Nikkan Sports Film Awards | Best Actor | Won[3] | ||
| 2007 | Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Actor | Won[5] | |
| Japan Academy Awards | Best Actor | Won[6] | ||
| Fujimoto Prize | Special Prize | Won[7] | ||
| Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Actor | Won[8] | ||
| 2009 | Hochi Film Awards | Best Actor | Shizumanu Taiyo | Won[9] |
| 2010 | Japan Academy Awards | Best Actor | Won[10] |
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