8.4
Movie
Acting
Ken Watanabe
- Born
- (age 66)
- Birthplace
- Uonuma, Niigata, Japan
- Credits
- 105 titles
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.
Signature work
Known For
8.4
Movie
7.7
Movie
Batman Begins
6.4
Movie
Godzilla
6.0
Movie
Transformers: Age of Extinction
7.6
Movie
The Last Samurai
6.9
Movie
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
6.7
Movie
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
6.1
Movie
Transformers: The Last Knight
7.8
Movie
Isle of Dogs
7.0
Movie
The Creator
7.6
Movie
Memoirs of a Geisha
8.1
TV
Alice in Borderland
7.5
Movie
Letters from Iwo Jima
5.9
Movie
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
6.2
Movie
The Sea of Trees
7.8
Movie
Tampopo
7.9
TV
Tokyo Vice
7.7
Movie
Earth
Acting credits 104
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Yamazaki Riverside - Over an Actor's Shoulder - Film | Self |
| 2026 | Samurai Vengeance Film | Kinji Shinoda |
| 2026 | Kyotojin no Hisokana Tanoshimi Rouge: Keisho TV | 東雲朔太郎 (9 ep) |
| 2025 | The Final Piece Film | Shigeyoshi Toumyo |
| 2025 | LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER Film | |
| 2025 | Kokuho Film | Hanjiro Hanai |
| 2025 | Unbound TV | Tamema Okitsugu (48 ep) |
| 2025 | TRUE COLORS TV | Taichirou Tsujimura (9 ep) |
| 2024 | All Lives Film | |
| 2024 | Kensuke's Kingdom Film | Kensuke (voice) |
| 2023 | True Love: Making The Creator Film | Self |
| 2023 | The Creator Film | Harun |
| 2022 | Tokyo Vice TV | Hiroto Katagiri (18 ep) |
| 2020 | Alice in Borderland TV | Old Gentleman (1 ep) |
| 2020 | Toubousha TV | (2 ep) |
| 2020 | 劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編 Film | |
| 2020 | Fukushima 50 Film | Masao Yoshida |
| 2019 | Godzilla: King of the Monsters Film | Dr. Ishiro Serizawa |
| 2019 | Pokémon Detective Pikachu Film | Lieutenant Hide Yoshida |
| 2019 | An Artist of the Floating World Film | Ono Masuji |
| 2018 | The King and I Film | The King of Siam |
| 2018 | Bel Canto Film | Katsumi Hosokawa |
| 2018 | Isle of Dogs Film | Head Surgeon (voice) |
| 2018 | 7 Guardians of the Tomb Film | Father |
| 2018 | Segodon TV | Shimazu Nariakira (17 ep) |
| 2017 | NHK WORLD PRIME TV | Self - Presenter (1 ep) |
| 2017 | Transformers: The Last Knight Film | Drift (voice) |
| 2017 | Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween Film | Restaurant Patron |
| 2017 | The Memories of Happiness Film | Taro Miura |
| 2016 | 五年目のひとり TV | 키자키 슈지 (1 ep) |
| 2016 | Rage Film | Yohei Maki |
| 2016 | The Sea of Trees Film | Takumi Nakamura |
| 2015 | The Secret Lives of Kyoto Folk TV | 東雲朔太郎 (9 ep) |
| 2014 | Evolution Within Extinction Film | Self |
| 2014 | Snow Jack Film | Reiji Kurata |
| 2014 | Back of Father TV | Takamura Kouji (1 ep) |
| 2014 | Transformers: Age of Extinction Film | Drift (voice) |
| 2014 | Godzilla Film | Dr. Ishiro Serizawa |
| 2013 | Unforgiven Film | Jubee Kamata |
| 2012 | Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home Film | Junichiro Kawaguchi |
| 2011 | Gyoretsuno dekiru sodanjo TV | Regular (1 ep) |
| 2011 | Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera - Film | |
| 2010 | A School Behind Bars Film | |
| 2010 | Inception Film | Saito |
| 2010 | Shanghai Film | Tanaka |
| 2009 | Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant Film | Mr. Tall |
| 2009 | The Unbroken Film | Hajime Onchi |
| 2009 | 刑事一代 平塚八兵衛の昭和事件史 TV | (1 ep) |
| 2007 | Earth Film | Narrator (voice) |
| 2007 | 星ひとつの夜 Film | Nonoyama Hiroji |
| 2007 | Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima' Film | Self |
| 2006 | Letters from Iwo Jima Film | General Tadamichi Kuribayashi |
| 2006 | Memories of Tomorrow Film | Masayuki Saeki |
| 2005 | Memoirs of a Geisha Film | Chairman |
| 2005 | Batman Begins Film | Ra's al Ghul |
| 2005 | Ashes and Snow Film | Japanese Narrator (voice) |
| 2005 | Year One in the North Film | Komatsubara Hideaki |
| 2004 | Vessel of Sand TV | Shuichiro Imanishi (11 ep) |
| 2003 | 川、いつか海へ 6つの愛の物語 TV | (6 ep) |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai Film | Moritsugu Katsumoto |
Crew credits 4
| Year | Title | Job |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Tokyo Vice TV | Executive Producer (18 ep) |
| 2012 | Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home Film | Production Manager |
| 2006 | Memories of Tomorrow Film | Executive Producer |
| 1989 | Harimao Film | Producer |