Ken Takakura
Ken Takakura (高倉 健, Takakura Ken), born Gouichi Oda (February 16, 1931, in Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan), was a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles. Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka. This subject was covered in one of his most famous movies, Showa Zankyo-den (Remnants of Chivalry in the Showa Era), in which he played an honorable old-school yakuza among the violent post-war gurentai. A graduate of Meiji University in Tokyo Takakura happened by an audition in 1955 at the Toei Film Company, and decided to look in. Toei found a natural in Takakura as he debuted with Denko Karate Uchi (Lightning Karate Blow) in 1956. Japan experienced a boom in gangster films in the 1960s as the Japanese people struggled with the generational differences between those raised in pre-war and post-war Japan and these were Takakura's stock and trade. His breakout role would be in the 1965 film Abashiri Prison, and its sequel Abashiri Bangaichi: Bokyohen (Abashiri Prison: Longing for Home, also 1965), in which he played an ex-con antihero. By the time Takakura would leave Toei in 1976, he had appeared in over 180 films. Takakura gained international recognition after starring in the 1970 war film Too Late the Hero as the cunning Imperial Japanese Major Yamaguchi, the 1975 Sydney Pollack sleeper hit The Yakuza with Robert Mitchum and is probably best known in the West for his role in Ridley Scott's Black Rain (1989) where he surprises American cops played by Michael Douglas and Andy García with the line, "I do speak fucking English". He again proved himself bankable to Western audiences with the 1992 Fred Schepisi comedy Mr. Baseball starring Tom Selleck. While he has slowed down a bit in his older years, he is still active. His most recent film was the 2005 Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles by Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ken Takakura, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
Ken San
as Self
Ken San
as Self
Dearest
as Eiji Shimakura
Dearest
as Eiji Shimakura
The Firefly
as Yamaoka Shuji
The Firefly
as Yamaoka Shuji
Railroad Man
as Otomatsu Sato
Railroad Man
as Otomatsu Sato
The detective whose path was crossed by a snake
The detective whose path was crossed by a snake
47 Ronin
as Kuranosuke Oishi
47 Ronin
as Kuranosuke Oishi
Mr. Baseball
as Uchiyama
Mr. Baseball
as Uchiyama
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star
as Self (archive footage)
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star
as Self (archive footage)
Black Rain
as Masahiro
Black Rain
as Masahiro
Umi e, See You
as Eiji Honma
Umi e, See You
as Eiji Honma
Demon
as Shuji
Demon
as Shuji
Choji Snack Bar
as Eiji
Choji Snack Bar
as Eiji
Antarctica
as Ushioda
Antarctica
as Ushioda
The Longest Tunnel
as Go Akutsu
The Longest Tunnel
as Go Akutsu
Karate Cop
as Detective Mikami
Karate Cop
as Detective Mikami
Station
as Eiji Mikami
Station
as Eiji Mikami
A Distant Cry from Spring
as Kosaku Tajima
A Distant Cry from Spring
as Kosaku Tajima
The Revolt
as Keisuke Miyagi
The Revolt
as Keisuke Miyagi
Never Give Up
as Takeshi Ajisawa
Never Give Up
as Takeshi Ajisawa
Winter's Flower
as Hidetsugu Kano
Winter's Flower
as Hidetsugu Kano
The Yellow Handkerchief
as Yusaku Shima
The Yellow Handkerchief
as Yusaku Shima
Manhunt
as Morioka
Manhunt
as Morioka
The Bullet Train
as Tetsuo Okita
The Bullet Train
as Tetsuo Okita
Great Jailbreak
as Ichiro Kozue
Great Jailbreak
as Ichiro Kozue
Third Generation Boss
Third Generation Boss
Yakuza of the Present
as Ryoichi Shimaya
Yakuza of the Present
as Ryoichi Shimaya
Japan's Top Gangster
as Kazuo Taoka
Japan's Top Gangster
as Kazuo Taoka
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die
New Abashiri Prison Story: Honor and Humanity, Ammunition That Attracts the Storm
New Abashiri Prison Story: Honor and Humanity, Ammunition That Attracts the Storm
The Pledge
The Pledge
Lullaby for a Tough Guy
Lullaby for a Tough Guy
The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang
as Kuramoto
The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang
as Kuramoto
The Man
The Man
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love
as Hidejiro Hanada
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love
as Hidejiro Hanada
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stormy Cape
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stormy Cape
Patience Has An End
as Isamu Tekada
Patience Has An End
as Isamu Tekada
Dagger
Dagger
The Path of the King
as Ryutaro Fudo
The Path of the King
as Ryutaro Fudo
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stray Wolf in Snow
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stray Wolf in Snow
The Domain: Rising Dragon
The Domain: Rising Dragon
The Last Kamikaze
as Koji Yashiro
The Last Kamikaze
as Koji Yashiro
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 7: Hell Is a Man's Destiny
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 7: Hell Is a Man's Destiny
A Hoodlum At The Risk Of His Life
A Hoodlum At The Risk Of His Life
House of Gamblers
House of Gamblers
Brave Red Flower of the North
Brave Red Flower of the North
Gambler's Legacy
as Tsukuda Ginjiro
Gambler's Legacy
as Tsukuda Ginjiro
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: The Vagrant Comes to a Port Town
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: The Vagrant Comes to a Port Town
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 6
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 6
New Prison Walls of Abashiri 2
New Prison Walls of Abashiri 2
Samurai Geisha
as Shimada Seikichi
Samurai Geisha
as Shimada Seikichi
Brothers Serving Time
Brothers Serving Time
The Biggest Gamble
as Shuzo Honjo
The Biggest Gamble
as Shuzo Honjo
Red Peony Gambler: Second Generation Ceremony
as Koji Yashiro
Red Peony Gambler: Second Generation Ceremony
as Koji Yashiro
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 5: Man With The Karajishi Tattoo
as Hanada Hidejiro
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 5: Man With The Karajishi Tattoo
as Hanada Hidejiro
New Prison Walls of Abashiri
as Katsuji Suehiro
New Prison Walls of Abashiri
as Katsuji Suehiro
The Day the Sun Rose
The Day the Sun Rose
Prison Boss
Prison Boss
The Domain: Severed Relations
The Domain: Severed Relations
Code of Chivalry
Code of Chivalry
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 4
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 4
Classmates
as First Lieutenant Kenmochi
Classmates
as First Lieutenant Kenmochi
The Chivalrous Life
as Ryuma Ibuki
The Chivalrous Life
as Ryuma Ibuki
The Domain: White Blade
The Domain: White Blade
Glorious Fights
as Ichiro Takita
Glorious Fights
as Ichiro Takita
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Lone Wolf
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Lone Wolf
Showdown of Men
Showdown of Men
The Kamikaze Guy
as Fumio Kuroki
The Kamikaze Guy
as Fumio Kuroki
The Domain: Kanda Festival Showdown
The Domain: Kanda Festival Showdown
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 2
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 2
Brutal Tales of Chivalry
as Seiji Terajima
Brutal Tales of Chivalry
as Seiji Terajima
Abashiri Prison
as Shinichi Tachibana
Abashiri Prison
as Shinichi Tachibana
The Domain: The Naniwa Story
The Domain: The Naniwa Story
The Domain
The Domain
Tokyo Gang vs. Hong Kong Gang
Tokyo Gang vs. Hong Kong Gang
Gang Loyalty and Vengeance
as Asano
Gang Loyalty and Vengeance
as Asano
Defeat the Boss
Defeat the Boss
The Big Boss
The Big Boss
Operation Diamond
Operation Diamond
Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen
365 Nights
365 Nights
Tokyo's Business District
Tokyo's Business District
Song of Kagoshima
as Shuhei Tategami
Song of Kagoshima
as Shuhei Tategami
All Rascals
All Rascals
The Escape
The Escape
South Pacific Waves Are High
South Pacific Waves Are High
The Prickly-Mouthed Geisha Goes to Sado
The Prickly-Mouthed Geisha Goes to Sado
A Fishwife's Tale
A Fishwife's Tale
The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Whirlwind
as Tarō Senpū
The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Whirlwind
as Tarō Senpū
Storming Squadron
Storming Squadron
The Sand City in Manchuria
as Hari
The Sand City in Manchuria
as Hari
The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Rush
The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Rush
The Second Bullet is Marked
The Second Bullet is Marked
The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Eternity
The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Eternity
Night of the Suspicions
as 久里 / 島
Night of the Suspicions
as 久里 / 島
The Bastards of Lawless Town
as Fumio Sone
The Bastards of Lawless Town
as Fumio Sone
The Outsiders
as Ichitaro Kazamori
The Outsiders
as Ichitaro Kazamori