Sessue Hayakawa

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

99

Gender

Male

Birthday

1889-06-10

Day of death

1973-11-23 (84 years old)

Place of Birth

Nanaura, Chiba, Japan

Sessue Hayakawa

Biography

Sessue Hayakawa (June 10, 1889 – November 23, 1973) was a Japanese and American Issei (Japanese immigrant) actor who starred in American, Japanese, French, German, and British films. Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find stardom in the United States as well as Europe. Between the mid-1910s and the late 1920s, he was as well known as actors Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks. He was one of the highest paid stars of his time; making $5,000 a week in 1915, and $2 million a year via his own production company during the 1920s. He starred in over 80 movies and has two films in the U.S. National Film Registry. His international stardom transitioned both silent films and talkies. Of his English-language films, Hayakawa is probably best known for his role as Colonel Saito in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he received a nomination for Academy Award Best Supporting Actor in 1957. He also appeared as the pirate leader in Disney's Swiss Family Robinson in 1960. In addition to his film acting career, Hayakawa was a theatre actor, film and theatre producer, film director, screenwriter, novelist, martial artist, and an ordained Zen master.   Description above from the Wikipedia article Sessue Hayakawa, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

  • Wagon Train

    Wagon Train

  • Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

    Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

  • The Bridge on the River Kwai

    The Bridge on the River Kwai

  • The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant

    The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant

  • The City of Dim Faces

    The City of Dim Faces

  • John Gunther's High Road

    John Gunther's High Road

  • Swiss Family Robinson: Adventure in the Making

    Swiss Family Robinson: Adventure in the Making

  • 日本敗れず

    日本敗れず

  • Forfaiture

    Forfaiture

  • The Daydreamer

    The Daydreamer

  • Yoshiwara

    Yoshiwara

  • Taikouki

    Taikouki

  • Running Hollywood

    Running Hollywood

  • Daughter of the Dragon

    Daughter of the Dragon

  • Malaria

    Malaria

  • His Debt

    His Debt

  • Swiss Family Robinson

    Swiss Family Robinson

  • Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood

    Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood

  • The Tong Man

    The Tong Man

  • Green Mansions

    Green Mansions

  • The Cheat

    The Cheat

  • Les Miserables II: Banner of Love and Freedom

    Les Miserables II: Banner of Love and Freedom

  • Les Miserables I: God and the Devil

    Les Miserables I: God and the Devil

  • Hell to Eternity

    Hell to Eternity

  • Lover's Duet

    Lover's Duet

  • The Daughter of the Samurai

    The Daughter of the Samurai

  • Alien Souls

    Alien Souls

  • The Motherland Far Far Away

    The Motherland Far Far Away

  • 47 Vendettas

    47 Vendettas

  • The Devil's Claim

    The Devil's Claim

  • The Tragic General: Yamashita Tomoyuki

    The Tragic General: Yamashita Tomoyuki

  • The Secret Sin

    The Secret Sin

  • His Birthright

    His Birthright

  • The Big Wave

    The Big Wave

  • Tokyo Joe

    Tokyo Joe

  • House of Bamboo

    House of Bamboo

  • Three Came Home

    Three Came Home

  • After Five

    After Five

  • Black Roses

    Black Roses

  • Escape to Paradise/Water Birds

    Escape to Paradise/Water Birds

  • The Victoria Cross

    The Victoria Cross

  • The Great Prince Shan

    The Great Prince Shan

  • The Last of the Line

    The Last of the Line

  • Each to His Kind

    Each to His Kind

  • The Geisha Boy

    The Geisha Boy

  • Temptation

    Temptation

  • The Illustrious Prince

    The Illustrious Prince

  • The Call of the East

    The Call of the East

  • Gambling Hell

    Gambling Hell

  • The Temple Of Dusk

    The Temple Of Dusk

  • Asian Americans

    Asian Americans

  • The Chinatown Mystery

    The Chinatown Mystery

  • Tempête sur l'Asie

    Tempête sur l'Asie

  • Bonds of Honor

    Bonds of Honor

  • The Secret Game

    The Secret Game

  • The Courageous Coward

    The Courageous Coward

  • The Brand of Lopez

    The Brand of Lopez

  • Patrouille blanche

    Patrouille blanche

  • The White Man's Law

    The White Man's Law

  • The Frozen Moment

    The Frozen Moment

  • Five Days to Live

    Five Days to Live

  • The Honorable Friend

    The Honorable Friend

  • The Jaguar's Claws

    The Jaguar's Claws

  • The Typhoon

    The Typhoon

  • The Soul of Kura San

    The Soul of Kura San

  • Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12

    Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12

  • Le Soleil de minuit

    Le Soleil de minuit

  • Quartier chinois

    Quartier chinois

  • Le Cabaret du Grand Large

    Le Cabaret du Grand Large

  • The Swamp

    The Swamp

  • The Dragon Painter

    The Dragon Painter

  • Night Life in Hollywood

    Night Life in Hollywood

  • The Bravest Way

    The Bravest Way

  • Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)

    Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)

  • The Bottle Imp

    The Bottle Imp

  • The Man Beneath

    The Man Beneath

  • An Arabian Knight

    An Arabian Knight

  • The Honor of His House

    The Honor of His House

  • Hashimura Togo

    Hashimura Togo

  • Hidden Pearls

    Hidden Pearls

  • The Beggar Prince

    The Beggar Prince

  • A Heart in Pawn

    A Heart in Pawn

  • The Wrath of the Gods

    The Wrath of the Gods

  • Where Lights Are Low

    Where Lights Are Low

  • The First Born

    The First Born

  • Forbidden Paths

    Forbidden Paths

  • Li Ting Lang

    Li Ting Lang

  • O Mimi san

    O Mimi san

  • The Sun Rises from the East

    The Sun Rises from the East

  • The Clue

    The Clue

  • The Vermilion Pencil

    The Vermilion Pencil

  • The Battle

    The Battle

  • Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks

    Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks

  • The Death Mask

    The Death Mask

  • Sen Yan’s Devotion

    Sen Yan’s Devotion

  • The Gray Horizon

    The Gray Horizon

  • I Have Killed

    I Have Killed

  • Banzai

    Banzai

  • The Danger Line

    The Danger Line