Ken Watanabe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ken Watanabe
Watanabe in 2022
Born	(1959-10-21) October 21, 1959 (age 65) Hirokami (now part of Uonuma), Niigata, Japan
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1979–present
Spouse(s)	Yumiko Watanabe ​ ​ (m. 1983; div. 2005)​ Kaho Minami ​ ​ (m. 2005; div. 2018)​ Undisclosed ​ (m. 2023)​
Children	Dai Watanabe Anne Watanabe

Ken Watanabe (渡辺 謙, Watanabe Ken, born October 21, 1959) is a famous Japanese actor. He is known for playing strong, heroic characters. You might recognize him from movies like The Last Samurai and Letters from Iwo Jima. For The Last Samurai, he was even nominated for an Oscar!

Ken Watanabe has won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Actor twice. He won for his roles in Memories of Tomorrow (2007) and The Unbroken (2010). He also appeared in big Hollywood films directed by Christopher Nolan, such as Batman Begins and Inception. Other popular movies include Memoirs of a Geisha and Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

In 2014, he starred as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa in the movie Godzilla. He played this role again in the sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. He also lent his voice to the character Drift in the Transformers movies. In 2022, he starred in the TV series Tokyo Vice on HBO Max.

In 2015, Ken Watanabe made his debut on Broadway, which is a famous theater area in New York City. He played the main role in The King and I. He was the first Japanese actor to be nominated for a Tony Award in this category. He performed the role again in London in 2018.

Early Life and Dreams

Ken Watanabe was born on October 21, 1959, in a mountain village in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. His mother was a teacher, and his father taught calligraphy, which is a beautiful way of writing. Because his parents moved for work, he lived in different villages as a child.

He went to Koide High School. There, he was part of the concert band club and played the trumpet. He had been playing the trumpet since he was a young child.

After high school in 1978, he wanted to study music in Tokyo. However, his family faced financial difficulties because his father became ill. This meant he could not afford music lessons or go to a music school. Ken decided to try acting instead. He realized he wanted to be creative, even if it wasn't through music.

Acting Career Highlights

Starting in Japan

After high school, Ken Watanabe moved to Tokyo to become an actor. He joined a drama school and soon got a main role in a play called Shimodani Mannencho Monogatari. This role brought him a lot of attention.

In 1982, he first appeared on TV in Michinaru Hanran. He also started playing samurai characters on TV, which he became very famous for in Japan. One of his most well-known roles was in the 1987 TV series Dokuganryu Masamune. He played the lead character, Matsudaira Kurō, in the TV series Gokenin Zankurō for many seasons.

In 1989, while filming a movie, Ken Watanabe was diagnosed with a serious illness called leukemia. He bravely continued acting while getting treatment. After a brief setback in 1991, his health improved, and his career continued to grow.

In 1998, he co-starred in the movie Kizuna. He was nominated for a Japan Academy Film Prize for this role. In 2002, he joined a new talent agency. He received another Japanese Academy Award nomination for the film Sennen no Koi.

In 2006, he won the Best Lead Actor award. This was for his role in Memories of Tomorrow (Ashita no Kioku), where he played a character with Alzheimer's disease.

Becoming a Global Star

Ken Watanabe became known to audiences outside Japan with the 2003 American film The Last Samurai. In this movie, set in 19th-century Japan, he played the powerful Lord Katsumoto. His performance earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2005, he appeared in Memoirs of a Geisha. That same year, he played a character in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. In 2006, he starred in Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, playing General Tadamichi Kuribayashi. He also voiced a character in the Batman Begins video game.

In 2010, he co-starred in the hit movie Inception. He played Saito, a businessman who helps the main characters.

He continued to star in big Hollywood movies. In 2014, he was in Godzilla and Transformers: Age of Extinction. In 2019, he appeared in Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. In 2023, he worked with director Gareth Edwards again in the science fiction film The Creator.

Television Roles

Ken Watanabe stars in Tokyo Vice, a TV series based on a true story. He plays Hiroto Katagiri, a detective in Tokyo. The show is available on HBO Max. He is also starring in a comedy show called You're a Genius! for NHK World Japan.

In 2019, it was announced that he would star in a remake of the movie The Fugitive. This new series is set in Tokyo before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Personal Life

Ken Watanabe has two children with his first wife, Yumiko. His son, Dai Watanabe, born in 1984, is also an actor. His daughter, Anne Watanabe, born in 1986, is an actress and a fashion model. Ken became a grandfather at age 48 when Dai had his first child. He now has five grandchildren.

He married his second wife, Kaho Minami, in 2005. They held a wedding ceremony in Los Angeles in 2010. Ken adopted Minami's son from her previous marriage. For a while, they lived in Los Angeles to spend more time together. Later, they moved back to Japan. In 2023, Ken Watanabe married for the third time.

Helping Others

On March 13, 2011, after a big earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, Ken Watanabe started a YouTube page. He wanted to raise awareness about the disaster and the Fukushima nuclear accident. He asked other celebrities to share videos to help. In his own video, he asked for support and donations to help the victims. He also created a website for this cause.

Health and Resilience

Ken Watanabe has faced some health challenges during his life. In 1989, he was diagnosed with leukemia, a type of cancer. He recovered, but the cancer returned in 1994. He recovered again and continued his acting career.

In 2006, he shared that he had contracted hepatitis C from a blood transfusion he received during his leukemia treatment. He stated he was in good condition and continued to receive treatment.

In 2016, while performing in The King and I on Broadway, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Because it was found early, surgery was successful in removing the cancer. Ken Watanabe has shown great strength and determination in overcoming these health issues.

Filmography

Films

Television

Video games

Stage

• Britannicus henso(1980)
• Britannicus henso (1980)
• Shitaya mannencho monogatari (1981)
• Fuyu no raion (The Lion in Winter) (1981)
• Pajaze (1981)
• Platonof (1982)
• Kafun netsu (1982)
• Pizarro (1985)
• Hamlet (1988)
• Hamlet no gakuya -anten (2000)
• Towa part1-kanojo (2000)
• Towa part2-kanojo to kare (2001)
• Dialogue with Horowitz (2013)
• The King and I (2015)
• The King and I (2016)
• The King and I (2018)
• The Royal Hunt of the Sun (2020)

Dubbing

Live-action

Animation

Awards and Nominations

Images for kids

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  Watanabe at the NYC opening of Memories of Tomorrow

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  Watanabe at the premiere of Inception in July 2010

See also

In Spanish: Ken Watanabe para niños