Hiroyuki Sanada facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hiroyuki Sanada MBE
真田 広之
Sanada in 2024
Born	Hiroyuki Shimozawa (下澤 廣之) (1960-10-12) 12 October 1960 (age 64) Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1965–present
Spouse(s)	Satomi Tezuka ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 1997)​
Children	2
Awards	See list
Japanese name
Kanji	真田 広之
Hiragana	さなだ ひろゆき
Katakana	サナダ ヒロユキ
Transcriptions Romanization Sanada Hiroyuki
Alternative Japanese name
Kanji	下澤 廣之
Transcriptions Romanization Shimozawa Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki Sanada (born Hiroyuki Shimozawa on October 12, 1960) is a famous Japanese actor. He has won many awards for his acting. These include a Golden Globe Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. He also received a special honor from the Japanese government in 2018. This was for his great work in the arts.

Sanada started acting when he was just five years old. He was taught by the well-known actor Sonny Chiba. Sanada is also a black belt in Kyokushin Karate. He first became famous for his roles in exciting action movies. Later, he also became known for his serious dramatic acting.

Many people around the world know him from movies like Ring (1998). He also played Ujio in The Last Samurai (2003) and Kenji in Rush Hour 3 (2007). He has been in many Hollywood films. These include Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Mortal Kombat (2021). He also had roles in TV shows like Lost and Westworld.

Recently, Sanada received a lot of praise for his role in the TV series Shōgun (2024). He played the main character, Yoshii Toranaga. He won several awards for this role.

Life and Career

Early Life and Child Acting (1966–1978)

Hiroyuki Sanada was born in Tokyo, Japan. He was discovered by an entertainer when he was playing. He started as a model for children's magazines. Then, at age five, he joined a theater group.

Sanada wanted to be an action movie star. He studied different martial arts, like Shorinji Kempo and Kyokushin kaikan karate. He also played baseball. Actor Shinichi Chiba became his mentor. Sanada joined Chiba's Japan Action Club.

His first movie role was in 1966, in Game of Chance. He played the son of Chiba's character. He acted in several Japanese TV shows and films. But he stopped for a while to have a normal childhood. He said this helped him understand movies better. By his teenage years, he could act, fight, sing, dance, and ride horses. He felt these skills would help him be a better actor. He started acting again in a film by director Kinji Fukasaku.

Japanese Star (1982–1999)

Sanada earned a degree in Film Science in 1982. In 1984, he starred in Legend of the Eight Samurai. This movie was very popular in Japan. It made him a teen idol in the 1980s.

In 1997, Sanada starred in the TV drama A Story of Love. He played a rich businessman who falls in love. The next year, he co-starred in the mystery thriller Ring. He played Takayama Ryuji, a journalist investigating a strange death.

Royal Shakespeare Company (1999–2002)

In 1999 and 2000, Sanada performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in England. He played the Fool in the play King Lear. The producer, Nigel Hawthorne, asked Sanada to join. Sanada was unsure because he had never acted in English before. But the producers told him his acting was what mattered most.

For his work in King Lear, he was given a special honor in 2002. He became an Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). This was for helping to share British culture in Japan. In the same year, Sanada played the main role in The Twilight Samurai. This film showed the difficult life of a warrior in 19th-century Japan.

International Success (2003–2009)

In 2003, Sanada gained a lot of attention for his role in The Last Samurai. He played Ujio, a skilled swordsman, alongside Tom Cruise. He also appeared in the Chinese film The Promise.

Sanada continued to act in international films. He was in Rush Hour 3 (2007) with Jackie Chan. He also appeared in the science fiction movie Sunshine (2007).

Recent Roles (2010–Present)

Sanada on a press tour for the series Helix (2013)

In 2010, Sanada joined the TV series Lost for its final season. He played Dogen, an important character. In 2013, he was in 47 Ronin with Keanu Reeves. He also played Shingen Yashida in The Wolverine with Hugh Jackman.

He voiced a character in the animated movie Minions (2015). In 2017, he starred in the movie Life. From 2018 to 2020, he had a recurring role as Musashi in the HBO series Westworld. He also had a small role in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

In 2019, he received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon from the Japanese government. This was for his "artistic developments, improvements, and accomplishments." In 2021, he played Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion in the movie Mortal Kombat. He was also in Army of the Dead that year.

Sanada (fourth from the left) at an event promoting Shōgun in 2024

In 2022, Sanada played the Elder in Bullet Train with Brad Pitt. In 2023, he was Koji Shimazu in John Wick: Chapter 4.

In 2021, Sanada was announced as a producer and actor for the TV series Shōgun. He played Lord Toranaga, a powerful leader. The series has been highly praised around the world. Sanada's performance was a major highlight. In 2024, he made history by becoming the first Japanese actor to win a Primetime Emmy Award. He won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Shōgun. He also won a Primetime Emmy as a producer for the series.

Honors

• 2002 Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire
• 2018 Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon

Performances

Films

Television

Stage appearances

Accolades

See also

In Spanish: Hiroyuki Sanada para niños