Article: Top 10 Japanese Actors Popular Globally

Over the years, Japanese Anime and Manga have gained much popularity all across the globe. Not forgetting, the Japanese film industry has given us some excellent and super hot actors who have earned recognition all across the globe.

1. Hiroyuki Sanada

Hiroyuki is a 61-year-old Japanese actor and martial artist. He was born on 12 October 1960 in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. Hiroyuki worked as a model for a children's magazine and made his debut at the age of six, in 1966, in the film— Game of Chance. He starred in the movie, Shogun's Samurai, which introduced him to Hong Kong action cinema. He portrayed the character of Ninja Genbu in Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982). He also worked with Michelle Yeoh in Royal Warriors (1986) and Danny Boyle's Sunshine. Some of his famous works include The Twilight Samurai, Ring, Kaito Ruby, and The Last Samurai. He gained international recognition with his work in Ninja in the Dragon’s Den, Ringu, The Last Samurai, The Wolverine, and 47 Ronin. He traded blows with iconic Asian action star, Jackie Chan in Rush Hour 3 and later joined the casts of popular TV dramas "Lost" and the soap "Revenge."

 

2. Ken Watanabe

The 62-year-old Japanese actor born in 1959 is known internationally for his roles in The Last Samurai as Katsumoto Moritsugu, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Letter from Iwo Jima. He starred in the 2014 reboot Godzilla as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa. He also starred in the HBO Max crime drama series—Tokyo Vice in 2022. He has starred in many international and Japanese films, including Inception (2010), Godzilla, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Memoirs of Geisha, Fukushima 50, and Batman Begins (2006). He was nominated for the Grammy Awards, Olivier Awards, and Tony Awards. He has also won several awards, including the 44th Japan Academy Film Prize, the 11th Elan d'Or Awards, and  Blue Ribbon Awards.

 

3. Brian Tee

Jae-Beom Takata, better known by his name Brian Tee is a Japanese actor born to his Japanese-American father and Korean mother. He moved to California with his family when he was two. Brian studied theatre and performing arts at the University of California. He changed his name to Brian Tee after being rejected by a Korean director in auditions for having a Japanese name. Brian has starred in many American movies and series, including Zoey 101, Crash ( Eddie Choi), Grimm, and Burn Notice. He starred as Takashi in 2006's The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Jax in Deadland, Noburo Mori in 2013, The Wolverine, and Hamada in Jurassic World. He has been in many television series as well, including Chicago Med, Agents of Shield, One Christmas Eve, The Chronicle, and Lucifer, and as a voice-over artist in Star Wars: Visions, Sym-Bionic Titan, Doraemon: Nobita's Chronicle of the Moon Exploration (Kim), and in Baymax (Yukio).

 

4. Kento Yamazaki

Known as the Prince of Anime, Kento Yamazaki is a prominent Japanese actor and model. He was born on 7 September 1994 in Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan. Kento is known for portraying diverse characters. He received his breakthrough from the 2014 movie LDK. His notable work includes Death Note, Kiss that Kills, Good Doctor, and the Netflix Original Series— Alice in Borderland.

 

5. Tadanobu Asano

Tadanobu Sato, popularly known by his stage name Tadanobu Asano was born in 1973 and is a Japanese actor and musician. He portrayed the role of Dragon Eye Morrison in Electric Dragon 80000 V, Kakihara in Ichi The Killer, and Kenji in Last Life in the Universe, which is some of his very well-known works. Asano has been a part of numerous films and series, and he gained international fame with his roles in movies Bright Future, The Taste of Tea, Battleship and Thor, and Thor: Ragnarok. His other notable projects include The Outsider, Midway, Minamata, Detective Chinatown 3, and Mortal Kombat.

 

6. Masi Oka

Masayori Oka, better known as Masi Oka, is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist. The 47-year-old actor earned massive fame for his role as Hiro Nakamura in NBC's drama, Heroes and Doctor Max in CBS's Hawaii Five-O. Oka started his acting career in the 2000s. He worked in a minor role in several movies, which did not go well. He then played the role of Franklyn in Scrubs, which helped him to get better roles. Oka earned his breakthrough with the drama Heroes as Hiro Nakamura. He then starred in several other movies, including Getting Smart, The Meg, Reno 911, Death Note, Hawaii Five-O, Star Wars: Visions, and Bullet Train.

 

7. Mamoru Miyano

Mamuro Miyano is a Japanese actor and singer born in 1983. He started his career in 1992 with his role as a child in Tokusou Exceedraft. His notable work includes Pokémon: Best Wishes and Wolf's Rain and Death Note, Durarara, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Free, Mobile Suit Gundam, Soul Eater, Chihayafuru, Bungo Stray Dogs, Uta no Prince-Sama, Zombieland Saga, and many others.

 

8. Takeshi Kitano

Kitano Takeshi is a Japanese actor, director, writer, comedian, and television personality. He was born on 18 January 1947 in Tokyo, Japan. Takeshi is popularly known by his other name, Beat Takeshi. This name comes from his career as a comedian along with Kaneko Kiyoshi. Together they were known as Two Beats. Kitano has a long-spanned career spread across different genres and styles. He marked his debut with the television series Super Superman. Some of his notable work includes Hana-bi, Zatoichi, Outrage, Sonatine, A Scene at the Sea (1991) and,  Kikujiro, Brother, Kids Return, and Boiling Point.

 

9. Daisuke Ono

Daisuke is a 44-year-old Japanese singer and voice-over actor born in 1979. The voice-over actor is widely known for voicing  Jotaro Kujo, Sebastian Michaelis, and Shizuo Heiwajima.  Daisuke has been working as a voice-over artist since 2002. He debuted his music career in 2007 with the mini-album, Hinemosu. He is well known as a voice artist for Gantz: O, Dragonaut: The Resonance, In this Corner of the World, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Batman Ninja, Kuroko's Basketball, and Black Cover.

 

10. Sessue Hayakawa

He was a Japanese actor who became a prevalent Hollywood star during the silent film era. He was born on June 10, 1886. Hayakawa became a well-known Asian actor in Hollywood for his broodingly handsome looks and sharp features. Some of his best-known movies are The Typhoon, The Cheat, Swiss Family Robinson, and The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he was nominated in the category of Best Supporting Actor in the Academy Awards.