Ken Watanabe
Acting·October 21, 1959 — 66 years old·Uonuma, Niigata, Japan
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
2010·8.4
Batman Begins
2005·7.7
Godzilla
2014·6.4
Transformers: Age of Extinction
2014·6.0
The Last Samurai
2003·7.6
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
2019·6.9
Transformers: The Last Knight
2017·6.1
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
2019·6.7
Isle of Dogs
2018·7.8
The Creator
2023·7.0
Memoirs of a Geisha
2005·7.6
Alice in Borderland
2020·8.1
Filmography · 104
2026Samurai VengeanceKinji Shinoda2026Kyotojin no Hisokana Tanoshimi Rouge: KeishoTV東雲朔太郎2025The Final PieceShigeyoshi Toumyo2025LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER2025KokuhoHanjiro Hanai2025UnboundTVTamema Okitsugu2025TRUE COLORSTVTaichirou Tsujimura2024All Lives2024Kensuke's KingdomKensuke (voice)2023True Love: Making The CreatorSelf2023The CreatorHarun2022Tokyo ViceTVHiroto Katagiri · Executive Producer2020Alice in BorderlandTVOld Gentleman2020TouboushaTV2020劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編2020Fukushima 50Masao Yoshida2019Godzilla: King of the MonstersDr. Ishiro Serizawa2019Pokémon Detective PikachuLieutenant Hide Yoshida2019An Artist of the Floating WorldOno Masuji2018The King and IThe King of Siam2018Bel CantoKatsumi Hosokawa2018Isle of DogsHead Surgeon (voice)20187 Guardians of the TombFather2018SegodonTVShimazu Nariakira2017NHK WORLD PRIMETVSelf - Presenter2017Transformers: The Last KnightDrift (voice)2017Dirty, Clean, & InbetweenRestaurant Patron2017The Memories of HappinessTaro Miura2016五年目のひとりTV키자키 슈지2016RageYohei Maki2016The Sea of TreesTakumi Nakamura2015The Secret Lives of Kyoto FolkTV東雲朔太郎2014Evolution Within ExtinctionSelf2014Snow JackReiji Kurata2014Back of FatherTVTakamura Kouji2014Transformers: Age of ExtinctionDrift (voice)2014GodzillaDr. Ishiro Serizawa2013UnforgivenJubee Kamata2012Hayabusa: The Long Voyage HomeJunichiro Kawaguchi · Production Manager2011Gyoretsuno dekiru sodanjoTVRegular2011Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -2010A School Behind Bars2010InceptionSaito2010ShanghaiTanaka2009Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's AssistantMr. Tall2009The UnbrokenHajime Onchi2009刑事一代 平塚八兵衛の昭和事件史TV2008ツナガルココロ 3 LOVE STORIES2007EarthNarrator (voice)2007星ひとつの夜Nonoyama Hiroji2007Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima'Self2006Letters from Iwo JimaGeneral Tadamichi Kuribayashi2006Memories of TomorrowMasayuki Saeki · Executive Producer2005Memoirs of a GeishaLe président2005Batman BeginsRa's al Ghul2005Ashes and SnowJapanese Narrator (voice)2005Year One in the NorthKomatsubara Hideaki2004Vessel of SandTVShuichiro Imanishi2003川、いつか海へ 6つの愛の物語TV2003The Last SamuraiMoritsugu Katsumoto2003第三の時効2003Another Battle/ConspiracyFujimaki Hiroaki2003藤田宜永サスペンス「異端の夏」TV2003T.R.Y.Masanobu Azuma2002Mibu Gishiden: Shinsengumi de Ichiban Tsuyokatta OtokoTV2002横山秀夫サスペンス シリーズ (TBS)TV2002強行犯捜査第七係TV2002Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHSOkubo2001Love of a Thousand Years - Story of Genji2001Drowning FishMiyota2001Hojo TokimuneTVHojo Tokiyori2000The Whispered CityIshida2000Ikebukuro West Gate ParkTVYokoyama2000Space TravelersSakamaki ("Crusher")1998Shimei TehaiTV1998BondsDetective Sako Akio1997Welcome Back, Mr. McDonaldRaita Onuki1995Gokenin ZankuroTVZankuro Matsudaira1993Baian the Assassin: ShowdownDr. Baian1993The Fire Still BurnsTVFujiwara Tsunekiyo1993Kagi-shiTV1993Hanzo, the Razor1992Chronicle of the Town MagistrateMochizuki Koheita1992Waga MachiTV1992Izakaya ChōjiTV1992Oda Nobunaga1992Ganryujima: Kojiro and MusashiKojirō1991Baian the AssassinTVFujieda Baian1991A Naive History of the Bakumatsu EraRyoma Sakamoto1991Takeda ShingenNarrator1990Baian the AssassinDr. Baian1990Musuko no GokikanTV1990Yonimo Kimyou na Monogatari TokubetsuhenTV1989HarimaoProducer1989Oda NobunagaTV1987Masamune ShogunTV伊達政宗1987Commando Invasion1986The Sea and PoisonToda1986HanekonmaTVGenzo Onodera1986The Making of "Tampopo"Self1985TampopoGun1985Kekkon Annai Mystery1984MacArthur's ChildrenTetsuo Nakai1984A Tale of Two TruncheonsTV