Ken Watanabe

1978
After graduating from Koide high school in Niigata, he left for Tokyo to enter　an actor/actress training studio. After a while, he joined another actor/ actress training studio, ENGEKI-SYUDAN EN. Until he moved to his present office, K DASH, he had belonged to EN for over 20 years.

1981
His first appearance on the stage was remarkable. While he was still a trainee of EN, he was unusually chosen as the main role of "Shitaya mannencho monogatari"directed by Yukio Ninagawa. Ken also starred in another of Ninagawa's stages, "Hamlet" in 1988.

1982
He appeared on TV for the first time with "Michinaru Hanran" and his first samurai
TV drama series, "Mibu no koiuta".

1984
He made his film debut in "Setouchi shonen yakyudan (MacArther's Children)".

1987
He crossed over into stardom after playing the main charactor of "Dokuganryu Masamune ( One eyed dragon, Masamune )", a one year-long NHK TV samurai drama series. The drama got the best rating ( 39.8% ) out of all of the NHK samurai dramas in the past. With this work he became one of the most popular actors in Japan.

Also this year he received the Ecran d’Or Best New Actor Award from The Japan Film and Television Producers Society. with the film "Umi to dokuyaku (The Sea and poison )"

1989
While acting in the film, "Ten to chi to ( Heaven and Earth )" in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, it was discovered that he had leukemia. He had to stop filming, but fortunately he recovered from the illness the next year and was able to appear on the film " Bakumatsu junjouden" In 1994 he had went back into the hospital with a relapse. He once again overcame the illness and began appearing on TV dramas again in 1995.

1998
It took a little longer for him to return to his film, with "Kizuna", co-starring Kouji Yakusho. Ken received a Japanese Academy Award .for this film.

2001
After 13 years' absence, he finally came back to the stage both for the audience and himself.

2002
He moved to K DASH from EN on January 1st. Playing two Heian-period noblemen, Michinaga Fujiwara and the husband of Lady Murasaki in "Sennen no koi -hikaru genji monogatari ( Genji, a thousand-year love )" led to his being awarded with a Japanese Academy Award.

2003
He costarred with Tom Cruise and Hiroyuki Sanada in the Hollywood movie "The Last Samurai" which was released at the end of 2003. He participated in the Japanese Academy Award ceremony in New Zealand with the cast and crew of "The Last Samurai" including other nominees. He was awarded with a Japanese Academy Award for the role, Okubo, the sidekick of the main charactor in the film "Hiwa mata noboru
( The Sun Will Rise Again )" Before the release, Ken's performance in "The Last Samurai" is already generating talk about a best supporting actor Oscar nomination.

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He has a good reputation for his roles in Samurai movies. Especially "Gokenin Zankuro" ,which lasted 5 series, must be one of his most important works. In the last and 50th episode he even directed and starred himself. His innovative direction also became a topic.of discussion. Another work which should be mentioned is "Mibugishiden". It was a 10-hour samurai TV drama that aired on January 2nd, 2002. This touching story and his incredible performance moved a lot of viewers to tears and created sensation.

Currently Ken aggressively continues to make good works and enjoys playing distinct personalities such as a serious cop, a typical Japanese office worker, a violent gangster, a cool and attractive samurai, a dignified feudal lord, a charismatic Heian-period nobleman, .a sharp professional soldier like a razor blade and a Hojo regency of dignity and monarchy. His costume-play is also worth watching. He continues his active career today as one of the few contemporary actors with a broad range of works. He is literally one of the most recognized Japanese actors now in Japan and so will be in the world soon. Further successes in many fields are expected.

<Courtesy of Kazu4 at Watanabe Ken-san An>

Japan Academy Award Best Actor
Nominated: 2007 ("Memories of Tomorrow, leading actor), 2002 ("Hi wa mata Noboru", supporting actor), 2001 ("Sennen no Koi - Hikaru Genji Monogatari", supporting actor), 1998 ("Kizuna", supporting actor)