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Hiroyuki Sanada

Hiroyuki Sanada (真田広之, Sanada Hiroyuki, born Shimozawa; 12 October 1960) is a Japanese actor, producer, singer and martial artist. He began his career in the mid-1960s at the age of six, and gained prominence for his roles in Japanese and Hong Kong action films, later establishing himself as a dramatic actor.

He is best known to international audiences for his roles as Ryuji Takayama in Ring (1998) where he played alongside Nanako Matsushima who was also his co-star in a 1997 television drama A Story of Love. Beginning in the 2000s, Sanada grew his Hollywood presence with such roles as Seibei Iguchi in The Twilight Samurai (2002), Ujio in The Last Samurai (2003), Kenji in Rush Hour 3 (2007), and Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion in Mortal Kombat (2021). His role as The Fool in the Shakespeare play King Lear also gave him notable theatrical attention in the United Kingdom.

He made his first major Hollywood appearance portraying Ujio in The Last Samurai (2003), later appearing in such films as Sunshine (2007), Speed Racer (2008), The Wolverine, 47 Ronin (both 2013), Minions (2015), Life (2017), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Army of the Dead (2021), Bullet Train (2022), and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023). He also had recurring roles on Lost (2010) and the HBO series Westworld (2018–2020). In 2024 he starred in the FX historical drama series Shōgun as Yoshii Toranaga, a fictionalized version of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

He has received numerous accolades, including two Hochi Film Awards, two Japan Academy Film Prizes, a Mainichi Film Award, three Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actor, four Kinema Junpo Awards, and honors from the Yokohama Film Festival. In 2018, he received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon from the Japanese government for his "artistic developments, improvements, and accomplishments".

Life and career

1966–1978: Child actor

Born in Tokyo, he was scouted by an entertainer while playing with the son of the actor Kokichi Takada who lived in the same condominium. After working as a model for a magazine for young children, he joined the Himawari Theatre Group at the age of five. He made his film debut in 1966 in the ninkyo yakuza film Game of Chance (浪曲子守唄) starring Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba, reprising his role as Chiba's character's son in two sequels released the following year.

Originally planning to be an action movie star, he studied Shorinji Kempo and later took up Kyokushin kaikan karate. He began playing baseball at age 8 as a catcher, and started training at the age of 11 with Chiba's Japan Action Club, where he developed good all-around martial arts ability and soon became Chiba's protégé. After entering high school, following Chiba's advice, he decided to devote himself to his studies and withdrew from performing arts activities. In 1978, he resumed his performing arts activities in earnest after passing the audition for the movie Shogun's Samurai (柳生一族の陰謀). It was at this point that he changed his surname from Shimozawa (下澤) to Sanada (真田).

1982–1999: Hong Kong action films and Japanese character roles

Sanada's martial arts film career introduced him to Hong Kong action cinema, where he portrayed the ninja Genbu in Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982), then worked with Michelle Yeoh, with whom he co-starred in Royal Warriors (1986). He has a long-standing friendship with Jackie Chan. Outside of Japan, Sanada was often credited in his younger days as Henry Sanada, Harry Sanada, or Duke Sanada.

In Japan, Sanada established himself as a character actor in the 1984 movie Mahjong Hourouki directed by Makoto Wada. In 1997 Sanada starred in a television drama A Story of Love, also known by its Japanese title Konna Koi no Hanashi, where he played the role of Shuichiro Harashima, a wealthy but lonely upper-class businessman who falls in love with a decorating designer from a lower class family played by Nanako Matsushima. The following year in 1998, Sanada once again co-starred with Nanako Matsushima in a 1998 mystery thriller Ring (also known by its Japanese title, Ringu), where he played the role of Ryūji Takayama, the estranged former husband of Matsushima's character, who had a sixth sense that detects supernatural auras.

1999–2002: Royal Shakespeare Company

In 1999 and 2000, he performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in their production of King Lear, for which he was awarded as an Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2002, citing his "contribution to spreading British culture in Japan through his performance in a joint Shakespeare production." Some media reports erroneously stated that Sanada received the honour for being the first Japanese actor to perform with the RSC, but Togo Igawa had joined the troupe earlier, in 1986.

Sanada went on to perform roles in major films such as Tasogare Seibei (The Twilight Samurai), Ring and Kaitō Ruby.

2003–2009: The Last Samurai and international breakthrough

In 2003, Sanada's role as Ujio, a master swordsman, opposite Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, gained him international popularity and critical praise. Sanada played Matsuda (the Japanese imperialist who befriends Ralph Fiennes' character Todd Jackson) in the 2005 film The White Countess directed by James Ivory. He starred in the Chinese film The Promise directed by Chen Kaige as General Guangming. Sanada appeared in Rush Hour 3 in 2007 with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, Danny Boyle's Sunshine, and The City of Your Final Destination in 2009, in which he plays the younger lover of Anthony Hopkins' character Adam Gund.

2010–2020: Lost, Westworld, and Avengers: Endgame

Sanada joined the cast of the ABC TV series Lost in 2010 during its sixth and final season. He portrayed Dogen, a high-ranking member of "The Others". In 2013, he appeared in 47 Ronin (the first English-language adaptation of the Chushingura legend, Japan's most famous tale of samurai loyalty and revenge) alongside Keanu Reeves, and as Shingen Yashida in The Wolverine opposite Hugh Jackman.

Sanada was a guest star as Takehaya, a former Japanese Navy officer and legendary pirate captain in post-plague Asia, in the apocalyptic drama series The Last Ship. He also starred in the 2017 movie Life with Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, and Ryan Reynolds. In 2018, he began a recurring role as swordmaster Musashi on the HBO series Westworld and played the minor role of Akihiko in the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame. In August 2019, Sanada was cast in the Mortal Kombat reboot as Scorpion. In 2020, Sanada starred alongside Johnny Depp in the film Minamata.

2021–present: Bullet Train, John Wick: Chapter 4, Shōgun

In 2021, Sanada was announced as producer and part of the cast of the FX limited series Shōgun, adapted from the James Clavell novel, playing the part of Lord Toranaga. The series has received widespread global critical acclaim, with Sanada's role in the series considered a highlight among many reviewers.

In 2022, Sanada had a major supporting role in Bullet Train opposite Brad Pitt. In 2023, he portrayed Koji Shimazu, manager of the Osaka Continental Hotel, in John Wick: Chapter 4, and was featured in a multi-commercial campaign introducing Mazda CX-90.

Education and music career

Sanada received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Science from Nihon University in 1982.

From 1980 to 1991, Sanada released a series of albums and singles in Japan as a singer; several of these were tied to films, TV shows, or stage productions he was starring in. In 2010 and 2011, compilations were released covering his songs for movies and pop hits respectively.