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Ken Watanabe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the actor. For the NASA scientist, see Ken Watanabe (astrophysicist).
Ken Watanabe
Birth name (渡辺 謙 Watanabe Ken)
Born October 21, 1959 (age 47)
Koide, Niigata, Japan
Spouse(s) Yumiko Watanabe (1)
Kaho Minami (2)
Notable roles General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Chairman in
Memoirs of a Geisha
Katsumoto in
The Last Samurai

Ken Watanabe (渡辺 謙 Watanabe Ken?, born October 21, 1959) is an Oscar-nominated Japanese theater, TV, and film actor.

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[edit] Biography

Born Kensaku Watanabe in Koide (now Uonuma), Niigata prefecture, Japan. His mother taught general education and his father taught calligraphy.

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. The American-produced The Last Samurai is his fourth such depiction, although he has also played gangsters, businessmen and a general in other works. 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 Ten to Chi to (Heaven and Earth) in Calgary, Watanabe was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. He returned to acting while simultaneously undergoing chemotherapy treatments, but in 1994 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 won a Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Watanabe had ignored his finances, leaving them entirely to his wife. In 2001 he announced at a press conference that his ¥170million home had been repossessed and that he was heavily in debt.

In 2002, he quit the En (Enegki-Shudan En) theater 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) won Watanabe another Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

For his performance as Katsumoto in The Last Samurai, he was nominated for the 2003 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2004, he was featured in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People edition.

Ken is divorced from his ex-wife, Yumiko, with whom he has two children: Anne Watanabe, a 19 year-old model, and Dai Watanabe (渡辺大), a 20 year-old actor. On December 3, 2005, he married actress Kaho Minami.

Watanabe played the part of the Ra's al Ghul decoy in the 2005 film Batman Begins and The Chairman in the film version of the best selling Arthur Golden novel, Memoirs of a Geisha.

Ken has also done ads for American Express and Yakult.

[edit] Filmography

Ken Watanabe with Zhang Ziyi in Memoirs of a Geisha.
Ken Watanabe with Zhang Ziyi in Memoirs of a Geisha.
Year Title Role Other 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
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
T.R.Y. Masanobu Azuma
2004 Castle of Sand
(砂の器 Suna no utsuwa)
Shūichirō Imanishi TV series
2005 Memoirs of a Geisha The Chairman
Batman Begins Ra's Al Ghul
Year One in the North
(北の零年 Kita no zeronen)
Hideaki Komatsubara
2006 Memories of Tomorrow
(明日の記憶 Ashita no Kioku)
Masayuki Saeki first starring role
2007 A Dream of Red Mansions Li
Letters from Iwo Jima General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
2008 Wolverine Kenuichio Harada rumored
The Battle of Red Cliff Cao Cao Replaced by actor Zhang Fengyi.

[edit] Stage

  • Britannicus henso (1980)
  • Shitaya mannencho monogatari (1981)
  • Fuyu no raion (The Lion in Winter) (1981)
  • Pajaze (1981)
  • Platonof (1982)
  • Kafun netsu (1982)
  • Pizarro (1985)
  • Hamlet (1988)
  • Hamlet no gakuya -anten (2000)
  • Eien part1-kanojo to kare (2000)
  • Eien part2-kanojo to kare (2001)

[edit] Awards and nominations

Year Nominating Body Result Award Movie
2007 Japanese Academy Awards Won Best Leading Actor Ashita no Kioku
2004 Academy Awards Nominated Best Supporting Actor The Last Samurai
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards Nominated Best Supporting Actor The Last Samurai
Golden Globes Nominated Best Performance by an Actor
in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
The Last Samurai
Satellite Awards Nominated Best Performance by an Actor
in a Supporting Role, Drama
The Last Samurai
Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominated Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor
in a Supporting Role
The Last Samurai
Blue Ribbon Awards Won Special Award The Last Sumurai
2003 Japanese Academy Awards Won Best Supporting Actor Hi wa mata noboru
2002 Japanese Academy Awards Won Best Supporting Actor Genji: A Thousand-Year Love
1999 Japanese Academy Awards Won Best Supporting Actor Kizuna
1987 Elandor Awards Won Newcomer Umi to Dokuyaku

[edit] External links

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