Ken Takakura

Actor · 1931–2014 · Nakama, Fukuoka, Japan

Biography

Ken Takakura (高倉健, Takakura Ken), born Gouichi Oda (February 16, 1931, in Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan), was a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles. Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka. This subject was covered in one of his most famous movies, Showa Zankyo-den (Remnants of Chivalry in the Showa Era), in which he played an honorable old-school yakuza among the violent post-war gurentai. A graduate of Meiji University in Tokyo Takakura happened by an audition in 1955 at the Toei Film Company, and decided to look in. Toei found a natural in Takakura as he debuted with Denko Karate Uchi (Lightning Karate Blow) in 1956. Japan experienced a boom in gangster films in the 1960s as the Japanese people struggled with the generational differences between those raised in pre-war and post-war Japan and these were Takakura's stock and trade. His breakout role would be in the 1965 film Abashiri Prison, and its sequel Abashiri Bangaichi: Bokyohen (Abashiri Prison: Longing for Home, also 1965), in which he played an ex-con antihero. By the time Takakura would leave Toei in 1976, he had appeared in over 180 films. Takakura gained international recognition after starring in the 1970 war film Too Late the Hero as the cunning Imperial Japanese Major Yamaguchi, the 1975 Sydney Pollack sleeper hit The Yakuza with Robert Mitchum and is probably best known in the West for his role in Ridley Scott's Black Rain (1989) where he surprises American cops played by Michael Douglas and Andy García with the line, "I do speak fucking English". He again proved himself bankable to Western audiences with the 1992 Fred Schepisi comedy Mr. Baseball starring Tom Selleck. While he has slowed down a bit in his older years, he is still active. His most recent film was the 2005 Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles by Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ken Takakura, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acted in 194

2010s

2012
Dearest
Eiji Shimakura
68

2000s

2005
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
Gou-ichi Takata
74
2001
The Firefly
Yamaoka Shuji

1990s

1999
Railroad Man
Otomatsu Sato
71
1996
SMAP×SMAP
Bistro Guest · 1 episode
1995
The detective whose path was crossed by a snake
Movie
1994
47 Ronin
Kuranosuke Oishi
67
1993
Korekara: Umibe no Tabibitotachi
TV
1992
Mr. Baseball
Uchiyama
An Elegy of Tyrole
Tateishi Jiro · 2 episodes

1980s

1989
Buddies
Kadokura
Black Rain
Masahiro
62
1988
Umi e, See You
Eiji Honma
1985
Demon
Shuji
1983
Choji Snack Bar
Eiji
Antarctica
Ushioda
1982
The Longest Tunnel
Go Akutsu
Karate Cop
Detective Mikami
1981
Station
Eiji Mikami
1980
A Distant Cry from Spring
Kosaku Tajima
75
The Revolt
Keisuke Miyagi

1970s

1978
Never Give Up
Takeshi Ajisawa
62
Winter's Flower
Hidetsugu Kano
1977
Older brother
Eiji · 13 episodes
The Yellow Handkerchief
Yusaku Shima
72
Mount Hakkoda
Captain Tokushima
1976
Manhunt
Morioka
66
1975
The International Gang of Kobe
Masato Dan
The Bullet Train
Tetsuo Okita
68
Great Jailbreak
Ichiro Kozue
Path of Japanese Chivalry: Story of All-Out Attack
Movie
1974
The Yakuza
Tanaka Ken
66
The Homeless
Jokichi Anabuki
Third Generation Boss
Movie
1973
Golgo 13
Duke Togo / Golgo 13
58
Yakuza of the Present
Ryoichi Shimaya
Japan's Top Gangster
Kazuo Taoka
1972
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die
Movie
New Abashiri Prison Story: Honor and Humanity, Ammunition That Attracts the Storm
Movie
The Pledge
Movie
Lullaby for a Tough Guy
Movie · Drama
The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang
Kuramoto
1971
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Snowbound Deserter
Movie
The Man
Movie
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love
Hidejiro Hanada
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stormy Cape
Movie
Patience Has An End
Isamu Tekada
Dagger
Movie
Bloodiest Flower
Movie
The Path of the King
Ryutaro Fudo
1970
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stray Wolf in Snow
Movie
The Domain: Rising Dragon
Movie
The Last Kamikaze
Koji Yashiro
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 7: Hell Is a Man's Destiny
Movie
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: High Stakes at Abashiri
Movie
Yukyo-retsuden
Movie
Too Late the Hero
Major Yamaguchi
63
The Japan Derby Race
Movie
A Hoodlum At The Risk Of His Life
Movie
House of Gamblers
Movie
Brave Red Flower of the North
Movie