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
(2014)
Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
(2019)
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
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
(2009)
Mr. Tall
Letters from Iwo Jima
(2006)
General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Memoirs of a Geisha
(2005)
Chairman
Tampopo
(1985)
Gun
7 Guardians of the Tomb
(2018)
Father
Earth
(2007)
Narrator (voice)
Full Filmography
Acting
Bruce's Fists Of Vengeance
(1980)
MacArthur's Children
(1984)
Tetsuo Nakai
Kekkon Annai Mystery
(1985)
Tampopo
(1985)
Gun
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
The Whispered City
(2000)
Ishida
Space Travelers
(2000)
Sakamaki ("Crusher")
Drowning Fish
(2001)
Miyota
Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS
(2002)
Okubo
T.R.Y.
(2003)
Masanobu Azuma
The Last Samurai
(2003)
Moritsugu Katsumoto
Another Battle/Conspiracy
(2003)
Fujimaki Hiroaki
Memoirs of a Geisha
(2005)
Chairman
Year One in the North
(2005)
Komatsubara Hideaki
Batman Begins
(2005)
Decoy Ra's al Ghul
Memories of Tomorrow
(2006)
Masayuki Saeki
Letters from Iwo Jima
(2006)
General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Earth
(2007)
Narrator (voice)
The Unbroken
(2009)
Hajime Onchi
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
(2009)
Mr. Tall
Shanghai
(2010)
Tanaka
A School Behind Bars
(2010)
Inception
(2010)
Saito
Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home
(2012)
Junichiro Kawaguchi
Unforgiven
(2013)
Jubee Kamata
Snow Jack
(2014)
Reiji Kurata
Transformers: Age of Extinction
(2014)
Drift (voice)
Godzilla
(2014)
Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Evolution Within Extinction
(2014)
Self
The Sea of Trees
(2016)
Takumi Nakamura
Rage
(2016)
Yohei Maki
The Memories of Happiness
(2017)
Taro Miura
Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween
(2017)
Restaurant Patron
Transformers: The Last Knight
(2017)
Drift (voice)
Bel Canto
(2018)
Katsumi Hosokawa
Isle of Dogs
(2018)
Head Surgeon (voice)
The King and I
(2018)
The King of Siam
7 Guardians of the Tomb
(2018)
Father
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
(2019)
Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
(2019)
Lieutenant Hide Yoshida
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
All Lives
(2024)