Ken Watanabe (born October 21, 1959) (Japanese: 渡辺謙) is a Japanese theater, TV, and film actor. October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed... Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Biography

Born Kensaku Watanabe on October 21, 1959, in Koide (now Uonuma), Niigata prefecture, Japan. His mother taught general education and his father taught calligraphy. After graduating from high school in 1978 Watanabe moved to Tokyo to begin his acting career, getting his big break with the Tokyo-based theater troupe Madoka. While with the troupe, he was cast as the hero in the play Shimodani Mannencho Monogatari, under Yukio Ninagawa's direction. The role attracted critical and popular notice. October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Koide (小出町; -machi) is a town located in Kitauonuma District, Niigata, Japan. ... Uonuma (魚沼市, -shi) is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. ... Niigata Prefecture (新潟県; Niigata-ken) is located on Honshu island, Japan. ... Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... View of Tokyos Shibuya district Long a symbol of Tokyo, the Nijubashi Bridge at the Kokyo Imperial Palace. ... Yukio Ninagawa is a Japanese theatre director, particularly known for his Japanese language productions of Shakespeare plays and Greek tragedies. ...

In 1982 he made his first TV appearance in Michinaru Hanran (Unknown Rebellion), and his first appearance on TV as a samurai in Mibu no koiuta. He made his feature-film debut in 1984 with MacArthur's Children. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... MacArthurs Children was a popular and influential Japanese motion picture which detailed the impact of the United States occupation of Japan from the perspective of the inhabitants of a small, rural island community. ...

Watanabe is mostly known in Japan for playing samurai, as in the 1987 Dokuganryu Masamune (One eyed dragon, Masamune) the 50-episode NHK drama for which is now best known. He played the lead character, Matsudaira Kurō, in the television jidaigeki Gokenin Zankuro, which ran for several seasons. The American-produced The Last Samurai is his fourth such depiction, although he has also played gangsters, businessmen and a general in other works. He has gone on to earn acclaim in such historical dramas as Oda Nobunaga, Chushingura, and the movie Bakumatsu Junjo Den. For other uses, please see Samurai (disambiguation) Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ... NHK (日本放送協会, Nihon Hōsō Kyōkai), or the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, is Japans public broadcaster. ... Jidaigeki (時代劇) is a genre of film and television in Japan. ... The Last Samurai is a film released in the United States on December 5, 2003. ... Incense burns at the burial graves of the 47 Ronin at Sengakuji. ...

In 1989, while filming Haruki Kadokawa's Ten to Chi to (Heaven and Earth) in Calgary, Watanabe was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. He returned to acting while simultaneously undergoing chemotherapy treatments, but in 1994 suffered a relapse. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Heaven and Earth (天と地と, Ten to chi to) is a 1990 film directed by Kadokawa Haruki starring Enoki Takaaki, Tsugawa Masahiko, Asano Atsuko, Zaizen Naomi and Nomura Hironobu. ... Motto: Heart of the new west Area: 712. ... Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), also known as acute myeloid leukemia, is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells. ... Chemotherapy is the use of chemical substances to treat disease. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

As his health improved his career picked back up. He co-starred with Koji Yakusho in the 1998 Kizuna, for which he won a Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Koji Yakusho (役所 広司 Yakusho Kōji) is a Japanese actor. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The Japanese Academy Awards have been held since 1977 to reward excellence in Japanese film. ... Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress is an accolade given by a group of film or theatre professionals in recognition of the work of supporting and character actors. ...

Watanabe had ignored his finances, leaving them entirely to his wife. In 2001 he announced at a press conference that his ¥170million home had been repossessed and that he was heavily in debt. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

In 2002 he quit the En (Enegki-Shudan En) theater group where he had his start and joined the K-Dash agency. The film Sennen no Koi (Thousand-year Love, based on The Tale of Genji) won Watanabe another Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ilustration of ch. ...

Ken Watanabe as Ra's Al Ghul from Batman Begins

For his performance as Katsumoto in The Last Samurai, he was nominated for the 2003 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Image File history File links Ken Watanabe File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Ken Watanabe File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Last Samurai is a film released in the United States on December 5, 2003. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress is an accolade given by a group of film or theatre professionals in recognition of the work of supporting and character actors. ...

Ken is divorced from his ex-wife, Yumiko, with whom he has two children, a 19-year-old daughter, who is working as a model, and a son Hiroshi, who is 20 years old. On December 3, 2005, he married actress Kaho Minami (January 20, 1964 – ). December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Kaho Minami (南 果歩 Minami Kaho, born January 20, 1964 in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture– ) is a Japanese actress active in film, television and commercials. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ...

Ken has done commercial spots for Yakult. Brazilian Yakult. ...

Watanabe played the part of the fake Ras Al Ghul, a role that made him look pretty convincing as the real Ras, in the 2005 film Batman Begins and The Chairman in the film version of the best selling Arthur Golden novel, Memoirs of a Geisha. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Batman Begins (2005) is an American film based on the comic book character created by Bob Kane. ... Arthur Golden (born in 1956 in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is the writer of the famous novel Memoirs of a Geisha. ... Memoirs of a Geisha is a novel by Arthur Golden published in 1997. ...

Filmography

• Memoirs of a Geisha, as The Chairman (2005)
• Batman Begins, as Ra's Al Ghul (decoy) (2005)
• The Last Samurai, as Katsumoto (2003)
• T.R.Y. (2003)
• Space Travellers (スペーストラベラーズ, Supeisu Toraberaazu) (2000)
• Rajio No Jikan (ラヂオの時間) as Truck Driver (1998)
• Violent Zone, as Old Mishima (1989)
• Il Ragazzo dal Kimono D'oro (1988)
• Il Ragazzo dal Kimono D'oro 2 (1988)
• Commando Invasion (1987)
• Umi to Dokuyaku (海と毒薬) as Toda (1986)
• Tampopo (タンポポ) as Gan (1986)
• 9 Deaths of the Ninja, as Sensei (1985)
• Kekkon Annai Mystery (結婚案内ミステリー) (1985)
• MacArthur's Children (瀬戸内少年野球団, Setouchi shonen yakyu dan)as Tetsuo Nakai (1984)
• Bruce's Fists of Vengeance (1984)

Memoirs of a Geisha is a novel by Arthur Golden published in 1997. ... Batman Begins (2005) is an American film based on the comic book character created by Bob Kane. ... Ras al Ghul (sometimes written Rās al Ghūl) is a DC Comics supervillain, and an enemy of Batman. ... The Last Samurai is a film released in the United States on December 5, 2003. ... Tampopo (タンポポ or 蒲公英 which translate to dandelion) is a 1985 Japanese comedy film by director Juzo Itami, starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto and Ken Watanabe. ...

Stage

• 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 no gakuya -anten (2000)
• Eien part1-kanojo to kare (2000)
• Eien part2-kanojo to kare (2001)

Awards and nominations

• Academy Awards
  • 2004
    • Best Supporting Actor for The Last Samurai
• Japanese Academy Awards
  • 2003
    • Best Supporting Actor for Hi wa mata noboru
  • 2002
    • Best Supporting Actor for Sennen no koi - hikaru genji monogatari
  • 1999
    • Best Supporting Actor for Kizuna
• Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
  • 2004
    • Best Supporting Actor for The Last Samurai
• Golden Globes
  • 2004
    • Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for The Last Samurai
• Golden Satellite Awards
  • 2004
    • Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Drama for The Last Samurai
• Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 2004
    • Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for The Last Samurai

Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress is an accolade given by a group of film or theatre professionals in recognition of the work of supporting and character actors. ... The Last Samurai is a film released in the United States on December 5, 2003. ... The Japanese Academy Awards have been held since 1977 to reward excellence in Japanese film. ... The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the U.S. and Canada, representing 199 television, radio and online critics. ... The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ...

External links

• Profile at Japan Zone
• Profile at Family Screen Scene
• Profile at the Unofficial (but Watanabe-approved) Fansite
• USA Today Interview
• About.com Interview
• Ken Watanabe at the Internet Movie Database
• Watanabe Ken's JMDb Listing (in Japanese)