Ken Watanabe

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

96

Gender

Male

Birthday

1959-10-21 (66 years old)

Place of Birth

Uonuma, Niigata, Japan

Ken Watanabe

Biography

Ken Watanabe (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.

Known For

  • Inception

    Inception

  • Alice in Borderland

    Alice in Borderland

  • Batman Begins

    Batman Begins

  • Transformers: Age of Extinction

    Transformers: Age of Extinction

  • Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

    Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

  • The Last Samurai

    The Last Samurai

  • Godzilla: King of the Monsters

    Godzilla: King of the Monsters

  • Transformers: The Last Knight

    Transformers: The Last Knight

  • Yonimo Kimyou na Monogatari Tokubetsuhen

    Yonimo Kimyou na Monogatari Tokubetsuhen

  • Godzilla

    Godzilla

  • The Creator

    The Creator

  • Tokyo Vice

    Tokyo Vice

  • Pokémon Detective Pikachu

    Pokémon Detective Pikachu

  • Isle of Dogs

    Isle of Dogs

  • Memoirs of a Geisha

    Memoirs of a Geisha

  • 劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編

    劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編

  • Letters from Iwo Jima

    Letters from Iwo Jima

  • Tampopo

    Tampopo

  • Fukushima 50

    Fukushima 50

  • Kokuho

    Kokuho

  • Ikebukuro West Gate Park

    Ikebukuro West Gate Park

  • Unbound

    Unbound

  • Ganryujima: Kojiro and Musashi

    Ganryujima: Kojiro and Musashi

  • Bel Canto

    Bel Canto

  • Hanekonma

    Hanekonma

  • Segodon

    Segodon

  • Masamune Shogun

    Masamune Shogun

  • The Fire Still Burns

    The Fire Still Burns

  • Gokenin Zankuro

    Gokenin Zankuro

  • Hojo Tokimune

    Hojo Tokimune

  • All Lives

    All Lives

  • Back of Father

    Back of Father

  • Rage

    Rage

  • Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald

    Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald

  • 7 Guardians of the Tomb

    7 Guardians of the Tomb

  • Unforgiven

    Unforgiven

  • MacArthur's Children

    MacArthur's Children

  • Memories of Tomorrow

    Memories of Tomorrow

  • Year One in the North

    Year One in the North

  • Space Travelers

    Space Travelers

  • Another Battle/Conspiracy

    Another Battle/Conspiracy

  • Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween

    Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween

  • 星ひとつの夜

    星ひとつの夜

  • Baian the Assassin

    Baian the Assassin

  • The Final Piece

    The Final Piece

  • Kekkon Annai Mystery

    Kekkon Annai Mystery

  • An Artist of the Floating World

    An Artist of the Floating World

  • The Unbroken

    The Unbroken

  • Bonds

    Bonds

  • Snow Jack

    Snow Jack

  • A School Behind Bars

    A School Behind Bars

  • Baian the Assassin: Showdown

    Baian the Assassin: Showdown

  • The Whispered City

    The Whispered City

  • Chronicle of the Town Magistrate

    Chronicle of the Town Magistrate

  • The Cartier Panther

    The Cartier Panther

  • NHK WORLD PRIME

    NHK WORLD PRIME

  • T.R.Y.

    T.R.Y.

  • The Sea and Poison

    The Sea and Poison

  • Kensuke's Kingdom

    Kensuke's Kingdom

  • Hanzo, the Razor

    Hanzo, the Razor

  • Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS

    Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS

  • Drowning Fish

    Drowning Fish

  • Evolution Within Extinction

    Evolution Within Extinction

  • Oda Nobunaga

    Oda Nobunaga

  • The Sea of Trees

    The Sea of Trees

  • Baian the Assassin

    Baian the Assassin

  • Revenge in Kobikicho

    Revenge in Kobikicho

  • Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -

    Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -

  • Earth

    Earth

  • The Making of "Tampopo"

    The Making of "Tampopo"

  • Toubousha

    Toubousha

  • 川、いつか海へ 6つの愛の物語

    川、いつか海へ 6つの愛の物語

  • The King and I

    The King and I

  • Vessel of Sand

    Vessel of Sand

  • Shanghai

    Shanghai

  • A Tale of Two Truncheons

    A Tale of Two Truncheons

  • Gyoretsuno dekiru sodanjo

    Gyoretsuno dekiru sodanjo

  • True Love: Making The Creator

    True Love: Making The Creator

  • Musuko no Gokikan

    Musuko no Gokikan

  • Kagi-shi

    Kagi-shi

  • Oda Nobunaga

    Oda Nobunaga

  • Mibu Gishiden: Shinsengumi de Ichiban Tsuyokatta Otoko

    Mibu Gishiden: Shinsengumi de Ichiban Tsuyokatta Otoko

  • TRUE COLORS

    TRUE COLORS

  • 強行犯捜査第七係

    強行犯捜査第七係

  • 五年目のひとり

    五年目のひとり

  • 横山秀夫サスペンス シリーズ (TBS)

    横山秀夫サスペンス シリーズ (TBS)

  • Izakaya Chōji

    Izakaya Chōji

  • A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era

    A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era

  • 藤田宜永サスペンス「異端の夏」

    藤田宜永サスペンス「異端の夏」

  • Waga Machi

    Waga Machi

  • Shimei Tehai

    Shimei Tehai

  • Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home

    Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home

  • Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima'

    Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima'

  • Commando Invasion

    Commando Invasion

  • The Memories of Happiness

    The Memories of Happiness

  • 第三の時効

    第三の時効