Acting · Uonuma, Niigata, Japan · Born October 21, 1959
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.
MovieSamurai Vengeance
2026
as Kinji Shinoda
TVKyotojin no Hisokana Tanoshimi Rouge: Keisho
2026
as 東雲朔太郎
MovieThe Final Piece
2025
as Shigeyoshi Toumyo
MovieLA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER
2025
MovieKokuho
2025
as Hanjiro Hanai
TVUnbound
2025
as Tamema Okitsugu
TVTRUE COLORS
2025
as Taichirou Tsujimura
MovieAll Lives
2024
MovieKensuke's Kingdom
2024
as Kensuke (voice)
MovieTrue Love: Making The Creator
2023
as Self
MovieThe Creator
2023
as Harun
TVTokyo Vice
2022
as Hiroto Katagiri
TVAlice in Borderland
2020
as Old Gentleman
TVToubousha
2020
Movie劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編
2020
MovieFukushima 50
2020
as Masao Yoshida
MovieGodzilla: King of the Monsters
2019
as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
MoviePokémon Detective Pikachu
2019
as Lieutenant Hide Yoshida
MovieAn Artist of the Floating World
2019
as Ono Masuji
MovieThe King and I
2018
as The King of Siam
MovieBel Canto
2018
as Katsumi Hosokawa
MovieIsle of Dogs
2018
as Head Surgeon (voice)
Movie7 Guardians of the Tomb
2018
as Father
TVSegodon
2018
as Shimazu Nariakira
TVNHK WORLD PRIME
2017
as Self - Presenter
MovieTransformers: The Last Knight
2017
as Drift (voice)
MovieDirty, Clean, & Inbetween
2017
as Restaurant Patron
MovieThe Memories of Happiness
2017
as Taro Miura
TV五年目のひとり
2016
as 키자키 슈지
MovieRage
2016
as Yohei Maki
MovieThe Sea of Trees
2016
as Takumi Nakamura
TVThe Secret Lives of Kyoto Folk
2015
as 東雲朔太郎
MovieEvolution Within Extinction
2014
as Self
MovieSnow Jack
2014
as Reiji Kurata
TVBack of Father
2014
as Takamura Kouji
MovieTransformers: Age of Extinction
2014
as Drift (voice)
MovieGodzilla
2014
as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
MovieUnforgiven
2013
as Jubee Kamata
MovieHayabusa: The Long Voyage Home
2012
as Junichiro Kawaguchi
TVGyoretsuno dekiru sodanjo
2011
as Regular
MovieAi inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -
2011
MovieA School Behind Bars
2010
MovieInception
2010
as Saito
MovieShanghai
2010
as Tanaka
MovieCirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
2009
as Mr. Tall
MovieThe Unbroken
2009
as Hajime Onchi
刑事一代 平塚八兵衛の昭和事件史
2009
Movieツナガルココロ 3 LOVE STORIES
2008
MovieEarth
2007
as Narrator (voice)
Movie星ひとつの夜
2007
as Nonoyama Hiroji
MovieRed Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima'
2007
as Self
MovieLetters from Iwo Jima
2006
as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
MovieMemories of Tomorrow
2006
as Masayuki Saeki
MovieMemoirs of a Geisha
2005
as Le président
MovieBatman Begins
2005
as Ra's al Ghul
MovieAshes and Snow
2005
as Japanese Narrator (voice)
MovieYear One in the North
2005
as Komatsubara Hideaki
TVVessel of Sand
2004
as Shuichiro Imanishi
TV川、いつか海へ 6つの愛の物語
2003
MovieThe Last Samurai
2003
as Moritsugu Katsumoto
Movie第三の時効
2003
MovieAnother Battle/Conspiracy
2003
as Fujimaki Hiroaki
藤田宜永サスペンス「異端の夏」
2003
MovieT.R.Y.
2003
as Masanobu Azuma
TVMibu Gishiden: Shinsengumi de Ichiban Tsuyokatta Otoko
2002
TV横山秀夫サスペンス シリーズ (TBS)
2002
強行犯捜査第七係
2002
MovieDawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS
2002
as Okubo
MovieLove of a Thousand Years - Story of Genji
2001
MovieDrowning Fish
2001
as Miyota
TVHojo Tokimune
2001
as Hojo Tokiyori
MovieThe Whispered City
2000
as Ishida
TVIkebukuro West Gate Park
2000
as Yokoyama
MovieSpace Travelers
2000
as Sakamaki ("Crusher")
Shimei Tehai
1998
MovieBonds
1998
as Detective Sako Akio
MovieWelcome Back, Mr. McDonald
1997
as Raita Onuki
TVGokenin Zankuro
1995
as Zankuro Matsudaira
MovieBaian the Assassin: Showdown
1993
as Dr. Baian
TVThe Fire Still Burns
1993
as Fujiwara Tsunekiyo
TVKagi-shi
1993
MovieHanzo, the Razor
1993
MovieChronicle of the Town Magistrate
1992
as Mochizuki Koheita
TVWaga Machi
1992
TVIzakaya Chōji
1992
MovieOda Nobunaga
1992
MovieGanryujima: Kojiro and Musashi
1992
as Kojirō
TVBaian the Assassin
1991
as Fujieda Baian
MovieA Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era
1991
as Ryoma Sakamoto
MovieTakeda Shingen
1991
as Narrator
MovieBaian the Assassin
1990
as Dr. Baian
TVMusuko no Gokikan
1990
TVYonimo Kimyou na Monogatari Tokubetsuhen
1990
Oda Nobunaga
1989
TVMasamune Shogun
1987
as 伊達政宗
MovieCommando Invasion
1987
MovieThe Sea and Poison
1986
as Toda
TVHanekonma
1986
as Genzo Onodera
MovieThe Making of "Tampopo"
1986
as Self
MovieTampopo
1985
as Gun
MovieKekkon Annai Mystery
1985
MovieMacArthur's Children
1984
as Tetsuo Nakai
TVA Tale of Two Truncheons
1984
