Ken Watanabe

Ken Watanabe

🎂 21st October 1959 (66 yrs) 📍 Uonuma, Niigata, Japan

Biography

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.

Ken Watanabe

🎬 Movies Featuring Ken Watanabe

Revenge in Kobikicho

Revenge in Kobikicho (2026)

as Kinji Shinoda
The Final Piece

The Final Piece (2025)

as Shigeyoshi Toumyo
LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER

LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER (2025)

Kokuho

Kokuho (2025)

as Hanjiro Hanai
All Lives

All Lives (2024)

Kensuke's Kingdom

Kensuke's Kingdom (2024)

as Kensuke (voice)
True Love: Making The Creator

True Love: Making The Creator (2023)

as Self
The Creator

The Creator (2023)

as Harun
劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編

劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編 (2020)

Fukushima 50

Fukushima 50 (2020)

as Masao Yoshida
Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

as Lieutenant Hide Yoshida
An Artist of the Floating World

An Artist of the Floating World (2019)

as Ono Masuji
The King and I

The King and I (2018)

as The King of Siam
Bel Canto

Bel Canto (2018)

as Katsumi Hosokawa
Isle of Dogs

Isle of Dogs (2018)

as Head Surgeon (voice)
7 Guardians of the Tomb

7 Guardians of the Tomb (2018)

as Father
Transformers: The Last Knight

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

as Drift (voice)
Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween

Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween (2017)

as Restaurant Patron
The Memories of Happiness

The Memories of Happiness (2017)

as Taro Miura
Rage

Rage (2016)

as Yohei Maki
The Sea of Trees

The Sea of Trees (2016)

as Takumi Nakamura
Evolution Within Extinction

Evolution Within Extinction (2014)

as Self
Snow Jack

Snow Jack (2014)

as Reiji Kurata
Transformers: Age of Extinction

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

as Drift (voice)
Godzilla

Godzilla (2014)

as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Unforgiven

Unforgiven (2013)

as Jubee Kamata
Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home

Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home (2012)

as Junichiro Kawaguchi
Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -

Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera - (2011)

A School Behind Bars

A School Behind Bars (2010)

Inception

Inception (2010)

as Saito
Shanghai

Shanghai (2010)

as Tanaka
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)

as Mr. Tall
The Unbroken

The Unbroken (2009)

as Hajime Onchi
Earth

Earth (2007)

as Narrator (voice)
星ひとつの夜

星ひとつの夜 (2007)

as Nonoyama Hiroji
Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima'

Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima' (2007)

as Self
Letters from Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Memories of Tomorrow

Memories of Tomorrow (2006)

as Masayuki Saeki
Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

as Chairman
Batman Begins

Batman Begins (2005)

as Ra's al Ghul
Year One in the North

Year One in the North (2005)

as Komatsubara Hideaki
The Last Samurai

The Last Samurai (2003)

as Moritsugu Katsumoto
第三の時効

第三の時効 (2003)

Another Battle/Conspiracy

Another Battle/Conspiracy (2003)

as Fujimaki Hiroaki
T.R.Y.

T.R.Y. (2003)

as Masanobu Azuma
Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS

Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS (2002)

as Okubo
Drowning Fish

Drowning Fish (2001)

as Miyota
The Whispered City

The Whispered City (2000)

as Ishida
Space Travelers

Space Travelers (2000)

as Sakamaki ("Crusher")
Bonds

Bonds (1998)

as Detective Sako Akio
Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald

Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald (1997)

as Raita Onuki
Baian the Assassin: Showdown

Baian the Assassin: Showdown (1993)

as Dr. Baian
Hanzo, the Razor

Hanzo, the Razor (1993)

Chronicle of the Town Magistrate

Chronicle of the Town Magistrate (1992)

as Mochizuki Koheita
Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga (1992)

Ganryujima: Kojiro and Musashi

Ganryujima: Kojiro and Musashi (1992)

as Kojirō
A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era

A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era (1991)

as Ryoma Sakamoto
Baian the Assassin

Baian the Assassin (1990)

as Dr. Baian
Commando Invasion

Commando Invasion (1987)

The Sea and Poison

The Sea and Poison (1986)

as Toda
The Making of "Tampopo"

The Making of "Tampopo" (1986)

as Self
Tampopo

Tampopo (1985)

as Gun
Kekkon Annai Mystery

Kekkon Annai Mystery (1985)

MacArthur's Children

MacArthur's Children (1984)

as Tetsuo Nakai