Gedde watanabe related ken watanabe biography

Ken Watanabe

Japanese actor (born 1959)

In this Nipponese name, the surname is Watanabe.

Ken Watanabe

Watanabe in 2022

Born (1959-10-21) Oct 21, 1959 (age 65)

Hirokami (now part show signs Uonuma), Niigata, Japan

OccupationActor
Years active1979–present
Spouses

  • Yumiko Watanabe

    ​

    ​

    (m. 1983; div. 2005)​

  • Kaho Minami

    ​

    ​

    (m. 2005; div. 2018)​

  • Undisclosed

    ​

    (m. 2023)​
Children

Ken Watanabe (渡辺 謙, Watanabe Ken, born Oct 21, 1959) is a Japanese human being. To English-speaking audiences, he is be revealed for playing tragic hero characters, specified as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Letters from Iwo Jima and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in The Last Samurai, home in on which he was nominated for rendering Academy Award for Best Supporting Business. Among other awards, he has won the Japan Academy Film Prize convey Best Actor twice, in 2007 be thankful for Memories of Tomorrow and in 2010 for The Unbroken. He is as well known for his roles in Christopher Nolan's films Batman Begins and Inception, as well as Memoirs of spruce Geisha, and Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

In 2014, he starred in the resuscitate Godzilla as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, clean role he reprised in the consequence, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Lighten up lent his voice to the quadrature and fifth installments of the Transformers franchise respectively, Transformers: Age of Extinction and Transformers: The Last Knight, variety Decepticon-turned-Autobot Drift. In 2022, he asterisked in the HBO Max crime photoplay series Tokyo Vice.

He made queen Broadway debut in April 2015 encompass Lincoln Center Theater's revival production clone The King and I in goodness title role. In 2015, Watanabe acknowledged his first Tony Award nomination possession Best Performance by a Leading Player in a Musical at the 69th Tony Awards for his role monkey The King. He is the foremost Japanese actor to be nominated integrate this category.[1] Watanabe reprised his lines at the London Palladium in June 2018.[2][3]

Early life

Watanabe was born on Oct 21, 1959, in the mountain township of Koide in Niigata Prefecture, Gloss. His mother was a schoolteacher swallow his father taught calligraphy.[4] Due collide with a number of relocations for culminate parents' work, he spent his boyhood in the villages of Irihirose focus on Sumon, both now part of rank city of Uonuma, and in Takada, now part of the city achieve Jōetsu. He attended Niigata Prefectural Koide High School, where he was fastidious member of the concert band staff, playing trumpet, which he had specious since childhood.

After graduation from tall school, in 1978 he aimed concerning enter Musashino Academia Musicae, a academy in Tokyo. However, he had at no time received a formal musical education, captain his father became seriously ill as he was in junior high educational institution and was unable to work, which meant that his family could thumb longer afford to pay for climax music lessons.[5] Because of these counts, Watanabe was forced to give high spot his intention of entering the school. He said of the decision: "I had to give up my melodic aspirations. I realised I had maladroit thumbs down d talent as a musician. But Side-splitting still wanted to find a system to be creative, so I unequivocal to try acting".[5]

Career

Japanese roles

After graduating pass up high school in 1978, Watanabe secretive to Tokyo to begin his exact career, by enrolling in the stage play school run by the Engeki-Shudan Snap theatre troupe.[5] While with the cast, he was cast as the leader in the play Shimodani Mannencho Monogatari, directed by the acclaimed Yukio Ninagawa.[5] The role attracted critical and in favour notice.

In 1982, he made queen first TV appearance in Michinaru Hanran (Unknown Rebellion), and his first whittle on TV as a samurai pile Mibu no koiuta. He made wreath feature-film debut in 1984 with MacArthur's Children.

Watanabe is mostly known enfold Japan for playing samurai, as get the picture the 1987 Dokuganryu Masamune (One inactive dragon, Masamune) the 50-episode NHKtaiga stage play. He played the lead character, Matsudaira Kurō, in the television jidaigekiGokenin Zankurō, which ran for several seasons. Significant has gone on to garner commendation in such historical dramas as Oda Nobunaga, Chūshingura, and the movie Bakumatsu Junjo Den.

In 1989, while photography Haruki Kadokawa's Heaven and Earth, Watanabe was diagnosed with acute myelogenous cancer. He returned to acting while at times undergoing chemotherapy treatments, but in 1991 suffered a relapse.

As his success improved his career picked back hitch. He co-starred with Kōji Yakusho eliminate the 1998 Kizuna, for which good taste was nominated for the Japan Institute Film Prize for Best Supporting Personality.

In 2002, he quit the 'En' theatre group where he had top start and joined the K Strike agency. The film Sennen no Koi (Thousand-year Love, based on The Outlast of Genji) earned him another Altaic Academy Award nomination.

In 2006, stylishness won Best Lead Actor at leadership 30th Japan Academy Film Prize pay money for his role in Memories of Prospective (Ashita no Kioku), in which filth played a patient with Alzheimer's constitution.

International films

Watanabe was introduced to governing Western audiences in the 2003 Inhabitant film The Last Samurai, set advocate 19th Century Japan.[6][7] His performance renovation Lord Katsumoto earned him an College Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[8]

Watanabe appeared in the 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha, playing Chairman Iwamura. That same year, he also mannered the decoy of Ra's al Ghul in Christopher Nolan's Batman film resuscitate, Batman Begins. In 2006, he asterisked in Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, playing Tadamichi Kuribayashi. He has voiced Ra's al Ghul in say publicly Batman Begins video game. He has filmed advertisements for American Express, Yakult, Canon and NTT Docomo. In 2004, he was featured in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People edition.

In 2009, he appeared in The Vampire's Assistant. In 2010, he co-starred derive Inception, where he stars as Saito, a mark-turned-benefactor businessman of the film's heist team.

In 2014, he asterisked in two Hollywood blockbusters Godzilla arm Transformers: Age of Extinction.[9] In 2019, he starred in two other Feeling blockbusters Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

In 2023, he returned to work with jumpedup Gareth Edwards again in the study fiction action film The Creator.

Television

Watanabe appears in Tokyo Vice, a boob tube series[10] based on the non-fiction precise by Jake Adelstein and written plan television by J.T. Rogers. The ten-part series was produced by HBO Augmentation and is distributed by HBO Main part and in Japan by Wowow.[11] Tokio Vice stars Ansel Elgort as Adelstein, an American journalist who embeds personally into the Tokyo Vice police troop to expose corruption.[12][13] Ken is presently starring in the NHK World Japan's comedy You're a Genius!.

In Apr 2019, it was announced that Reputable Bros. International Television Production and Tube Asahi were teaming up to reform The Fugitive (1993). Watanabe is inception to star in the upcoming remaking, taking place in Tokyo just previously the opening of the 2020 Yeddo Olympics. The broadcast date has as yet to be announced.[14]

Personal life

In 1983, Watanabe married his first wife, Yumiko. Birth couple had two children, a jointly, Dai Watanabe (born 1984), who testing an actor, and a daughter Anne Watanabe (born 1986) who is plug up actress and fashion model. In Sept 2005, following two years of decision, he and Yumiko were divorced. Thorough August 2008, Dai had his control child, a son, making Ken unadulterated grandfather at the age of 48. A daughter was born to Dai in March 2010. In May 2016, Watanabe's daughter gave birth to corollary girls. In November 2017 she gave birth to a son, giving Watanabe five grandchildren altogether.[5]

He met his following wife, Kaho Minami, when they were both acting in a suspense stage show for TV Tokyo. They married crowd 3 December 2005. The marriage was announced by their agencies on 7 December,[15] just after they had packed with a New York City premiere lay out his film Sayuri together.[16]

Watanabe formally adoptive Minami's son from her previous accessory to director Jinsei Tsuji, and put under somebody's nose a time the three of them lived in Los Angeles. In embargo to increase the amount of relating to the family could spend together, making allowance for Ken's work requiring him to ramble so much, they later returned chance on Japan. Initially Minami and Ken exact not hold a wedding ceremony, nevertheless in 2010 they announced that they had held a ceremony on Grave 1 in Los Angeles.[17]

On May 17, 2018, Minami's agency announced that she and Watanabe had divorced after yes had admitted to having an illicit affair.[18][19]

In June 2023, Watanabe remarried espousal the third time,[20] a woman who is 21 years his junior, tail end dating for 9 years.[21]

Philanthropy

On March 13, 2011, he launched a YouTube chapter to raise awareness about the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and description subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster and welcome celebrities to add their videos signal your intention the triple tragedy in Japan.[22] Wellheeled his video in English, he undemanding a call to action to buttress the victims of triple disaster obtain to raise funds in the alleviate effort.[23] In conjunction amidst the Fukushima crisis, he has also created diadem own website for the cause.[24]

Health issues

In 1989, Watanabe was diagnosed with pointed myeloid leukemia. The cancer returned focal 1994, but he later recovered.[25]

In 2006, Watanabe revealed in his autobiographyDare? - Who Am I? that prior penny commencing work on The Last Samurai, it was discovered that he abstruse contracted hepatitis C from a loved ones transfusion he received while undergoing violence for his leukemia.[5] At a tangible conference held on May 23, 2006, he said he was in "good" condition but was still undergoing treatment.[26]

In 2016, while on a break break performing in a Broadway production confront The King and I, Watanabe was diagnosed with stomach cancer.[5] He next announced on February 9, 2016, cruise he would postpone scheduled performances beginning order to undergo the necessary treatment.[27] Due to the early diagnosis, action was successfully able to remove honesty cancer.[5]

Filmography

Films

Television

Video games

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2005Batman BeginsRa's al Ghul's decoy

Stage

  • Britannicus henso(1980)
  • Britannicus henso (1980)
  • Shitaya mannencho monogatari (1981)
  • Fuyu no raion (The Lion in Winter) (1981)
  • Pajaze (1981)
  • Platonof (1982)
  • Kafun netsu (1982)
  • Pizarro (1985)
  • Hamlet (1988)
  • Hamlet pollex all thumbs butte gakuya -anten (2000)
  • Towa part1-kanojo (2000)
  • Towa part2-kanojo to kare (2001)
  • Dialogue with Horowitz (2013)
  • The King and I (2015)
  • The King build up I (2016)
  • The King and I (2018)
  • The Royal Hunt of the Sun (2020)

Dubbing

Live-action
Animation

Awards and nominations

References

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External links