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)
Saito
The Creator
(2023)
Harun
Batman Begins
(2005)
Decoy Ra's al Ghul
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
(2019)
Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Godzilla
(2014)
Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Transformers: Age of Extinction
(2014)
Drift (voice)
Transformers: The Last Knight
(2017)
Drift (voice)
The Last Samurai
(2003)
Moritsugu Katsumoto
Isle of Dogs
(2018)
Head Surgeon (voice)
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
(2019)
Lieutenant Hide Yoshida
Letters from Iwo Jima
(2006)
General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Memoirs of a Geisha
(2005)
Chairman
Shanghai
(2010)
Tanaka
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
(2009)
Mr. Tall
The Sea of Trees
(2016)
Takumi Nakamura
7 Guardians of the Tomb
(2018)
Father
Full Filmography
Acting
Bruce's Fists Of Vengeance
(1980)
MacArthur's Children
(1984)
Tetsuo Nakai
Tampopo
(1985)
Gun
Kekkon Annai Mystery
(1985)
The Sea and Poison
(1986)
Toda
The Making of "Tampopo"
(1986)
Self
Commando Invasion
(1987)
Baian the Assassin
(1990)
Dr. Baian
A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era
(1991)
Ryoma Sakamoto
Oda Nobunaga
(1992)
Ganryujima: Kojiro and Musashi
(1992)
Kojirō
Chronicle of the Town Magistrate
(1992)
Mochizuki Koheita
Baian the Assassin: Showdown
(1993)
Dr. Baian
Hanzo, the Razor
(1993)
Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald
(1997)
Raita Onuki
Bonds
(1998)
Detective Sako Akio
Space Travelers
(2000)
Sakamaki ("Crusher")
The Whispered City
(2000)
Ishida
Drowning Fish
(2001)
Miyota
Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS
(2002)
Okubo
The Last Samurai
(2003)
Moritsugu Katsumoto
T.R.Y.
(2003)
Masanobu Azuma
Another Battle/Conspiracy
(2003)
Fujimaki Hiroaki
Batman Begins
(2005)
Decoy Ra's al Ghul
Year One in the North
(2005)
Komatsubara Hideaki
Memoirs of a Geisha
(2005)
Chairman
Letters from Iwo Jima
(2006)
General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Memories of Tomorrow
(2006)
Masayuki Saeki
Earth
(2007)
Narrator
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
(2009)
Mr. Tall
The Unbroken
(2009)
Hajime Onchi
Inception
(2010)
Saito
A School Behind Bars
(2010)
Shanghai
(2010)
Tanaka
Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home
(2012)
Junichiro Kawaguchi
Unforgiven
(2013)
Jubee Kamata
Transformers: Age of Extinction
(2014)
Drift (voice)
Godzilla
(2014)
Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Snow Jack
(2014)
Reiji Kurata
Evolution Within Extinction
(2014)
Self
The Sea of Trees
(2016)
Takumi Nakamura
Rage
(2016)
Yohei Maki
Transformers: The Last Knight
(2017)
Drift (voice)
The Memories of Happiness
(2017)
Taro Miura
Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween
(2017)
Restaurant Patron
Isle of Dogs
(2018)
Head Surgeon (voice)
Bel Canto
(2018)
Katsumi Hosokawa
The King and I
(2018)
The King of Siam
7 Guardians of the Tomb
(2018)
Father
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
(2019)
Lieutenant Hide Yoshida
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
(2019)
Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
An Artist of the Floating World
(2019)
Ono Masuji
Fukushima 50
(2020)
Masao Yoshida
劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編
(2020)
The Creator
(2023)
Harun
True Love: Making 'The Creator'
(2023)
Self
Kensuke's Kingdom
(2024)
Kensuke
Ikitoshi Ikeru Mono
(2024)