Ken Watanabe Overview

Born in Japan, Ken Watanabe graduated from high school in 1978. He was unsure what he wanted to do with his life, but while in college, a director from England's National Theatre Company recommended that he try acting. Ken began his career onstage with the Tokyo-based theater troupe Madoka. His film acting debut was in Setouchi shonen yakyu dan (1984), but he developed leukemia shortly after the production wrapped. The cancer went into remission and in 1985 he appeared in two more films and... See All