Acting
Ken Watanabe
Born October 21, 1959 · Uonuma, Niigata, Japan
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
8.8
Inception
Saito
8.2
Batman Begins
Ra's al Ghul
6.4
Godzilla
Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
5.6
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Drift (voice)
7.8
The Last Samurai
Moritsugu Katsumoto
6.5
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
Lieutenant Hide Yoshida
6.0
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
5.2
Transformers: The Last Knight
Drift (voice)
7.8
Isle of Dogs
Head Surgeon (voice)
6.7
The Creator
Harun
7.3
Memoirs of a Geisha
Chairman
7.8
Alice in Borderland
Old Gentleman
7.8
Letters from Iwo Jima
General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
5.8
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Mr. Tall
6.1
The Sea of Trees
Takumi Nakamura
7.9
Tampopo
Gun
8.1
Tokyo Vice
Hiroto Katagiri, Executive Producer
7.9
Earth
Narrator (voice)
4.5
7 Guardians of the Tomb
Father
6.3
Shanghai
Tanaka
Filmography
- 2026Yamazaki Riverside - Over an Actor's Shoulder -SelfMovie
- 2026Samurai VengeanceKinji ShinodaMovie
- 2026Kyotojin no Hisokana Tanoshimi Rouge: Keisho東雲朔太郎Series
- 2025The Final PieceShigeyoshi ToumyoMovie
- 2025LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIERMovie
- 2025KokuhoHanjiro HanaiMovie
- 2025UnboundTamema OkitsuguSeries
- 2025TRUE COLORSTaichirou TsujimuraSeries
- 2024All LivesMovie
- 2024Kensuke's KingdomKensuke (voice)Movie
- 2023True Love: Making The CreatorSelfMovie
- 2023The CreatorHarunMovie
- 2022Tokyo ViceHiroto Katagiri, Executive ProducerSeries
- 2020Alice in BorderlandOld GentlemanSeries
- 2020TouboushaSeries
- 2020劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編Movie
- 2020Fukushima 50Masao YoshidaMovie
- 2019Godzilla: King of the MonstersDr. Ishiro SerizawaMovie
- 2019Pokémon Detective PikachuLieutenant Hide YoshidaMovie
- 2019An Artist of the Floating WorldOno MasujiMovie
- 2018The King and IThe King of SiamMovie
- 2018Bel CantoKatsumi HosokawaMovie
- 2018Isle of DogsHead Surgeon (voice)Movie
- 20187 Guardians of the TombFatherMovie
- 2018SegodonShimazu NariakiraSeries
- 2017NHK WORLD PRIMESelf - PresenterSeries
- 2017Transformers: The Last KnightDrift (voice)Movie
- 2017Dirty, Clean, & InbetweenRestaurant PatronMovie
- 2017The Memories of HappinessTaro MiuraMovie
- 2016五年目のひとり키자키 슈지Series
- 2016RageYohei MakiMovie
- 2016The Sea of TreesTakumi NakamuraMovie
- 2015The Secret Lives of Kyoto Folk東雲朔太郎Series
- 2014Evolution Within ExtinctionSelfMovie
- 2014Snow JackReiji KurataMovie
- 2014Back of FatherTakamura KoujiSeries
- 2014Transformers: Age of ExtinctionDrift (voice)Movie
- 2014GodzillaDr. Ishiro SerizawaMovie
- 2013UnforgivenJubee KamataMovie
- 2012Hayabusa: The Long Voyage HomeJunichiro Kawaguchi, Production ManagerMovie
- 2011Gyoretsuno dekiru sodanjoRegularSeries
- 2011Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -Movie
- 2010A School Behind BarsMovie
- 2010InceptionSaitoMovie
- 2010ShanghaiTanakaMovie
- 2009Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's AssistantMr. TallMovie
- 2009The UnbrokenHajime OnchiMovie
- 2009刑事一代 平塚八兵衛の昭和事件史Series
- 2007EarthNarrator (voice)Movie
- 2007星ひとつの夜Nonoyama HirojiMovie
- 2007Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima'SelfMovie
- 2006Letters from Iwo JimaGeneral Tadamichi KuribayashiMovie
- 2006Memories of TomorrowMasayuki Saeki, Executive ProducerMovie
- 2005Memoirs of a GeishaChairmanMovie
- 2005Batman BeginsRa's al GhulMovie
- 2005Ashes and SnowJapanese Narrator (voice)Movie
- 2005Year One in the NorthKomatsubara HideakiMovie
- 2004Vessel of SandShuichiro ImanishiSeries
- 2003川、いつか海へ 6つの愛の物語Series
- 2003The Last SamuraiMoritsugu KatsumotoMovie
- 2003第三の時効Movie
- 2003Another Battle/ConspiracyFujimaki HiroakiMovie
- 2003藤田宜永サスペンス「異端の夏」Series
- 2003T.R.Y.Masanobu AzumaMovie
- 2002Mibu Gishiden: Shinsengumi de Ichiban Tsuyokatta OtokoSeries
- 2002横山秀夫サスペンス シリーズ (TBS)Series
- 2002強行犯捜査第七係Series
- 2002Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHSOkuboMovie
- 2001Love of a Thousand Years - Story of GenjiMovie
- 2001Drowning FishMiyotaMovie
- 2001Hojo TokimuneHojo TokiyoriSeries
- 2001Proof of the Man 2001Munesue KoichiroMovie
- 2000The Whispered CityIshidaMovie
- 2000Ikebukuro West Gate ParkYokoyamaSeries
- 2000Space TravelersSakamaki ("Crusher")Movie
- 1998Shimei TehaiSeries
- 1998BondsDetective Sako AkioMovie
- 1997Welcome Back, Mr. McDonaldRaita OnukiMovie
- 1995Gokenin ZankuroZankuro MatsudairaSeries
- 1993Baian the Assassin: ShowdownDr. BaianMovie
- 1993The Fire Still BurnsFujiwara TsunekiyoSeries
- 1993Kagi-shiSeries
- 1993Hanzo, the RazorMovie
- 1992Chronicle of the Town MagistrateMochizuki KoheitaMovie
- 1992Waga MachiSeries
- 1992Izakaya ChōjiSeries
- 1992Oda NobunagaMovie
- 1992Ganryujima: Kojiro and MusashiKojirōMovie
- 1991Baian the AssassinFujieda BaianSeries
- 1991A Naive History of the Bakumatsu EraRyoma SakamotoMovie
- 1991Takeda ShingenNarratorMovie
- 1990Baian the AssassinDr. BaianMovie
- 1990Musuko no GokikanSeries
- 1990Yonimo Kimyou na Monogatari TokubetsuhenSeries
- 1989HarimaoProducerMovie
- 1989Oda NobunagaSeries
- 1987Masamune Shogun伊達政宗Series
- 1987Commando InvasionMovie
- 1986The Sea and PoisonTodaMovie
- 1986HanekonmaGenzo OnoderaSeries
- 1986The Making of "Tampopo"SelfMovie
- 1985TampopoGunMovie
- 1985Kekkon Annai MysteryMovie
- 1984MacArthur's ChildrenTetsuo NakaiMovie
- 1984A Tale of Two TruncheonsSeries