Sessue Hayakawa
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.
Known for
Taikouki
Takeda Shingen
Asian Americans
Self
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Col. Saito
Three Came Home
Colonel Michio Suga
Swiss Family Robinson
Kuala, Pirate Chief
Green Mansions
Runi
Tokyo Joe
Baron Kimura
Lover's Duet
Tajima
House of Bamboo
Inspector Kito
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
(archive footage)
The Daydreamer
The Mole (voice)
Les Miserables I: God and the Devil
The Cheat
Hishuru Tori [Haka Arakau]
悲劇の将軍 山下奉文
Les Miserables II: Banner of Love and Freedom
Hell to Eternity
General Matsui
The Geisha Boy
Mr. Sikita
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Self (archive footage)
Yoshiwara
Ysamo, Kuli
Daughter of the Dragon
Ah Kee
Running Hollywood
Sessue Hayakawa
The Wrath of the Gods
Lord Yamaki
The Secret Game
Nara-Nara
The Call of the East
Arai Takada
The Honorable Friend
Makino
The Bravest Way
Kara Tamura
Black Roses
Yoda
An Arabian Knight
Ahmed
The Big Wave
The Old Man
Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks
Self
The Vermilion Pencil
Tse Chan / The Unknown / Li Chan
The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant
Self
Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)
Himself
John Gunther's High Road
Self
The Typhoon
Tokorama
Forfaiture
Prince Hu-Long
Le Soleil de minuit
Matsui
Tempête sur l'Asie
Prinz Ling
日本敗れず
Escape to Paradise/Water Birds
Swiss Family Robinson: Adventure in the Making
Self (archive)
Gambling Hell
Ying Tchaï
The Temple Of Dusk
Akira
The Victoria Cross
Azimoolah
The Bottle Imp
Lopaka
O Mimi san
Yorotomo
The Clue
Nogi
The Daughter of the Samurai
Iwao Yamato
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
Self
After Five
Oki - the Valet
The Last of the Line
Tiah - Gray Otter's Son
Forbidden Paths
Sato
Malaria
Hidden Pearls
Tom Garvin
47 Vendettas
Sakon Tachibana
The Courageous Coward
Suki Iota
The City of Dim Faces
Jang Lung
The Honor of His House
Count Ito Onato
Quartier chinois
Tchang
The Motherland Far Far Away
Joe Hayami
The Swamp
Wang
Bonds of Honor
Yamashito / Sasamoto
The Man Beneath
Dr. Chindi Ashutor
The Dragon Painter
Tatsu - the Dragon Painter
Patrouille blanche
The Tong Man
Luk Chen
The Battle
Le Marquis Yorisaka
The White Man's Law
John A. Genghis
His Birthright
Yukio
The First Born
Chan Wang
Temptation
Opera Admirer
I Have Killed
Hideo
Each to His Kind
Rhandah
Li Ting Lang
Li Ting Lang
The Secret Sin
Lin Foo
Night Life in Hollywood
Self
A Heart in Pawn
Tomaya
The Soul of Kura San
Toyo
The Frozen Moment
Self
Le Cabaret du Grand Large
Professeur Wang
Where Lights Are Low
T''Su Wong Shih
The Devil's Claim
Akbar Khan / Hassan
The Great Prince Shan
Prince Shan
The Death Mask
Running Wolf
Banzai
The American General
Sen Yan’s Devotion
Sen Yan