Ken Watanabe was born on October 21, 1959 in Koide, Niigata, Japan. He is a Japanese Oscar-nominated stage, film, and television actor.

For his performance as Katsumoto in The Last Samurai, he was nominated for the 2003 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Watanabe played the part of the Ra's al Ghul decoy in the 2005 film Batman Begins and The Chairman in the film version of the best selling Arthur Golden novel, Memoirs of a Geisha.

Ken has also filmed ads for American Express and Yakult.

He also starred in Letters from Iwo Jima (2007).

Filmography

• Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
• Ashita no kioku (2006)
• Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
• Batman Begins (2005)
• Kita no zeronen (2005)
• "Suna no utsuwa" (2004)
• The Last Samurai (2003)
• T.R.Y. (2003)
• Hi wa mata noboru (2002)
• Sennen no koi - Hikaru Genji monogatari (2001)
• Oboreru sakana (2001)
• "Hojo Tokimune" (2001)
• Zawa-zawa Shimokita-sawa (2000)
• Supêsutoraberâzu (2000)
• "Ikebukuro West Gate park" (2000)
• Kizuna (1998)
• Rajio no jikan (1997)
• Kimitachi ga ite boku ga iru (1992)
• Bakumatsu jyunjyoden (1991)
• "Takeda Shingen" (1990)
• "Dokugan-ryu Masamune" (1987)
• Umi to dokuyaku (1986)
• Tampopo (1985)
• Kekkon annai mystery (1985)
• Setouchi shonen yakyu dan (1984)
• "Sanga moyu" (1984)

Awards

• Japanese Academy Award "Sennen no koi -hikaru genji monogatari (Genji, a thousand-year love )" 2002
• Japanese Academy Award "Kizuna" 1998
• Japan Film and Television Producers Society Best New Actor Award "Umi to dokuyaku (The Sea and Poison)" 1987