Tetsuya Watari
He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. Watari belonged to the karate club at university. He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosugi's Abare Kishidō, and received one of the Elan d'or Awards. At Nikkatsu, Watari appeared in such films as Tokyo Drifter and the Outlaw series.
Watari was mentored at Nikkatsu by Yujiro Ishihara. When Nikkatsu shifted to focusing on Roman Porno films in the early seventies, Watari was one of many actors who left the studio.
Watari was due to play the main role in Kinji Fukasaku’s film Battles Without Honor and Humanity, but because of illness he was not able to appear. In 1974, he was forced to step down from the lead role of Katsu Kaishū in the Taiga drama Katsu Kaishū on NHK, again because of illness, after appearing in only nine episodes. In 1976, Watari won best actor of Blue Ribbon Award for his role in Kinji Fukasaku`s film Yakuza Graveyard.
In Japan, Watari is probably still best known for his role as Keisuke Daiomon in the detective series "Seibu Keisatsu" on TV Asahi. He also appeared in the popular detective drama "Taiyō ni Hoero!" as a replacement for Yujiro Ishihara in 1986.
Watari became the president of Ishihara Promotion after Yujiro's death in 1987 but in 2011 he resigned due to his declining health.
On June 10, 2015 he was hospitalised after suffering a heart attack and underwent surgery. Seven days later it was announced that he was in rehabilitation and would be discharged from hospital in about a month.
He had a younger brother, Tsunehiko Watase, who was also an actor. As a singer, Watari is known for his hit song "Kuchinashi no Hana" and he appeared in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1974 and 1993.
He died of pneumonia on August 10, 2020, at the age of 78.
Known for
AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo
Muneaki Seta
SMAP×SMAP
Skit Guest
Yoshitsune
Taira no Kiyomori (Hei-shi)
Hideyoshi
Oda Nobunaga
Katsu Kaishu
Katsu Kaishu (adult)
No Dropping Out: Back to School at 35
Yukinobu Asada
Clouds Over the Hill
東郷平八郎
Epic Chushingura
Horibe Yasubei
Haguregumo
Daihyô torishimariyaku deka
Flower of Ice
Marusa!!
Chikara Kokuryo
Middle-aged Divorce
Big City: Days of Struggle
Gion Bayashi
Family: Absence of the Wife, Existence of the Husband
Bloody Journal of the Shinsengumi
Kondo Isami
The Street Lawyers
Kazoku
Saeki Shinji
マグロ
Oishii Gohan: Kamakura Kasugai Rice Shop
카스가이 류헤이
Brother
Jinseikai Boss
スクープ
Tokyo Drifter
Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo
浮浪云
Graveyard of Honor
Rikio Ishikawa
Outlaw: Goro the Assassin
Goro Fujikawa
Yamato
Yakuza Graveyard
Ryu Kuroiwa
渡哲也サスペンス 絆
Monument to the Girl's Corps
Young man
Goryokaku
Toshizo Hijikata
Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2
Goro Fujikawa
Outlaw: Gangster VIP
Goro Fujikawa
Outlaw: Black Dagger
Goro Fujikawa
Love Eternal
Makoto Kanô
Diary of Early Winter Shower
Kounosuke Mibu
Abduction
Sangokushi: The Yangtze Is Burning!
Cao Cao (voice)
Outlaw: Kill!
Goro Fujikawa
前科・仮釈放
Ôhara Ryûji
Flower and Dragon
Step on the Gas!
The Man of Victory
Exiled to Hell
Night Train to the Stars
Masajiro Miyazawa
Conflagration
Third Officer Inoue
Outlaw: Heartless
Goro Fujikawa
Ruthless Gambler
It Is a Long Walk
Wild Cop
The Cleanup
Kurasawa
Great Conquest: The Romance of Three Kingdoms
Cao Cao (voice)
The Blossom and the Sword
Seijirô Tanaka
The Fatal Raid
The Human Revolution
Savage Wolf Pack
The Wild Sea
Yoji Kitami
The Stormy Man
Shôichi Kokubu
Pay Off Your Debt!
Burning Clouds
Villain
Masato Kogure
Kin chan no Cinema Jack
The Summit of Mt. Fuji
Yohei Kada
Kanto Drifter
Till We Meet Again
Stray Dog
Detective Murakami
Lady Joker
Seizo Monoi
Expelled from the Kanto Mob
Tokyo Drifter 2: The Sea Is Bright Red as the Color of Love
Tetsu
Song of my Life
Takuya Tsugami
Velvet Hustler
Goro
The Earth is Born Again
Hironosuke Nakadate
The Swan Elegy
やくざ番外地 抹殺
My Sweetheart
Akai
Red Glass
Hiroshi
Wild Cop 2
The Black Sheep
Again
The Heart of Hiroshima
Yukio Mihara
Showdown at Nagasaki
Keiji Takama
Chase That Man
The Aftermath of War
The Stars and I Decided...
Saburo Ohinata
East China Sea
Naoyoshi
Dreams Come True at Night
Makoto Katagiri
Law of the Outlaw
Goro Takei
Spartan Education
The Final Winner?
Profile of a Boss' Son
Rebellion Reward
Shun Muraki