Top 50 Most Popular Japanese Actors Of All Time

Takeshi Kitano has been a part of the film industry ever since the late 1960s. Besides being an actor, he is also a comedian, television presenter, filmmaker, and author.

Even though he first gained prominence as a comedian and television host, he soon made a name for himself as a film director and actor as well.

He was also known for hosting the immensely popular game show Takeshi's Castle (1986-1990).

That said, this multi-talented personality, who is popularly called "Beat Takeshi", can be seen in motion pictures such as Battle Royale, Violent Cop, Outrage Coda, Brother, and Blood and Bones.

Hiroyuki Sanada, born Hiroyuki Shimosawa, has been making his presence felt in the film industry since the first half of the 1960s.

Known for his affinity for action scenes, the Japanese actor and martial artist gained fame after having featured in projects such as Ninja in the Dragon's Den, Ring, The Twilight Samurai, The Last Samurai, Rush Hour 3, and Mortal Kombat.

The actor was noticed in the United Kingdom for his character play of 'The Fool' in the Shakespeare play King Lear.

In his home country, Sanada is also popular for recording and performing live music.

Juzo Itami may have met with a rather unfortunate and mysterious death, but he is one of the few film personalities to have lived his life with a purpose.

Best known for his second film Tampopo which proved to be a renowned hit internationally, he was an actor, screenwriter, and director par excellence.

While he certainly was a decent actor, Itami is fondly remembered for directing films that touched upon the various sensitive aspects of Japanese society.

Tadanobu Asano was only six years old when he faced the camera for the first time for the television show Mr. Kinpachi in Class 3B.

While he made his television debut years in advance, his motion picture debut came in 1990's Swimming Upstream.

However, he tasted success only after the release of the Shunji Iwai directorial venture Fried Dragon Fish. Some of Asano's finest performances came in feature films such as Gohatto, Zatoichi, Bright Future, and Mongol.

One of his movies, The Taste of Tea, had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004.

Ask any film historian and they will humbly concede that Toshiro Mifune is, in fact, the most popular and the greatest Japanese superstar of all time.

Known for having played the main lead in almost every one of Akira Kurosawa's ambitious projects between 1948 and 1965, he was famous for his unmatched ability to bring the characters that he used to portray to life on the big screen.

The actor had been seen playing a worried and helpless father, a merciless samurai, an honorable cop, a doctor, a bandit, and a gangster in some of his finest feature films.

Besides Kurosawa, a lot many film directors and critics acknowledge that Mifune was a one-of-a-kind talent; a kind that nobody in the history of Japanese entertainment had encountered before or after him.

Some of his most acclaimed full-length features are Rashomon, Red Beard, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Throne of Blood, and Drunken Angels.

The man was known for his professionalism and memorizing his lines. Believe it or not, he seldom needed scripts while on set. What added to his charm was the fact that he was unbelievably humble for the kind of fame that he received.

Known for the honorable presence that he brought to his roles, Ken Takakura was a prominent Japanese actor who was referred to by many as the "Clint Eastwood of Japan." He gained recognition in the western nations after having featured in motion pictures such as The Yakuza and Black Rain.

Takakura received the Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role four times, which is more than what any other actor has received so far in the country.

Hideaki Anno is another personality from the entertainment world of Japan, who, aside from being an actor, is also an animator and filmmaker.

We are certain that years from now, Anno will first be remembered for having created the influential anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Those who are familiar with Japan's entertainment industry are aware of the fact that the Evangelion franchise has made a considerable impact on the anime television industry and popular culture of the nation.

As an actor, he can be seen in titles such as Last Letter and Shin Ultraman.

Best known for playing the character of "Nenbutsu no Tetsu" on the television jidaigeki Hissatsu Shiokinin and Shin Hissatsu Shiokinin, Tsutomu Yamazaki started making his presence felt in the film industry with the dawn of the 1960s.

A recipient of the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor in 1984, the actor is known to have worked with Akira Kurosawa for the first time during the initial years of his career itself.

Some of his better performances came in feature films such as Tampopo, Red Beard, High and Low, and The Ramen Girl.

Ken Watanabe is an international name who has participated in both Japanese and American movies. The English audience might best know him for his character protection in popular titles such as Inception, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Last Samurai, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Batman Begins.

One of the only few Japanese actors to have made a smooth transition from Japan to the United States of America, he has won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Actor twice.

Watanabe was even nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Tom Cruise-starrer The Last Samurai.

While the man starred in major Hollywood hits such as Godzilla and Transformers: Age of Extinction in 2014, he was also seen in tent-pole projects such as Pokemon Detective Pikachu and Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019.

Add to that the fact that he returned to work with filmmaker Gareth Edwards in 2023 in the science fiction action extravaganza, titled The Creator.

Ken Ogata is another acknowledged veteran Japanese actor to make it to our piece.

A recipient of the Best Actor award at the 26th Blue Ribbon Awards for Okinawan Boys, he is known to have featured in movies such as The Pillow Book and The Ballad of Narayama.

However, it is said that his character projection of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1965 NHK Taiga drama Taikōki fetched him fame.

Tori Matsuzaka made his professional acting debut in 2009. He is a relatively fresh screen performer to make it to our list.

The actor and model made his debut appearance as Takeru Shiba/Shinken Red in Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. Since then, he has been seen participating in several popular film and television projects.

Matsuzaka is a well-known film figure among the youth in Japan today. Even though he is known to be soft-spoken, it is pretty clear that he often selects scripts whose themes seem to be questioning the government in one way or another.

Kenichi Matsuyama made his acting debut in the television show Gokusen in 2002. He is known for his affinity for playing different character roles.

The actor found fame after having participated in projects such as Death Note, Death Note 2: The Last Name, and L: Change the World, to mention a few.

Matsuyama is also known for having lent his voice to the character of Gelus in the Death Note animated adaptation.

This remarkable lead actor was known for his range and his superbly enacted performances in acclaimed motion pictures such as Yojimbo, Sanjuro, High and Low, Kagemusha, and Ran.

Easily one of the most popular Japanese film stars of all time, he was also appreciated for his character play in Masaki Kobayashi's Human Condition trilogy and Samurai Rebellion.

Nakadai was an actor who was revered by top film directors such as Masaki Kobayashi and Akira Kurosawa. It is not surprising to learn then that they signed him for several of their significant projects.

Even though he is more or less retired now, one cannot deny the fact that Tatsuya has established himself as one of the greatest film stars in the history of Japanese entertainment.

One secret about his life that not many film buffs know is that the man had to take up acting because he belonged to a poor family and was, in fact, unable to attend university due to lack of fees. 

Over time, he developed a liking for Broadway musicals and traveled to New York City to watch them live.

Hiroshi Abe has been a reliable big screen name for over thirty years now. A model and actor, he is best known for his character projection in features such as Still Walking, Chocolate, and Godzilla 2000: Millennium.

The actor starred in the hugely popular television series Dragon Zakura. It is said that on the night that it first aired, the show captured almost 30% of Japan’s entire television viewing population.

Needless to say, Abe is a star who continues to be a part of big-ticket releases.

Chishū Ryū had a long and illustrious professional acting career. He was known for his frequent collaborations with director Yasujirô Ozu.

One of the most versatile screen performers to make it to our story, he often used to bring the humane side of his characters to the fore while playing the quintessential common man on the silver screen.

Some of Ryū's best performances came in motion pictures such as The Only Son, Tokyo Story, and An Autumn Afternoon.

Takuya Kimura made his acting debut in the television movie About Her Brother in 1990. He is also a singer and radio personality.

He used to be a leading member of SMAP; one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia. However, after the success of the television drama series Long Vacation, Kimura shot to fame as a screen performer as well.

Soon after, Kimura was dubbed "The King of Ratings" by the media and his supporters alike. This is because several of the shows that he starred in went on to generate high ratings.

In fact, some of them even became a social phenomenon of sorts after having been aired on television.

Shintaro Katsu was an actor, singer, and filmmaker who was best known for starring in the Akumyo series. He had started his career during the mid-1950s.

The actor initially commenced his career in the entertainment industry as a shamisen player. However, he soon turned to acting because he thought that it paid better.

During the 1960s, Katsu starred in three long-running and popular film franchises that continued to rank among his finest cinematic projects till the end of his film career.

As popular as Mamoru Miyano may be for his film projects, he is also equally known for his musical accomplishments.

A recipient of the Best Voice Actor award at the 2008 Tokyo International Anime Fair, the star released his debut single in the May of 2007.

For lending his voice to the character of Light Yagami in the anime series Death Note, he received nominations for the Best Lead Actor and Best New Actor awards at the inaugural Seiyuu Awards.

A well-regarded actor and singer in Japan, Masaki Suda has been a recipient of the Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his amazing performance in Wilderness.

The actor has been a close junior to other film personalities such as Shun Oguri and Takayuki Yamada. He released his debut song "Mita Koto mo Nai Keshiki" not long after he became famous.

Suda even won the Best New Actor Award from Tama Cinema Forum.

Sadaho Maeda was known by his stage name Sonny Chiba. He was one of the first few actors in the history of Japanese cinema who gained stardom banking majorly on his unmatched martial arts skills.

Even though the actor started appearing in television shows during the 1960s, he gained prominence following the theatrical release of the 1974 film The Street Fighter.

Two of his well-acknowledged Hollywood titles are Kill Bill: Volume 1 and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

You might be surprised to learn that Shota Sometani, who's only in his 30s, has already participated in over 100 film and television projects.

He is known for playing the central role in feature films such as Himizu and Parasyte. For his adroit character projection in Himizu, the actor went on to receive the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor at the Venice Film Festival in 2011.

Minoru Chiaki is arguably one of the most underrated actors in the history of Japanese cinema.

Equally adept at portraying serious and comical characters, he is known to have played supporting roles that went on to become hugely popular.

He was seen in motion pictures such as Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and High and Low, to mention a few.

That said, Chiaki performed his best in the films such as Seven Samurai and Gray Sunset. For his performance in the latter, the actor ended up winning his first best actor trophy from the Japanese academy.

Masi Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who shot to fame after playing the role of Hiro Nakamura in the NBC television series Heroes.

After having landed in Los Angeles, California for the purpose of finding better work opportunities, Oka was seen playing several minor roles in both films and television.

His performance in Heroes fetched him nominations for both a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Tatsuya Fujiwara was first seen in the television series Sore ga kotae da! in 1997. He is best known for playing the significant character of Shuya Nanahara in the Battle Royale films.

When it comes to his theatrical projects, he is known for collaborating with Yukio Ninagawa, who is considered by many to be one of Japan's most influential directors.

That said, Fujiwara can also be seen playing striking roles in the Death Note and Kaiji films.

Takashi Shimura was one of the greatest film actors of the bygone century. One of filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's favorites, he was known for his versatility and character acting.

Those who have seen him in the movies best remember him for his memorable performance in 1952's Ikiru. His expressions do not only heighten his roleplay but they also end up making the story both raw and relatable.

Always known for staying true to his characters, the actor is fondly remembered for participating in classic feature films such as Stray Dog, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Godzilla, to name a few.

However, you'd be surprised to learn that Shimura went back to Osaka after the failure of Shichigatsu-za. He started to get roles in radio plays. After talking pictures started coming in, he joined the Kyoto studios and started trying his hands in the movies.

He made his debut in 1934's silent feature Ren'ai-gai itchome.

Makoto Iwamatsu, who was credited as Mako in most of his motion pictures, was first seen in the 1959 film Never So Few.

Some of his better performances came in feature films such as The Sand Pebbles, The Island at the Top of the World, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, and Seven Years in Tibet.

For his character projection in The Sand Pebbles, Iwamatsu was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Later in his career, the actor was also seen taking up voice acting roles.

This Japanese actor and a matinée idol was one of the most popular actors in Hollywood during the silent era of filmmaking in the 1910s and 1920s.

Courtesy of his good looks, Sessue Hayakawa became one of the earliest film stars to make women swoon over him.

It is not surprising then that he was among the first few Asian actors to have found stardom in both Europe and the United States of America. 

The Cheat actor was mostly seen playing either a forbidden lover or a sexually dominant antagonist during the first few years of his career.

This Japanese actor and singer made his professional acting debut in a television series Aguri in 1997. He won a well-deserved Newcomer of the Year at the 31st Japan Academy Prize for his character projection in the drama film Koizora.

Even though he was only 30 when he unfortunately passed, Miura had already been a part of some popular mainstream projects such as Gokusen, Bloody Monday, Naoko, Kimi ni Todoke, Last Cinderella, Boku no Ita Jikan, The Eternal Zero, Attack on Titan, and Gintama 2.

Jae-Beom Takata, professionally known as Brian Tee, was first seen playing an uncredited role in the 2000 feature film What Planet Are You From?.

He excelled in American film and television by participating in well-known film and television projects such as Chicago Med, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The Wolverine, Jurassic World, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

Besides being excellent in the English language, Tee is also known to be proficient in both Korean and Japanese.

Daisuke Ono is easily among the most prominent voice actors in the history of the Japanese entertainment industry. Known for having voiced a ton of significant characters, he made his acting debut in the television show Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch in 2003.

Also a singer and a co-host of the radio show Dear Girl: Stories, Ono can be seen participating in projects such as Attack on Titan, Barakamon, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Seven Deadly Sins, Durarara!!, Osomatsu-san, Kuroko's Basketball, Brothers Conflict, and Cells at Work.

While he won the 2nd Seiyu Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 2008, he even ended up grabbing the 9th Seiyu Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Personality in 2015.

Best known for portraying the lead character of Ryotaro Nogami in the Kamen Rider Den-O franchise, Takeru Satoh worked as a child actor for a couple of years by mostly appearing in television commercials and doing photoshoots for magazines.

He made his professional acting debut in the television show Princess Princess D in 2006. His character play of Himura Kenshin in the live-action Rurouni Kenshin film and its sequels helped him gain further fame.

Japan is known for producing some of the finest voice actors and Hiroshi Kamiya happens to be one of them.

Often cast as the straight man in comedy animes, he first participated in the 1995 television mini-series Armitage III.

Aside from being a prominent voice artist, he is also a narrator and singer who is affiliated with Aoni Production.

Kamiya has won Best Lead Actor and Best Personality at the 3rd Seiyu Awards, and Best Supporting Actor at the 2nd Seiyu Awards, respectively.

Pat Morita was a Japanese-American actor and comedian who was best known to the mainstream audience for his participation in television and film projects such as Happy Days, The Karate Kid film series, M*A*S*H, Sanford and Son, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Mulan, and Mulan II.

He also played the main lead in acclaimed television programs such as Mr. T and Tina and Ohara. They were both credited with being among the first few television shows with an Asian American lead.

For his portrayal of Mr. Miyagi in the popular film The Karate Kid, Morita received a well-deserved nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

A voice actor and narrator, Yoshimasa Hosoya first participated in the television show Aria: The Animation in 2005.

The actor earned an award for Best Supporting Actor at the 8th Seiyu Awards and 10th Seiyu Awards.

However, in the first half of 2017, Hosoya made an announcement that he will need to take a break from performing in order to undergo treatment for his throat.

He was back to his voice-acting duties within a few months, though.

Takeshi Kaneshiro made his television debut by playing a role in Grassland Champion. He started his career in the entertainment industry as a teen pop star.

He soon started utilizing his popularity to make a mark in the movie industry. Needless to say, he soon found both critical and commercial success in his numerous cinematic endeavors.

Also a well-known figure in the gaming industry, Kaneshiro can be seen in features such as Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Lost and Found, and Anna Magdalena.

His best performances have come playing quirky and character-driven roles.

Son of stage director Tetsuya Oguri, Shun Oguri is an actor and voice actor who has been a part of the Japanese entertainment industry ever since he made his debut in the mid-1990s.

The actor has been a part of over 100 projects so far. Some of his best-known features are Lupin the 3rd, Crows Zero, and Gintama.

Oguri, who has also directed films, made his Hollywood debut in the monster movie Godzilla vs. Kong.

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi is yet another multi-talented personality to hail from the entertainment industry of Japan. He is an actor, singer, and television host, who also used to be a member of SMAP, which was one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia at a point.

The actor won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his outstanding performance in the critically acclaimed drama film Midnight Swan.

This relatively new mainstream screen performer was first seen in the television show Misaki Number One in 2011.

The actor gained prominence after having played the role of Gentaro Kisaragi in the Japanese tokusatsu drama Kamen Rider Fourze.

Some of Fukushi's better-known television and film projects are Koinaka, My Lover's Secret, Strobe Edge, My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday, Bleach, and Kaiji: Final Game.

This Japanese-born American actor, film producer, and martial artist was first seen playing a part in the 1986 feature film Big Trouble in Little China.

The actor made a name for himself by mostly playing negative roles in some of his most popular motion pictures.

He delivered praiseworthy performances in titles such as The Last Emperor, Mortal Kombat, Licence to Kill, American Me, Rising Sun, The Phantom, Pearl Harbor, Planet of the Apes, Memoirs of a Geisha, and 47 Ronin.

Tagawa started working with Russian film actors Pyotr Mamonov and Ivan Okhlobystin in 2013. He decided to acquire Russian citizenship in 2016.

Currently being guided by the Japanese talent agency Stardust Promotion, Kento Yamazaki has managed to make a name for himself by appearing in both mainstream feature films and television shows.

While he is best known for his roles in the films Heroine Shikkaku, Orange, and Kingdom, one can also find him performing in shows such as Death Note, Kiss That Kills, Good Doctor, and Alice in Borderland.

Yamazaki participated in the 2nd Taiwan International Queer Film Festival (TIQFF) in 2015. He gained prominence after having starred in the live-action film L.DK.

Also a singer from the group Hey! Say! JUMP, Ryosuke Yamada ventured into acting with the release of the television movie Tantei Gakuen Q in 2006.

His character play in the aforementioned series established him as a teen idol in no time. Known for his roles in projects such as Kindaichi Case Files, Assassination Classroom, and Grasshopper, Yamada was the first teenage male singer in over thirty-three years to have a number-one debut single.

Kento Hayashi made his acting debut in the motion picture The Battery in 2007. He has participated in more than 30 projects, thus far.

A good-looking actor with a likable screen presence, he was rewarded for his performance in the made-for-TV dramas such as Hold Me Back and Ossan’s Love.

Hayashi is also the star of the film Inubu. Needless to say, his cinematic future seems to be on the right track as of now.

Takahiro Sakurai is yet another entertaining personality from Japan who is known more for his voice than his face.

Also a narrator and a radio personality, he is the official dub voice for Hollywood star Robert Pattinson ever since he first lent his voice for the dubbed version of the popular film Twilight.

Some of Sakurai's most popular roles are heroes such as X in Mega Man X and Cloud Strife in Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.

This voice actor and singer from Tokyo has made a name for himself by participating in features such as Megaman Zero 3, The Prince of Tennis, Yuri!!! on ICE, Bleach, and Fairy Tail.

Junichi Suwabe has been a dubbing voice for Korean actor Gong Yoo. He has been nominated for a Best Singing Award at the 6th Seiyu Awards.

Also, he went on to grab the Best Supporting Actor award at the 7th Seiyu Awards.

Yutaka Takenouchi was first seen playing a part in the 1995 television series Hoshi no kinka. He soon started doing a lot of commercials after having won a prestigious modeling contest.

Even though he has a calming screen presence, the slightly goofy roles that he has sometimes gone on to play have suited him as well.

That said, one of Takenouchi's better-known performances saw him portraying an authoritarian judge in the drama Ichikei no Karasu.

The multi-talented Yuki Furukawa is not only an actor but he is also a supermodel, guitarist, and break dancer who was first seen in the 2010 film The Incite Mill.

The actor shot to fame after having played the character of Naoki Irie in the television series Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo and its sequel, Mischievous Kiss 2: Love in Okinawa.

Since Furukawa is an acknowledged actor in China as well, he was cast in the Fuji TV/iQiyi web-drama Mysterious Summer. It is reportedly the first drama series that Japan has co-produced with China.

Aside from being an actor, Hiroshi Tamaki is also a singer and model who was discovered by a talent agent while out shopping with friends.

He made his screen debut in 1998 and rose to prominence after playing a character in the 2001 film Waterboys.

The actor found further fame after enacting a role in the drama Nodame Cantabile. He also started his singing career with the release of the single "Seasons" in 2004.

Kyu Sakamoto made his acting debut in the 1955 drama film Takekurabe. He's better known for his impactful singing rather than his acting. However, he has been a part of several film projects.

He was best known outside of his home country for his song "Sukiyaki", which turned out to be a massive hit in English-speaking markets.

Sakamoto was the first Asian recording artist to have a number one song on the United States Billboard Hot 100 list.

Besides being a well-known screen performer, Tomohisa Yamashita is also a television host and singer. Popularly known as Yamapi or Tomo, he excelled as an actor after having played the leading role in the popular drama Kurosagi.

Some of his better projects are Nobuta Wo Produce, Proposal Daisakusen, Buzzer Beat, and the Code Blue series. His 2018 film, Code Blue: The Movie, has turned out to be among the highest-grossing live-action Japanese films of all time.

Sho Kosugi may have turned out to be a prominent film figure during the 1980s but he started his professional acting career by playing a handful of uncredited roles in movies.

The former All Japan Karate Champion starred in a trilogy of martial arts ninja films during the 1980s and, thus, emerged as one of the most prominent figures whose contributions helped in establishing ninjas in popular culture.

Kosugi even used to run a group of martial arts acting schools when he was permanently staying in Japan.