KW
Photo of Ken Watanabe

Ken Watanabe

Actor, Producer, Additional CreditsBorn October 21, 1959 (66 years)
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.

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • The Sea of Trees
  • Earth
  • Shanghai
  • Bel Canto
  • Fukushima 50
  • Baian the Assassin, M.D.
  • Zankuro

Known For

  • Inception
  • The Last Samurai
  • Batman Begins
  • Letters from Iwo Jima
  • Godzilla
  • Godzilla: King of the Monsters
  • Memoirs of a Geisha
  • The Creator
  • Tokyo Vice
  • Pokémon: Detective Pikachu
  • Tampopo
  • The Sea of Trees
  • Fukushima 50
  • Earth
  • Rage
  • Unforgiven
  • Shanghai
  • Bel Canto
  • Memories of Tomorrow
  • Ashes and Snow

Featured Videos

  • Ken Watanabe On Getting Involved With Godzilla
    Ken Watanabe On Getting Involved With GodzillaGodzillaBehind the Scenes

Ken Watanabe Filmography

2026
Revenge in Kobikicho · as Kinji Shinoda
2025
Kokuho · as Hanjiro Hanai
2025
Unbound (TV Series) · as Tamema Okitsugu
2024
2023
Kensuke's Kingdom · as Kensuke (voice)
2023
The Creator · as Harun
2023
2022
Tokyo Vice (TV Series) · as Hiroto Katagiri
2020
Alice in Borderland (2020) (TV Series) · as Old Gentleman
2020
Fukushima 50 · as Masao Yoshida
2019
Godzilla: King of the Monsters · as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
2019
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu · as Lieutenant Hide Yoshida
2019
2018
The King and I · as The King Of Siam
2018
Bel Canto · as Katsumi Hosokawa
2018
Isle of Dogs · as Head Surgeon (voice)
2018
2018
Mr. Saigō (TV Series) · as Shimazu Nariakira
2017
Transformers: The Last Knight · as Drift (voice)
2017
The Memories of Happiness · as Taro Miura
2016
Rage · as Yohei Maki
2015
The Sea of Trees · as Takumi Nakamura
2014
2014
Godzilla · as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
2013
Unforgiven · as Jubee Kamata
2012
Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home · as Junichiro Kawaguchi
2010
2010
Inception · as Saito
2010
Shanghai · as Tanaka
2009
Clouds Over the Hill (TV Series) · as Narration
2009
The Unbroken · as Hajime Onchi
2009
2007
Earth · as Narrator (voice)
2006
Letters from Iwo Jima · as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
2006
Memories of Tomorrow · as Masayuki Saeki
2005
Moonlight in Tokyo · as Inspector
2005
Memoirs of a Geisha · as Chairman
2005
Batman Begins · as Ra's Al Ghul
2005
Ashes and Snow · as Japanese Narrator
2005
Year One in the North · as Komatsubara Hideaki
2004
The Castle of Sand (2004) (TV Series) · as Shuichiro Imanishi
2003
The Last Samurai · as Moritsugu Katsumoto
2003
T.R.Y. · as Masanobu Azuma
2002
Another Battle/Conspiracy · as Fujimaki Hiroaki
2002
2002
2001
Chushingura 1/47 · as Cast
2001
Sennen no koi - Hikaru Genji monogatari · as Fujiwara No Michinaga
2001
Drowning Fish · as Miyota
2001
Hojo Tokimune (TV Series) · as Hojo Tokiyori
2000
The Whispered City · as Ishida
2000
Ikebukuro West Gate Park (TV Series) · as Yokoyama
2000
Space Travelers · as Sakamaki ("crusher")
1998
Kizuna · as Detective Sako Akio
1997
Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald · as Raita Onuki
1995
Zankuro (TV Series) · as Zankuro Matsudaira
1994
1991
Bakumatsu jyunjyoden · as Ryoma Sakamoto
1990
Takeda Shingen (1991) (TV Series) · as Narrator
1990
Baian The Assassin (TV Series) · as Baian Fujieda
1987
Masamune the One-Eyed Dragon (TV Series) · as 伊達政宗
1986
1986
1985
Tampopo · as Gun
1985
1984
MacArthur's Children · as Tetsuo Nakai
1984
Burning Mountains and Rivers (TV Series) · as Cast

2022
Tokyo Vice (TV Series) · as Executive Producer
2006
Memories of Tomorrow · as Executive Producer

2021
Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy (TV Series) · as Self
2020
GMA3: What You Need to Know (TV Series) · as Self
2017
Hollywood First Look Features (TV Series) · as Self
2015
The 69th Annual Tony Awards · as Self - Nominee & Performer
2012
Abroad in Japan (TV Series) · as Self
2008
VS Arashi (TV Series) · as Self
2007
Live Earth · as Self
2007
Bokura no jidai (TV Series) · as Self
2007
The 79th Annual Academy Awards · as Self - Presenter
2005
Made In Hollywood (TV Series) · as Self
2005
2004
1996
SMAP×SMAP (TV Series) · as Self
1992
HBO First Look (TV Series) · as Self
1986

2012
Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home · as Co-Executive Producer

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