Ken Watanabe is an American and Japanese producer, television, theater and film actor. Known for his roles in the film "The Last Samurai", "Letters from Iwo Jima", "The Beginning". Nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in The Last Samurai.
By his sixtieth birthday, Ken Watanabe managed to visit the images of princes, criminals, policemen and samurai. Behind the shoulders of a talented artist more than fifty paintings, TV series.
Artistic career
The famous actor was born in the Japanese city of Koide on October 21, 1959. The family has nothing to do with the world of cinema. Mother taught at school, father taught calligraphy. Ken's sister, Yuki Watanabe, also became an actress.
The child remembered the first years of his life as constant moving. Young Ken had a lot of hobbies. He played sports. This was greatly encouraged by the parents. Together with his brother, the boy went skiing in the winter and jogging in the summer.
The future actor was interested in music. He learned to play the trumpet, participated in the school orchestra and even managed to arrange recitals, which were very popular. Watanabe's artistic career was not attractive.
It was with music that the graduate decided to connect his life after school. He was preparing to continue his education at the Tokyo Conservatory when his father fell seriously ill. The family had to look for new sources of livelihood.
There was no way to pay for the conservatory for my son. However, Ken still managed to sort out in Tokyo. He got into the group of the local theater and began to play small roles in productions. At first, Watanabe was not attracted to the new profession. Then interest arose.
In 1982 the young man began performing with the En theater troupe. He got his first serious role in the play "Shitaya Mannen-cho Monogatari". The debutant's performance was highly praised by critics. The young man attended auditions, which gave him the opportunity to play minor characters in the series.
Television and cinema
He did not become a star, but he gained excellent experience and the ability to work in front of the camera. The performer played his first TV role in "The Unknown Uprising". At the same time, the first samurai hero in the TV drama "Mibu no koiuta" followed. Popularity came from playing One Eyed Dragon, a television series for NHK TV.
The artist received the Ecran d'Or Award for Best New Actor from the Japan Television and Film Producers Society for his performance in the film Umi to dokuyaku. Ken's film debut was the film "Children of General MacArthur." In the historical drama, the artist reincarnated as a samurai. Literally right after the premiere, Ken was flooded with offers to play a warrior.
Glory came overnight. The debut was brilliant. Friends joked that in Ken's hands even an ordinary kitchen knife looks like a sword. However, the artist did not become a darling of fate. In 1990, he felt bad. The doctors' verdict was disappointing: oncology. The actor had to devote a lot of time to treatment.
Even difficult chemotherapy procedures did not make him give up what he loved. In a difficult time for himself, Ken continued shooting in the action movie "Heaven and Earth", which he began before his illness. It was possible to temporarily defeat the ailment. After a few years, the treatment had to be repeated, but Ken returned to the cinema with triumph. In four years of filming, he received three awards from the Japanese Academy.
Iconic roles
Later, the experience helped Watanabe to play convincingly a wealthy businessman who was suddenly struck by a dangerous illness in the film Memories of Tomorrow. Ken became popular thanks to the films The Last Samurai and Memoirs of a Geisha.
In the first project, a historical drama, the actor reincarnated as the rebellious General Katsumoto. The image secured an Oscar nomination. Ken starred with Tom Cruise. At first, his hero felt hatred for the latter, which was replaced by respect. The action of the picture, based on the novel by John Logan, takes place at the end of the nineteenth century.
The audience also appreciated the image played in Memoirs of a Geisha. Ken became the lover of the main character of Sayuri's painting. The film has an interesting plot, and the rivalry of charming girls, and a secret passion, and the confrontation between love and duty. The film "Letters from Iwo Jima" deserves attention.
In the film, Watanabe played a disciplined and courageous general. The action takes place around the famous battle of Iwo Jima. It played an important role in the Pacific campaign against the United States and Japan.
Ken prepared for the role thoroughly. He studied the biography of the hero, who was a real person. It wasn't just the heroic military that Watanaba got. In the Batman Begins project, he became the ruthless terrorist of Ras Pal Ghul. For "Godzilla" he was offered the image of a scientist working on the aftermath of a terrible catastrophe.
Family matters
The artist's personal life is also quite interesting. Ken first tied the knot at twenty-four. A little-known actor married Yumiko. The future husband met with the chosen one for several years.
The family had two children, Dai's son and Ann's daughter. The boy decided to continue his acting dynasty. He, like his father, became an artist. Ann chose the world of fashion. She works as a fashion model. In 2005, the marriage broke up. The reasons for the separation were not announced by both sides.
Watanabe did not remain alone for long. Actress Kaho Minami became his wife. The future husband and wife met during a TV show. Both happened to be participants in it. The wedding was carefully hidden from fans and the press for some time.
After the photos were released, rumors appeared that it was the new love that caused the breakup with Yumiko. However, Ken denied such claims. With a new family, the actor moved to Los Angeles. Then he returned to his homeland, to Japan.
In 2007, Watanabe starred in the film Pathfinder. The remake of the historical adventure film tells the story of a Viking boy forgotten on the battlefield and by the Indians. The tribe raised him, and the guy defended his adoptive parents in the new wave of the Viking invasion. In 2008, Ken became a grandfather. His firstborn, Dai, gave him a grandson. The actor has an adopted son. He officially adopted the child of his second wife from a previous marriage.
