Ken Watanabe

Born 1959 · Japanese actor (1959-)

Ken Watanabe is a Japanese actor. He is best 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, Watanabe has won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Actor twice, in 2007 for Memories of Tomorrow and in 2010 for The Unbroken. He is also known for his roles in Christopher Nolan's films Batman Begins and Inception, as well as Memoirs of a Geisha, and Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

Ken Watanabe, in order

1. 1984 MacArthur's Children: acted · directed by Masahiro Shinoda
2. 1985 Tampopo: acted · directed by Jūzō Itami
3. 1986 The Sea and Poison: acted · directed by Kei Kumai
4. 1987 Karate Warrior: acted · directed by Fabrizio De Angelis
5. 1997 Gokenin Zankurō (TV series): acted · directed by Eiichi Kudo and Kōsei Saitō
6. 1997 Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald: acted · directed by Kōki Mitani
7. 2003 Another Battle/Conspiracy: acted · directed by Hajime Hashimoto
8. 2003 The Last Samurai: acted · directed by Edward Zwick · critics 66%, audiences 83%
9. 2005 Ashes and Snow: acted · directed by Gregory Colbert
10. 2005 Batman Begins: acted · directed by Christopher Nolan · critics 85%, audiences 94% · streaming on HBO Max
11. 2005 Memoirs of a Geisha: acted · directed by Rob Marshall · critics 34%, audiences 83%
12. 2005 Year One in the North: acted · directed by Isao Yukisada
13. 2006 Letters from Iwo Jima: acted · directed by Clint Eastwood · critics 91%, audiences 86%
14. 2006 Memories of Tomorrow: acted · directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi
15. 2009 Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant: acted · directed by Paul Weitz
16. 2009 Shizumanu Taiyō: acted · directed by Setsurō Wakamatsu
17. 2010 Inception: acted · directed by Christopher Nolan · critics 86%, audiences 91%
18. 2010 Shanghai: acted · directed by Mikael Håfström · critics 5%, audiences 37% · streaming on Starz, Tubi
19. 2012 Hayabusa: Harukanaru Kikan: acted · directed by Tomoyuki Takimoto
20. 2013 Unforgiven: acted · directed by Sang-il Lee
21. 2014 Godzilla: acted · directed by Gareth Edwards · critics 76%, audiences 66% · streaming on fuboTV, Paramount+
22. 2014 Rage: acted · directed by Sang-il Lee
23. 2014 The 50 Year Argument: acted · directed by Martin Scorsese · critics 78%, audiences 61%
24. 2014 Transformers: Age of Extinction: acted · directed by Michael Bay · critics 18%, audiences 50% · streaming on Paramount+, Kanopy, Hoopla
25. 2015 The Sea of Trees: acted · directed by Gus Van Sant
26. 2018 Bel Canto: acted · directed by Paul Weitz
27. 2018 Segodon (TV series): acted
28. 2019 Detective Pikachu: acted · directed by Rob Letterman
29. 2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters: acted · directed by Michael Dougherty · critics 42%, audiences 83% · streaming on HBO Max
30. 2020 Fukushima 50: acted · directed by Setsurō Wakamatsu
31. 2022 Tokyo Vice (TV series): acted · directed by Michael Mann · critics 89%, audiences 91% · streaming on HBO Max
32. 2023 The Creator: acted · directed by Gareth Edwards
33. 2025 Kokuho: acted · directed by Sang-il Lee
34. 2026 Revenge In Kobikicho: acted · directed by Takashi Minamoto