Hiroyuki Sanada Biography
Hiroyuki Sanada, MBE (Hiroyuki Shimosawa) is a Japanese actor. He is famously known for his martial arts roles, and historical films, including, Tasogare Seibei (The Twilight Samurai). He is also known as Duke, Hiroyuki Shimosawa. He was first noticed as a serious actor in the movie Mahjong Hourouki directed by Makoto Wada.
Since then he has acted in every Wada movie — works filled with humor and a nostalgia for classic films. His role as ‘The Fool’ in the Shakespeare play, King Lear gave him notable theatrical notice in the UK. He received a bachelor of Arts from Nihon University. He has established himself as a character actor who is adept at playing a variety of roles.
He performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1999 and 2000 in their production of King Lear, which earned him an honorary MBE in 2002. He received his honorary MBE for his contribution to spreading British culture in Japan through his performance in a joint Shakespeare production. In 2010 during its sixth and final season, he joined the cast of the ABC TV series Lost .
He portrayed Dogen, a high-ranking member of “The Others”. He is currently a guest star as Takehaya, a former Japanese Navy officer and legendary pirate captain in post-plague Asia, in the apocalyptic drama The Last Ship.
Hiroyuki Sanada Age
Hiroyuki Sanada was born in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan on 12th October, 1960. He is 58 years old as of 2018.
Hiroyuki Sanada Photo
Hiroyuki Sanada Height
Hiroyuki Sanada is 1.7 M tall.
Hiroyuki Sanada Net Worth
Hiroyuki Sanada has an approximated net worth of $10 million.
Hiroyuki Sanada Wife | Hiroyuki Sanada Life | Hiroyuki Sanada Relationships | Hiroyuki Sanada Married
Hiroyuki Sanada got married to his wife Satomi Tezuka in 1990. The couple married in a small Japanese ceremony. The marriage boat however hit the rock and the two separated in 1997 following a divorce. Before their separation, the couple had two sons.
He is probably single at the moment as there are no records of his dating since their separation.
Hiroyuki Sanada Movies | Hiroyuki Sanada Avengers | Hiroyuki Sanada Westworld | Hiroyuki Sanada Lost | Hiroyuki Sanada Wolverine | Hiroyuki Sanada 47 Ronin
Films
| Year | Title | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Game of Chance | Endo Kenichi |
| 1967 | Game of Chance 2 | |
| Game of Chance 3: Lullaby for My Son | ||
| 1969 | Abashiri Prison: Drifter at Edge of World | Shoichi |
| 1970 | Yukyo Retsuden | |
| Brutal Tales of Chivalry 7 | ||
| 1974 | The Executioner | Young Koga Ryuichi |
| 1978 | Shogun’s Samurai | Hayate |
| Message from Space | Shiro | |
| 1979 | The Shogun Assassins | Miyoshi Isa |
| G.I. Samurai | Takeda Katsuyori | |
| 1980 | Shogun’s Ninja | Momochi Takamaru |
| Tonda Couple | Isozaki | |
| 1981 | Samurai Reincarnation | Kirimaru Iga |
| Roaring Fire | Joji / Toru | |
| The Kamikaze Adventurers | Akira Hoshino | |
| The Blazing Valiant | Joe | |
| 1982 | Ninja in the Dragon’s Den | Genbu |
| Lovers Lost | Kunihiko Yasuoka | |
| Fall Guy | Actor | |
| Ninja Wars | Jotaro Fuefuki | |
| 1983 | Igano Kabamaru | Shizune |
| Legend of the Eight Samurai | Inue Shinbei Masashi | |
| 1984 | The Street of Desire | Joji Tanaka |
| Kōtarō Makaritōru! | Tatsuya Yoshioka | |
| Mahjong hōrōki | Bouya Tetsu | |
| 1985 | The Dagger of Kamui | Jirō / Jirōza Hattori / Jirōmu Kamui |
| 1986 | House on Fire | Chuya Nakahara |
| Inuji ni Seshi Mono | Shigesa | |
| Cabaret | Tanokura | |
| In the Line of Duty: Royal Warriors | Peter Yamamoto | |
| 1987 | Sure Death 4: Revenge | Ukyonosuke Okuda |
| 1988 | Kaitō Ruby | Toru Hayashi |
| 1989 | Who Do I Choose? | Jun Yamamoto |
| 1990 | Yellow Fangs | Haiyaku Eiji |
| Let’s Go to the Hospital | Kohei Shintani | |
| Tugumi | Kyoichi Takahashi | |
| 1992 | Succession | Masakazu Yoshinari |
| Let’s Go to the Hospital 2 | Ichiro Katakura | |
| 1993 | Made in Japan | Keiichi Takahashi |
| Nemuranai Machi: Shinjuku Same | Detective Same | |
| 1994 | Uneasy Encounters | |
| Hero Interview | Jinta Todoroki | |
| Crest of Betrayal | Takumi-no-kami Asano | |
| 1995 | Sharaku | Tonbo |
| East Meets West | Kamijo Kenkichi | |
| Emergency Call | Hideyuki Harada | |
| 1998 | Ring | Ryūji Takayama |
| Rasen | ||
| Murder on D Street | Seiichiro Fukiya | |
| Tadon to Chikuwa | Asami | |
| 1999 | Ring 2 | Ryūji Takayama |
| Round About Midnight | Koji | |
| 2000 | First Love | Shin’ichirō Fujiki |
| 2001 | Minna no Ie | Bartender |
| Onmyōji | Dōson | |
| 2002 | Vengeance for Sale | Sukeroku Sukedachiya |
| The Twilight Samurai | Seibei Iguchi | |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Ujio |
| 2005 | Aegis | Hisashi Sengoku |
| The White Countess | Matsuda | |
| The Promise | General Guangming | |
| 2007 | Sunshine | Kaneda |
| Rush Hour 3 | Kenji | |
| 2008 | Speed Racer | Mr. Musha |
| 2009 | The City of Your Final Destination | Pete |
| 2012 | Tenchi: The Samurai Astronomer | Narrator |
| 2013 | The Wolverine | Shingen Yashida |
| The Railway Man | Takashi Nagase | |
| 47 Ronin | Ôishi | |
| 2015 | Mr. Holmes | Tamiki Umezaki |
| Minions | Dumo the Sumo | |
| 2017 | Life | Sho Murakami |
| 2018 | The Catcher Was a Spy | Kawabata |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | TBA |
| John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum | TBA | |
| TBA | Minamata | TBA |
TV Shows
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1977 | J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai |
| 1978 | The Yagyu Conspiracy |
| Seven Detectives | |
| 1979 | Abarenbo Shogun |
| Uchu Kara no Messeji: Ginga Taisen – (Message from Space: Galactic Battle) | |
| 1980 | Yagyu Abaretabi |
| 1981 | Kage no Gundan II – (Shadow Warriors II) |
| 1982 | Kage no Gundan III – (Shadow Warriors III) |
| Yagyu Jubei Abaretabi | |
| 1984 | Subarashiki Sakasu Yaro – (What a Wonderful Circus Guy) |
| Chodenshi Bioman – (Super Electronic Bioman) | |
| 1985 | Kage no Gundan IV – (Shadow Warriors IV) |
| And Then, War is Over | |
| Kamen no Ninja Akakage | |
| 1987 | Dokuganryu Masamune – (One-Eyed Dragon Masamune) |
| Sweet Memories | |
| Dokyusei wa 13 sai | |
| Ore to Aneki – (Me and Sister) | |
| 1988 | Tokugawa Ieyasu |
| NY Love Story | |
| I Love You So Much | |
| 1989 | Sakamoto Ryoma |
| Oda Nobunaga | |
| 1990 | Shingo Juban Shobu |
| 1991 | Taiheiki |
| 1992 | Seiteki Mokushi Roku |
| Shimizu Jirocho | |
| 1993 | Koko Kyoshi – (High School Teacher) |
| Toyotomi Hideyoshi | |
| 1994 | The Reason I Owed to Her |
| 1995 | Abe Ichizoku – (The Abe Clan) |
| Seiya no Kiseki – (Miracles in the Holy Night) | |
| 1996 | Hideyoshi |
| 1997 | Kon’na Koi no Hanashi – (The Story of Love) |
| Shin Hanshichi Torimonocho | |
| 1998 | Tabuloido – (Tabloid) |
| Sono Otoko no Kyofu – (That Man’s Fear) | |
| 1999 | Furuhata Ninzaburō |
| Summer of Detectives | |
| Kujira o Mita hi | |
| 2001 | Hikon Kazoku – (Unmarried Family) |
| 2004 | Locked-in Shokogun – (Locked-in Syndrome) |
| 2010 | Lost |
| 2011 | Revenge |
| 2014 | Helix |
| Extant | |
| 2016 | The Last Ship |
| 2018 | Westworld |
Hiroyuki Sanada Interview
Q: This isn’t your first time doing a film that takes place in space.
Hiroyuki Sanada: Actually, this is my fourth space movie. It’s funny. When I was 17, I did a space movie called “Message from Space.” It was my first time doing a spacewalk on wires. After that, I did one TV series in space and 10 years ago I did “Sunshine” with Danny Boyle, which was set in space as well. So just like Murakami, this is my fourth mission to space. So I could use all of my past experience as an actor to inform my character. I’ve done wire work so very many times, so it was comfortable for me.
Q: How was the atmosphere on set with your co-stars?
Hiroyuki Sanada: We had great teamwork. Jake is very talented and a very creative person, always finding the best way for each scene. In rehearsal he was always questioning and trying a lot of different ways to perform. Every day, we had a rehearsal before we started shooting. It was like a workshop for the theater. And Ryan, he’d worked with Daniel before, so it was easy to feel how well they worked together. That created a good atmosphere on set, which was helpful for us. Ryan is friendly and of course professional but also a humble person. He was great. He’s also an ad-lib pro. The improvisation was great, so I could laugh naturally during the funny scenes. Every take, he’d change the lines to something new. And Rebecca is a hard worker and a very kind person, very supportive of others. She created a bond between the cast and crew.
Q: What are your thoughts about the issues pertaining to roles for Asian actors in Hollywood?
Hiroyuki Sanada: I think Asian roles are getting a little bigger than 10 years ago, but if somebody has an Asian face they’re offered parts for every nationality. Sometimes I’ll get an offer for a Chinese role, or you’ll see a Korean actor playing Japanese — and they don’t care. It’s so hard to get the right role for myself. It’s harder than before for survival. And also the Chinese market is getting bigger, so for a Japanese actor it’s a kind of hard time. Hopefully in the future it will be better for younger actors from Japan. I have to keep fighting and create a better market here and in Japan as well. That’s my hope.
Q: What would you like to see change?
Hiroyuki Sanada: It’s hard to say, but one thing would be understanding the cultural differences. Every Asian country has its own, different culture. So sometimes it can be insulting to other cultures or countries. I want to make sure that people understand that. I want to keep my rule of only playing Japanese characters, and hopefully the casting people will understand.
SOURCE: www.cbsnews.com