When it comes to senior actors in the film industry, the perspective of the majority population is that due to their age, they will not be able to gain popularity as compared to younger actors. However, it has been rightly said that age is just a limitation you put on your mind and in contemporary times, more than ever it can be proved. In every field whether it is acting, modeling or dancing, we can see people of all age groups establishing their names and many times, doing better than younger generations due to their experience.
In this article, let’s have a look on top 10 Japanese actors who come off with flying colors irrespective of their current age and are continuously shining bright and have worked for more than 25 years.
1. Tadanobu Asano
Tadanobu Asano was born on 27th November 1973. He is a Japanese actor and musician. Tadanobu Asano grabbed his first acting role in TV show ‘Kinpachi Sensei (1988)’ at the age of 16. He debuted in films in year 1990 through ‘Swimming Upstream (Bataashi Kingyo)’. His first major critical success was in ‘Dragon Fish’ in the year 1993. Some of his film works include – ‘Aitsu (1991)’, ‘119 (1994)’, ‘Mabo Rosi (1995)’, ‘Helpless (1996)’, ‘Tokyo Biyori (1997)’, ‘Gemini (1999)’, ‘Ichi – The Killer (2001)’, ‘Woman of Water (2002)’, ‘Dead End Run (2003)’, ‘Tokyo Zombie (2005)’, ‘Sad Vacation (2007)’, ‘Thor (2011)’,‘Grasshopper (2015)’, ‘Thor: Ragnarok (2017)’, ‘Detective Chinatown -3 (2021)’.
2. Hiroshi Abe
He is a Japanese model and actor born on June 22, 1964. He debuted through the movie ‘Haikara San: Here Comes Miss Morden (1987)’. In 1988, Hiroshi Abe also released an album as a Pop – idol. Some of his notable works are ‘YAWARA (1989)’, ‘Blood Sucking Space (2001)’, ‘Platonic Sex(2001)’, ‘Hana And Alice (2004)’, ‘ Forbidden Siren (2006)’, ‘Legend Of Toki (2008)’, ‘A Yell From Heaven (2011)’, ‘A Loving Husband (2016)’, ‘Sakura Guardian In The North (2018)’, ‘Hokusai (2021)’, ‘Offbeat Corps (2022)’. He also acted in TV series like ‘Going My Home (2012)’ and ‘Dragon Sakura – 2 (2021)’.
3. Hiroyuki Sanada
He is a Japanese actor cum martial artist. He was born on October 12, 1960. He debuted through film ‘Game of Chance (1966)’. He also appeared in TV series, namely ‘Freezing Point (1966)’, ‘The Yagyu Conspiracy (1979)’, ‘Fall Guy (1991)’, ‘The Last Ship (2016)’. Some notable movies in which he acted are ‘Legacy Of Honour (1970)’, ‘Fall Guy (1982)’, ‘Tugumi (1990)’, ‘Speed Racer(2008)’, ‘Life (2017)’, ‘Bullet Train (2022)’. He marked his Hollywood appearance in ‘The Last Samurai (2003)’, ‘Avengers (2019)’and ‘Army of the Dead (2022)’.
4. Ken Watanabe
He is a Japanese actor born on October 21, 1959. Watanabe was introduced internationally in 2003 with the American movie ‘The Last Samurai’, ‘Batman Begins (2005)’, ‘Godzilla (2014)’ and ‘Transformer: Age of Extinction (2014)’.
He debuted through the film ‘MacArthur’s Children (1984)’. Some of his notable films are ‘The Sea And Poison (1986)’, ‘Space Travelers (2000)’, ‘Shangai (2010)’, ‘Inception (2010)’, ‘Detective Pikachu (2019)’ and ‘Fukushima (2020)’.
5. Koji Yakusho
He is a Japanese actor born on January 1, 1956. He debuted in the year 1979 through the film ‘Hunter in the Dark’. Some of his notable films are ’12 Months (1980)’, ‘Willful Murder (1981)’, ‘Shall We Dance (1996)’, ‘Charisma (1999)’, ‘Lake Side Murder Case (2004)’, ‘A Terminal Trust (2012)’, ’The Boy and The Beast (2015)’, ‘Belle (2021)’ and ‘The Pass: Last Date Of Samurai (2022)’.
6. Hidetoshi Nishijima
He is a Japanese actor born on March 29, 1971. He is best known internationally for his role in ‘Drive My Car (2021)’. He also received Japan Academy Film Prize for the Best Actor for this film. He debuted through film ‘Ghost Pub’ in the year 1994. Some of his notable works are ‘Kura (1995)’, ‘Doll (2002)’, ‘Su-ki-da (2005)’, ‘Oh! Oku (2006)’, ‘Zero Focus (2009)’, ‘Creepy (2016)’, ‘What Did You Eat Yesterday (2021)’ and ‘Good Bye Cruel World (2022)’.
7. Yo Oizumi
Oizumi is a Japanese actor, voice actor, comedian and television personality. He was born on April 13, 1973. Oizumi debuted in 1996 through the film ‘Gamera 2’. Some of his other notable works are ‘The Cat Returns (2002)’, Brave Story (2006)’, ‘Looking up at the Half Moon (2010)’, ‘The Kiyosu Conference (2013)’, ‘ I am a Hero (2016)’, ‘After the Rain (2018)’, ‘Food Luck (2020)’, ‘Asakusa Kid (2021)’. He also worked in TV dramas like ‘Doctor in Love (2006)’, ‘The Golden Piggy (2010)’, ‘Brother and Sister (2018)’ and ‘The 13 Lords of Shogun (2022)’.
8. Yutaka Takenouchi
He is a Japanese actor. He was born on January 2, 1971. He debuted with a drama named ‘Boku no Syushoku’ in 1994. His works are ‘The World of Ice (1999)’, ‘Toshiie and Matsu: Love shines through (2002)’, ‘Boss -2 (2011)’. He also worked in films. Some of his films are ‘The Hovering Blade (2009)’, ‘A Honeymoon in Hell: Mr. and Mrs. Oki’s Fabulous Trip (2011)’, ‘Birds Without Names (2017)’ and ‘The Blood of Wolves (2018)’.
9. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
He is a Japanese actor, television host, singer and a former member of the J-Pop band ‘SMAP’. He debuted in acting through the film ‘Shoot!’ in the year 1994. Some of his other notable works as an actor are ‘Sinking of Japan 2006’, ‘1,778 Stories of Me and My Wife (2011)’, ‘Attack on Titan (2015)’ and ‘Mid-Night Swan (2020)’.
10. Masato Sakai
He is a Japanese actor. He was born on October 14, 1973. He was active from the year 1992, his notable works contain ‘Being Here (2001)’, ‘Honey and Clover (2006)’, ‘My So Has Got Depression (2011)’, ‘The Samurai that Night (2012)’, ‘7 Days of Himawari and her Puppies (2013)’, and ‘Sakura Guardian in the North (2018)’.
