Sessue Hayakawa

Actor

Born June 10, 1889 in Nanaura, Chiba, Japan

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.

Filmography

Asian Americans

Self

Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood

(archive footage)

Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

Self (archive footage)

Swiss Family Robinson: Adventure in the Making

Self (archive)

Lover's Duet

Tajima

The Daydreamer

The Mole (voice)

Taikouki

Takeda Shingen

The Frozen Moment

Self

The Big Wave

The Old Man

Swiss Family Robinson

Kuala, Pirate Chief

Escape to Paradise/Water Birds

Hell to Eternity

General Matsui

John Gunther's High Road

Self

Green Mansions

Runi

The Geisha Boy

Mr. Sikita

The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant

Self

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Col. Saito

Wagon Train

Sakae Ito

House of Bamboo

Inspector Kito

日本敗れず

Kurama Tengu and Katsu Kaishū

Awanokami Katsu

The Tragic General: Yamashita Tomoyuki

Tomoyuki Yamashita

47 Vendettas

Sakon Tachibana

Les Miserables II: Banner of Love and Freedom

Les Miserables I: God and the Devil

The Motherland Far Far Away

Joe Hayami

Three Came Home

Colonel Michio Suga

Tokyo Joe

Baron Kimura

Quartier chinois

Tchang

Le Cabaret du Grand Large

Professeur Wang

Le Soleil de minuit

Matsui

Malaria

Gambling Hell

Ying Tchaï

Patrouille blanche

Tempête sur l'Asie

Prinz Ling

Forfaiture

Prince Hu-Long

Yoshiwara

Ysamo, Kuli

The Daughter of the Samurai

Iwao Yamato

Around the World in 80 Minutes with Douglas Fairbanks

Self

Daughter of the Dragon

Ah Kee

The Danger Line

Marquis Yorisaka

The Great Prince Shan

Prince Shan

The Battle

Le Marquis Yorisaka

Night Life in Hollywood

Self

Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12

Self

The Vermilion Pencil

Tse Chan / The Unknown / Li Chan

Five Days to Live

Tai Leung

The Swamp

Wang

Where Lights Are Low

T''Su Wong Shih

Black Roses

Yoda

Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)

Himself

The First Born

Chan Wang

An Arabian Knight

Ahmed

Li Ting Lang

The Devil's Claim

Akbar Khan / Hassan

The Brand of Lopez

Vasco Lopez

The Beggar Prince

Nikki / Prince

The Tong Man

Luk Chen

The Illustrious Prince

Prince Maiyo

Bonds of Honor

Yamashito / Sasamoto

The Dragon Painter

Tatsu - the Dragon Painter

The Gray Horizon

Yamo Masata

The Man Beneath

Dr. Chindi Ashutor

His Debt

Goto Mariyama

The Courageous Coward

Suki Iota

A Heart in Pawn

Tomaya

The Temple Of Dusk

Akira

His Birthright

Yukio

The City of Dim Faces

Jang Lung

The Bravest Way

Kara Tamura

The Honor of His House

Count Ito Onato

Hidden Pearls

Tom Garvin

The Secret Game

Nara-Nara

The Call of the East

Arai Takada

Hashimura Togo

Forbidden Paths

Sato

The Jaguar's Claws

El Jaguar

The Bottle Imp

Lopaka

Each to His Kind

Rhandah

The Victoria Cross

Azimoolah

The Soul of Kura San

Toyo

The Honorable Friend

Makino

Alien Souls

Sakata

Temptation

Opera Admirer

The Cheat

Hishuru Tori [Haka Arakau]

The Secret Sin

Lin Foo

The Clue

Nogi

The Chinatown Mystery

Yo Hong

After Five

Oki - the Valet

The Last of the Line

Tiah - Gray Otter's Son

The Typhoon

Tokorama

The Death Mask

Running Wolf

The Wrath of the Gods

Lord Yamaki

O Mimi san

Yorotomo