Sessue Hayakawa

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

87

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

  • Tempête sur l'Asie

    Tempête sur l'Asie

  • The Bridge on the River Kwai

    The Bridge on the River Kwai

  • The Sun Rises from the East

    The Sun Rises from the East

  • Yoshiwara

    Yoshiwara

  • Taikouki

    Taikouki

  • 日本敗れず

    日本敗れず

  • Daughter of the Dragon

    Daughter of the Dragon

  • Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12

    Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12

  • Tokyo Joe

    Tokyo Joe

  • The Daughter of the Samurai

    The Daughter of the Samurai

  • The Victoria Cross

    The Victoria Cross

  • The Dragon Painter

    The Dragon Painter

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

    Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

  • The Last of the Line

    The Last of the Line

  • 47 Vendettas

    47 Vendettas

  • The Big Wave

    The Big Wave

  • Malaria

    Malaria

  • Lover's Duet

    Lover's Duet

  • Bonds of Honor

    Bonds of Honor

  • 悲劇の将軍 山下奉文

    悲劇の将軍 山下奉文

  • The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant

    The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant

  • Les Miserables II: Banner of Love and Freedom

    Les Miserables II: Banner of Love and Freedom

  • The Motherland Far Far Away

    The Motherland Far Far Away

  • Black Roses

    Black Roses

  • The Bravest Way

    The Bravest Way

  • Les Miserables I: God and the Devil

    Les Miserables I: God and the Devil

  • The Temple Of Dusk

    The Temple Of Dusk

  • The Secret Game

    The Secret Game

  • The Man Beneath

    The Man Beneath

  • Running Hollywood

    Running Hollywood

  • The Secret Sin

    The Secret Sin

  • The Great Prince Shan

    The Great Prince Shan

  • Escape to Paradise/Water Birds

    Escape to Paradise/Water Birds

  • Hell to Eternity

    Hell to Eternity

  • The Death Mask

    The Death Mask

  • The Frozen Moment

    The Frozen Moment

  • The Daydreamer

    The Daydreamer

  • Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks

    Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks

  • The Cheat

    The Cheat

  • Swiss Family Robinson

    Swiss Family Robinson

  • The City of Dim Faces

    The City of Dim Faces

  • O Mimi san

    O Mimi san

  • After Five

    After Five

  • Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood

    Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood

  • House of Bamboo

    House of Bamboo

  • Three Came Home

    Three Came Home

  • Hidden Pearls

    Hidden Pearls

  • Green Mansions

    Green Mansions

  • Asian Americans

    Asian Americans

  • The Devil's Claim

    The Devil's Claim

  • Forfaiture

    Forfaiture

  • The Typhoon

    The Typhoon

  • Temptation

    Temptation

  • The Tong Man

    The Tong Man

  • The Geisha Boy

    The Geisha Boy

  • The Call of the East

    The Call of the East

  • The Honorable Friend

    The Honorable Friend

  • Each to His Kind

    Each to His Kind

  • An Arabian Knight

    An Arabian Knight

  • Night Life in Hollywood

    Night Life in Hollywood

  • Le Soleil de minuit

    Le Soleil de minuit

  • The First Born

    The First Born

  • The Courageous Coward

    The Courageous Coward

  • The Clue

    The Clue

  • Swiss Family Robinson: Adventure in the Making

    Swiss Family Robinson: Adventure in the Making

  • Le Cabaret du Grand Large

    Le Cabaret du Grand Large

  • John Gunther's High Road

    John Gunther's High Road

  • Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)

    Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)

  • The Battle

    The Battle

  • Forbidden Paths

    Forbidden Paths

  • Gambling Hell

    Gambling Hell

  • The Bottle Imp

    The Bottle Imp

  • Sen Yan’s Devotion

    Sen Yan’s Devotion

  • The Honor of His House

    The Honor of His House

  • The Soul of Kura San

    The Soul of Kura San

  • Patrouille blanche

    Patrouille blanche

  • I Have Killed

    I Have Killed

  • The White Man's Law

    The White Man's Law

  • His Birthright

    His Birthright

  • Banzai

    Banzai

  • The Wrath of the Gods

    The Wrath of the Gods

  • Where Lights Are Low

    Where Lights Are Low

  • Quartier chinois

    Quartier chinois

  • The Swamp

    The Swamp

  • Li Ting Lang

    Li Ting Lang

  • A Heart in Pawn

    A Heart in Pawn

  • The Vermilion Pencil

    The Vermilion Pencil