Sessue Hayakawa

Biography

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.

Most Known For

Wagon Train

as Sakae Ito

The Bridge on the River Kwai

as Col. Saito

Taikouki

as Takeda Shingen

Green Mansions

as Runi

Forfaiture

as Prince Hu-Long

Swiss Family Robinson

as Kuala, Pirate Chief

Patrouille blanche

Asian Americans

as Self

His Birthright

as Yukio

Alien Souls

as Sakata

House of Bamboo

as Inspector Kito

Tokyo Joe

as Baron Kimura

The Geisha Boy

as Mr. Sikita

The Battle

as Le Marquis Yorisaka

Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

as Self (archive footage)

Banzai

as The American General

His Debt

as Goto Mariyama

The Daydreamer

as The Mole (voice)

Forbidden Paths

as Sato

Li Ting Lang

as Li Ting Lang