Acting
Ken Watanabe
Born 21 October 1959 in Uonuma, Niigata, Japan
108 credits
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
Acting 104
- 2026Samurai VengeanceFilmKinji Shinoda
- 2026Kyotojin no Hisokana Tanoshimi Rouge: KeishoSeries東雲朔太郎
- 2026Yamazaki Riverside - Over an Actor's Shoulder -FilmSelf
- 2025KokuhoFilmHanjiro Hanai
- 2025UnboundSeriesTamema Okitsugu
- 2025The Final PieceFilmShigeyoshi Toumyo
- 2025TRUE COLORSSeriesTaichirou Tsujimura
- 2025LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIERFilm
- 2024Kensuke's KingdomFilmKensuke (voice)
- 2024All LivesFilm
- 2023The CreatorFilmHarun
- 2023True Love: Making The CreatorFilmSelf
- 2022Tokyo ViceSeriesHiroto Katagiri
- 2020Alice in BorderlandSeriesOld Gentleman
- 2020Fukushima 50FilmMasao Yoshida
- 2020TouboushaSeries
- 2020劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編Film
- 2019Godzilla: King of the MonstersFilmDr. Ishiro Serizawa
- 2019Pokémon Detective PikachuFilmLieutenant Hide Yoshida
- 2019An Artist of the Floating WorldFilmOno Masuji
- 2018Isle of DogsFilmHead Surgeon (voice)
- 20187 Guardians of the TombFilmFather
- 2018Bel CantoFilmKatsumi Hosokawa
- 2018SegodonSeriesShimazu Nariakira
- 2018The King and IFilmThe King of Siam
- 2017Transformers: The Last KnightFilmDrift (voice)
- 2017NHK WORLD PRIMESeriesSelf - Presenter
- 2017Dirty, Clean, & InbetweenFilmRestaurant Patron
- 2017The Memories of HappinessFilmTaro Miura
- 2016The Sea of TreesFilmTakumi Nakamura
- 2016RageFilmYohei Maki
- 2016五年目のひとりSeries키자키 슈지
- 2015The Secret Lives of Kyoto FolkSeries東雲朔太郎
- 2014Transformers: Age of ExtinctionFilmDrift (voice)
- 2014GodzillaFilmDr. Ishiro Serizawa
- 2014Back of FatherSeriesTakamura Kouji
- 2014Evolution Within ExtinctionFilmSelf
- 2014Snow JackFilmReiji Kurata
- 2013UnforgivenFilmJubee Kamata
- 2012Hayabusa: The Long Voyage HomeFilmJunichiro Kawaguchi
- 2011Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -Film
- 2011Gyoretsuno dekiru sodanjoSeriesRegular
- 2010InceptionFilmSaito
- 2010ShanghaiFilmTanaka
- 2010A School Behind BarsFilm
- 2009Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's AssistantFilmMr. Tall
- 2009The UnbrokenFilmHajime Onchi
- 2009刑事一代 平塚八兵衛の昭和事件史Series
- 2007EarthFilmNarrator (voice)
- 2007Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima'FilmSelf
- 2007星ひとつの夜FilmNonoyama Hiroji
- 2006Letters from Iwo JimaFilmGeneral Tadamichi Kuribayashi
- 2006Memories of TomorrowFilmMasayuki Saeki
- 2005Batman BeginsFilmRa's al Ghul
- 2005Memoirs of a GeishaFilmChairman
- 2005Ashes and SnowFilmJapanese Narrator (voice)
- 2005Year One in the NorthFilmKomatsubara Hideaki
- 2004Vessel of SandSeriesShuichiro Imanishi
- 2003The Last SamuraiFilmMoritsugu Katsumoto
- 2003T.R.Y.FilmMasanobu Azuma
- 2003川、いつか海へ 6つの愛の物語Series
- 2003Another Battle/ConspiracyFilmFujimaki Hiroaki
- 2003第三の時効Film
- 2003藤田宜永サスペンス「異端の夏」Series
- 2002Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHSFilmOkubo
- 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
- 2001Love of a Thousand Years - Story of GenjiFilm
- 2001Hojo TokimuneSeriesHojo Tokiyori
- 2001Drowning FishFilmMiyota
- 2001Proof of the Man 2001FilmMunesue Koichiro
- 2000Ikebukuro West Gate ParkSeriesYokoyama
- 2000Space TravelersFilmSakamaki ("Crusher")
- 2000The Whispered CityFilmIshida
- 1998BondsFilmDetective Sako Akio
- 1998Shimei TehaiSeries
- 1997Welcome Back, Mr. McDonaldFilmRaita Onuki
- 1995Gokenin ZankuroSeriesZankuro Matsudaira
- 1993Baian the Assassin: ShowdownFilmDr. Baian
- 1993Hanzo, the RazorFilm
- 1993Kagi-shiSeries
- 1993The Fire Still BurnsSeriesFujiwara Tsunekiyo
- 1992Oda NobunagaFilm
- 1992Ganryujima: Kojiro and MusashiFilmKojirō
- 1992Chronicle of the Town MagistrateFilmMochizuki Koheita
- 1992Izakaya ChōjiSeries
- 1992Waga MachiSeries
- 1991A Naive History of the Bakumatsu EraFilmRyoma Sakamoto
- 1991Baian the AssassinSeriesFujieda Baian
- 1991Takeda ShingenFilmNarrator
- 1990Yonimo Kimyou na Monogatari TokubetsuhenSeries
- 1990Baian the AssassinFilmDr. Baian
- 1990Musuko no GokikanSeries
- 1989Oda NobunagaSeries
- 1987Masamune ShogunSeries伊達政宗
- 1987Commando InvasionFilm
- 1986The Sea and PoisonFilmToda
- 1986HanekonmaSeriesGenzo Onodera
- 1986The Making of "Tampopo"FilmSelf
- 1985TampopoFilmGun
- 1985Kekkon Annai MysteryFilm
- 1984MacArthur's ChildrenFilmTetsuo Nakai
- 1984A Tale of Two TruncheonsSeries
Production 4
Filmography from TMDB.