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Sessue Hayakawa

Sessue Hayakawa

Birthday: 1889-06-10 | Place of Birth: Nanaura, Chiba, Japan

Sessue Hayakawa (June 10, 1889 – November 23, 1973) was a Japanese and American Issei (Japanese immigrant) actor who starred in American, Japanese, French, German, and British films. Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find stardom in the United States as well as Europe. Between the mid-1910s and the late 1920s, he was as well known as actors Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks. He was one of the highest paid stars of his time; making $5,000 a week in 1915, and $2 million a year via his own production company during the 1920s. He starred in over 80 movies and has two films in the U.S. National Film Registry. His international stardom transitioned both silent films and talkies. Of his English-language films, Hayakawa is probably best known for his role as Colonel Saito in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he received a nomination for Academy Award Best Supporting Actor in 1957. He also appeared as the pirate leader in Disney's Swiss Family Robinson in 1960. In addition to his film acting career, Hayakawa was a theatre actor, film and theatre producer, film director, screenwriter, novelist, martial artist, and an ordained Zen master.   Description above from the Wikipedia article Sessue Hayakawa, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1966
The Daydreamer

as    The Mole (voice)

1960
Hell to Eternity

as    General Matsui

1960
Swiss Family Robinson

as    Kuala, Pirate Chief

1959
Green Mansions

as    Runi

1957
The Bridge on the River Kwai

as    Col. Saito

1955
House of Bamboo

as    Inspector Kito

1950
Three Came Home

as    Colonel Michio Suga

1949
Tokyo Joe

as    Baron Kimura

1937
The Daughter of the Samurai

as    Iwao Yamato

1921
The Swamp

as    Wang

1919
The Tong Man

as    Luk Chen

1917
The Bottle Imp

as    Lopaka