Ken Watanabe Japanese Actor Known for Inception

Ken Watanabe is a Japanese actor born on 21 October 1959 in Uonuma. Audiences know him from Inception (2010) and The Last Samurai (2003).

Career

He appears in MacArthur's Children (1984), the earliest title among his listed credits. Tampopo (1985) and Karate Warrior (1987) are among his 1980s credits. In the 2000s, he appeared in Batman Begins (2005, as Decoy of Ra's al Ghul) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006). The 2010s brought Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and Godzilla (2014). His 2020s credits include Tokyo Vice (2022) and The Creator (2023).

He has 31 films and 3 TV series on record from 1984 to 2026. Drama is the most frequent genre among his listed titles (10), followed by action (6) and adventure (4). Revenge In Kobikicho (2026) is the newest entry in his credits. Of his six titles with worldwide box-office figures on record, Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) has the highest, at $1.1 billion.

Cillian Murphy appears in two of his listed titles. Other co-stars who recur in his credits are Michael Caine (two titles) and Rinko Kikuchi (two titles). Christopher Nolan directed two of his titles on record. Paul Weitz is credited as director on two of them, including Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) and Bel Canto (2018). Work listed as notable includes Memoirs of a Geisha and The Sea and Poison.

Recognition

His awards include the Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year (1987). His other honours include the Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actor (2007). The nominations list includes the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2004 for The Last Samurai. The records list 2 awards won and 2 nominations for him.

Personal life

Former marriages on record are to Kaho Minami (2005 to 2018, divorced). He is the father of Anne Watanabe, and has 2 children in total.