Hiroyuki Sanada

Infobox actor


birthname = Hiroyuki Shimosawa
birthdate = birth date and age|1960|10|12
birthplace = flagicon|Japan Tokyo, Japan
deathdate =
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othername =
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spouse = Divorced - has two sons
homepage =
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tonyawards = nihongo|Hiroyuki Sanada MBE|真田 広之|"Sanada Hiroyuki"|born October 12, 1960 is a Japanese actor.

Biography

Early life

Sanada was born nihongo|Hiroyuki Shimosawa|下澤 廣之|Shimozawa Hiroyuki in Tokyo, Japan. He began training with Sonny Chiba's Japan Action Club. Originally aiming to be an action star, he developed good all-round martial arts ability.

Career

Sanada was first noticed as a serious actor in the movie "Mahjong Hourouki" directed by Makoto Wada. Wada and Sanada's relationship is similar to that of John Huston and Humphrey Bogart and since then Sanada has acted in every one of Wada's movies. Those works are filled with a sense of humor and nostalgic attachment for classic movies. He has established himself as a character actor who can play many different roles. Some of his most famous movies are:"Tasogare Seibei" ("The Twilight Samurai"), "Ring", "Kaitou Rubi" and "The Last Samurai".

Sanada made an appearance in the 2005 Hollywood film "The White Countess" directed by James Ivory, and the Chinese film "The Promise" directed by Chen Kaige. He is known internationally more from The Last Samurai, The White Countess and "Sunshine" directed by Danny Boyle, but has recently been seen in "Rush Hour 3" with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. He also stars in "The City of Your Final Destination" another James Ivory film, where he plays the younger lover of Anthony Hopkins's character.

In 1999 and 2000, he performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in their production of "King Lear". This marked the first time a Japanese actor had performed with the theatrical group, and earned Sanada an MBE.

Hiroyuki Sanada has often been credited, in his younger days, as either Henry, Harry or Duke Sanada. His martial arts film career led him in contact with Michelle Yeoh, who he later starred with in Sunshine. He also has a long standing friendship with Jackie Chan, but didn't star in a film with him before Rush Hour 3.

Sanada has been said to be one of Japan's most respected actors, and is often cast as the quiet, heroic character, as seen in "The Twilight Samurai".

Filmography

External links

*imdb|id=0760796|name=Hiroyuki Sanada
* [http://hiroyukisanada.com Hiroyuki Sanada Enthusiast (HSE)]
* [http://sanadahiroyuki.com/home.htm Sanada Hiroyuki Inspired Nuances (SHIN)]
* [http://www.jgraphicdesigns.com/WebGallery_Forum/ Sanada Hiroyuki Inspired Nuances (SHIN Forum)]
* [http://www.jgraphicdesigns.com/WebGallery/ The Hiroyuki Sanada WebGallery]