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The Last Samurai

2003

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

Akira Koieyama

Akira Koieyama is known for The Last Samurai (2003), Rush (2013) and 47 Ronin (2013).

Nobuyuki Obikane

Nobuyuki Obikane is known for The Last Samurai (2003), The Wolverine (2013) and Kate (2021).

Eiji Inoue

Accomplished actor and martial artist, Eiji Inoue impacted audiences with his performance in In the Cage (2013) as the character San Tao. He has also appeared in many well-known films such as The Last Samurai, Click, and Pearl Harbor. For the episode "Chimera" from NCIS, Eiji Inoue impressed production so much that they switched a role from one concept to another just so that Eiji could play the character, Satoshi Takada. During Eiji Inoue's acting career of 23 years, he has appeared in more than 60 plays. He is best known for his role as Takeshi Kawabata in Take Me Out a play by Richard Greenberg. This Tony Award winning production made a revival in Los Angeles and continued to be extended 3 times winning both critics' and audiences hearts alike. Not only is Eiji Inoue a driven and talented actor, he is also extremely experienced in Chinese martial arts, specifically Wushu Kungfu. With over 30 years of martial arts training and competitions, Eiji is adept in 18 different styles and weaponry uses. Some of which are Broad Sword, Double Broad Sword, Straight Sword, Long Spear, 3 Section Staff, Japanese Samurai Sword, etc. Because Eiji continues to perfect his craft by participating in theater when not working on films and TV, he has had the privilege of being cast alongside prolific actors such as Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Adam Sandler, Meg Ryan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many more. Awards: ADA Award for Best Ensemble Cast for The Box. Nominations: His independent film Pearlblossom Hwy (2012) for AFI's Film Festival Top 10. Official Selections for Vienna International Film Festival, AFI Fest, Starz Denver Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Bradford International Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival. Eiji Inoue's next project, Conversation, is expected to shoot in November 2014. With 2 projects already slated to come out in 2015, Eiji Inoue is one busy actor ready for more prominent roles and creatively challenging projects.

Masato Harada

Cast · Known for The Last Samurai

Masato Harada is a Japanese film director, film critic, and sometimes an actor; he is best known to foreign audiences as Omura in The Last Samurai and as Mr Mita in Fearless.

Kenji Sato

Kenji Sato is Japanese a stuntman and an action instructor. He won the Japan Action Award for Best Stuntman in 2015. Major film credits include: Rurouni Kenshin, Marco Polo, 47 Ronin, The Wolverine, Special ID, The Pacific, Resident Evil IV / V / The Final Chapter, The Last Samurai, etc.

Ngila Dickson

Costume Design · Known for Predator: Badlands, Terminator: Dark Fate, The Last Samurai

Ngila Beryl Dickson ONZM (born 1958) is a costume designer from New Zealand. Her most notable work is in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, both of which were filmed in New Zealand, as well as her years of work on Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. She and Richard Taylor won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2004). Other Academy Award nominations were for Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002) and The Last Samurai (2004). She received British Film and Television Award nominations for Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002) and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2004). She and Richard Taylor won a BAFTA for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2003). She won the Costume Designers Guild Award for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2004)

Timothy Spall

Cast · Known for The Last Samurai, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Alice Through the Looking Glass

Timothy Leonard Spall (born February 27, 1957) is an English actor and presenter. He became a household name in the UK after appearing as Barry Spencer Taylor in the 1983 ITV comedy-drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. Spall performed in Secrets & Lies (1996), and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Subsequently, he starred in many films, including Hamlet (1996), Still Crazy (1998), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Enchanted (2007), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), The Damned United (2009), The King's Speech (2010), Ginger and Rosa (2012), Denial (2016), and The Party (2017). He voiced Nick, a cynical, portly rat in Chicken Run (2000). He played Peter Pettigrew in five Harry Potter films, from Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) to Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010). Spall has collaborated with director Mike Leigh, making six films together: Home Sweet Home (1982), Life is Sweet (1990), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002), and Mr. Turner (2014). Spall won great acclaim for his performance in the last of these for his portrayal as J. M. W. Turner winning him the Best Actor Award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. He starred in the television documentary Timothy Spall: ...at Sea (2010–2012) and in 2019 he appeared as Lord Arthur Wallington in the 6-part BBC Cold War drama Summer of Rockets.

Marshall Herskovitz

Writer · Executive Producer · Known for Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Love & Other Drugs, Nashville

Marshall Schreiber Herskovitz (born February 23, 1952) is an American film director, writer and producer, and currently the President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America. Among his productions are Traffic, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, and I Am Sam. Herskovitz has directed two feature films, Jack the Bear and Dangerous Beauty. Herskovitz was a creator and executive producer of the television shows Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, and Once and Again, and also wrote and directed several episodes of all three series.

Tony Goldwyn

Cast · Known for Tarzan, Ghost, The Last Samurai

Anthony Howard 'Tony' Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960) is an American actor, singer, producer, director, and political activist. He's known for his roles as Carl Bruner in Ghost, President Fitzgerald Grant on ABC's drama Scandal, district attorney Nicholas Baxter on Law & Order, Gordon Gray in Oppenheimer, Paul Cohen in King Richard (2021), Andrew Prior in Divergent and Insurgent, Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, Michael Drucker in The 6th Day, Dr. William 'Will' Rudolph in Kiss the Girls, Neil Armstrong in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Harold Nixon in Nixon (1995), Fletcher Cole in The Pelican Brief, and the voice of Tarzan in the Disney animated Tarzan. He made his acting debut appearing as Darren in the slasher film Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), and had his breakthrough for starring as Carl Bruner in the fantasy thriller film Ghost (1990), which earned him a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. He went on to star as Harold Nixon in the biographical film Nixon (1995), which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, and as Neil Armstrong in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon (1998). He portrayed Paul Cohen in King Richard (2021), which earned him a second nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award. He starred as President Fitzgerald Grant III in the ABC legal/political drama Scandal (2012–2018) and directed a number of episodes for the series, for which he won a Peabody Award. He is the son of film producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and actress Jennifer Howard. His paternal grandparents were film producer and movie studio mogul Samuel Goldwyn, a Polish Jewish immigrant from Warsaw, and actress Frances Howard, who was originally from Nebraska. His maternal grandparents were playwright Sidney Howard and actress Clare Eames. His brother John Goldwyn is a film producer, a former executive of Paramount Pictures and the executive producer of the series Dexter. His brother Peter is also a film producer and the current President of Samuel Goldwyn Films. His half-sister Liz Goldwyn is a filmmaker. His niece is writer/producer Emily Goldwyn (John's daughter - and her mother is actress Colleen Camp). He has been married to production designer Jane Musky since 1987 and they have two daughters: Anna, a screenwriter, and Tess, an actress.

Hans Zimmer

Composer · Known for Blade Runner 2049, Kung Fu Panda 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Hans Florian Zimmer (born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars, four Grammys, and has been nominated for three Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living Geniuses, published by The Daily Telegraph in 2007. His works are notable for integrating electronic music sounds with traditional orchestral arrangements. Since the 1980s, Zimmer has composed music for over 150 films. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score for The Lion King (1994) and for Dune (2021). His works include Gladiator, The Last Samurai, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Man of Steel, Interstellar, Dunkirk, No Time to Die, and the Dune series. Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States. He is the head of the film music division at DreamWorks Pictures and DreamWorks Animation studios and works with other composers through the company that he founded, Remote Control Productions, formerly known as Media Ventures. His studio in Santa Monica, California, has an extensive range of computer equipment and keyboards, allowing demo versions of film scores to be created quickly. Zimmer has collaborated on multiple projects with directors including Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Ron Howard, Gore Verbinski, Michael Bay, Guy Ritchie, Denis Villeneuve, and Tony Scott. Description above from the Wikipedia article Hans Zimmer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Ken Watanabe

Cast · Known for The Last Samurai, Inception, Godzilla

Ken Watanabe (born October 21, 1959) is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. To English-speaking audiences he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Letters from Iwo Jima and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in The Last Samurai, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Among other awards, he has won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Actor twice, in 2007 for Memories of Tomorrow and in 2010 for Shizumanu Taiyō. He is also known for his roles in director Christopher Nolan's Hollywood blockbusters Batman Begins and Inception.

Togo Igawa

Cast · Known for The Last Samurai, The IT Crowd

Togo Igawa, born in Tokyo on 26 September 1946, is a Japanese actor who works primarily in British films and television. In recent years he has had roles in major motion pictures such as Revolver, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Last Samurai, and Sunshine. He has also appeared in the Israeli movie A Matter of Size and the Thomas and Friends movies Hero of the Rails and Misty Island Rescue in 2009 and 2010. Additionally Igawa provides the voice for the character Professor Moshimo on the cartoon series Robotboy and the voice for the character Hiro, who first appeared in Hero of the Rails, in Thomas and Friends. He will appear in 2011's Johnny English Reborn, the sequel to Johnny English. Description above from the Wikipedia article Togo Igawa, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Karl Yune

Cast · Known for Real Steel

Born and raised in Washington D.C., Karl Yune is an American actor of Asian descent. After high school, Karl successfully started and sold an internet based consulting business and was accepted to Columbia University as a business major. His studying and love of Shakespeare during a literature course influenced him to switch his major to theater at the University's School of the Arts. While at Columbia, Yune won the role of Romeo in an off Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet and was later signed to a talent manager. Karl continued to work as a theater actor in New York City and won critical and rave reviews for his performance as Gloucester in a contemporary rendition of Shakespeare's Richard the III. While casting The Last Samurai, director Edward Zwick was impressed with Yune's audition tape and Karl went to Los Angeles for the first time to meet with the famed director. Zwick later informed Karl that the studio was to cast the film out of Japan, but encouraged Karl to move to Los Angeles as he saw promise in the young actor's talent. Inspired, Karl moved to Los Angeles, only to learn that he was offered a five year contract back in New York, on the popular daytime TV drama All My Children. Yune passed on the offer and soon booked his first lead role in the cult film Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid. The following year Karl was picked by producer Steven Spielberg to play the memorable role of Koichi, the secret lover to Li Gong's Geisha Hatsumomo, in Memoirs of a Geisha, based on the international best selling novel. Karl continued to work in lead and supporting roles in award winning independent, foreign, and Hollywood films. In 2010, Karl was again chosen by producer Steven Spielberg and director Shawn Levy to star as Tak Mashido, the reclusive legend of the robot fighting world in the sci-fi drama Real Steel. Karl now resides in Los Angeles, California. His brother Rick is also a successful actor in Hollywood.

Michael Doven

Cast · Known for Eyes Wide Shut

Michael Doven has an extensive 25 year career as an executive producer.  The CEO and founder of United Pictures Group credits as Associate Producer in box office movies grossing in the billions of dollars world wide. He is well known as the personal assistant to Tom Cruise in the height of Cruise's movie career from 1992-2004. Not only was Michael his personal assistant, he acted as the chief of staff to Cruise. During his time, he met and married Andrea Morse, who was another person working for Cruise.  There are several notable movies he was a Production Associate in: Mangolia (1999), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Mission Impossible II (2000) and was the assistant to Tom Cruise in movies like Jerry Maquire (1996), The Firm (1993), Far and Away (1992), and Interview With a Vampire (1994).  Other movies Michael is given credit for: A Few Good Men (1992), Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), and Collateral (2004). He also did a little bit of acting in Murder, She Wrote (1989) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Michael works in script development, preproduction, production, and post production as well as assisting in marketing and international press tours. His relationships and wide variety of experiences in the industry keep him in the forefront of executive producers.  In 2015, he founded United Pictures Group. He founded this company for one main reason - to carry on his passion for influential and powerful films.  In a recent interview, he discusses his love for reading, and how much certain literature has inspired him to have his own company. "I read as much as I do so I can continually learn new approaches to solving the difficulties that sometimes arise during film production," he comments. "Some of the greatest minds the world has ever known have inspired me like no other. I've learned so much about myself and life, and i now know that having my own company is my calling."   Under United Pictures Group, he released his first film "The Squeeze" in Spring 2015.  The family-friendly movie had great reviews from both users and critics.  Michael was ecstatic to release this movie, not only because it was the first movie under his new company, but because he was on the right track to producing movies that he truly loves. "The Squeeze" is about a young and talented golfer who gets caught up in some high stake gambling on the course. The suspense, alongside the unique and riveting characters, with a twist ending is right up Michael's alley. Durant's Never Closes, starring Tom Sizemore, is an exciting up-and-coming movie.  Michael is ecstatic and passionate about his new opportunity. Michael is also an accomplished photographer. He is known for photographing professional golfer Rick Rhoden, Beck's sister Alyssa Suede and other high profile individuals. Michael's photography skill show when his photography work was featured in a music album, "Bittersweet" by Mark Isham and Kate Ceberano (2009). He was also featured on the cover of a Nikon magazine issue calling him "Photographer's Next Rockstar", with a 6 page article and interview. You can see his photography work here: http://www.manta.com/c/mrylxsn/michael-doven-photography. Most recent films United Pictures Group is credited for: Double Doozy (2016) Mission Accomplished (2016) Durant's Never Closes (2015) Lucky Bastards (2015)

Shun Sugata

Cast · Known for Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Last Samurai

Character actor Shun Sugata (菅田 俊 Sugata Shun) was born on February 17, 1955 in Yamanashi, Japan as Masamichi Shibuya. Often cast in violent, villainous roles he can be instantly recognized by his deep, gruff voice and imposing stature. His most notable roles include the intimidating mob enforcer Takayama in Takeshi Miike's Ichi the Killer and the corrupt police commissioner in Tokyo Gore Police. He has also had minor roles outside Japanese cinema in Quention Tarantino's Kill Bill and The Last Samurai as well as playing the main villain opposing Scott Adkins in Ninja 2.

Billy Connolly

Cast · Known for Brave, The Last Samurai, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Billy Connolly (born November 24, 1942) is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin (The Big One). His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder (specifically a boilermaker) in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer in the Humblebums and subsequently as a soloist. In the early 1970s he made the transition from folk-singer with a comedic persona to fully-fledged comedian, a role in which he continues. He also became an actor, and has appeared in such films as Indecent Proposal (1993); Mrs. Brown (1997), for which he was nominated for a BAFTA; The Boondock Saints (1999); The Man Who Sued God (2001); Water (1985);The Last Samurai (2003); Timeline (2003); Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004); Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006); and The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008). Connolly reprised his role as Noah "Il Duce" MacManus in Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. Connolly appears as the King of Lilliput in the 2010 remake of Gulliver′s Travels.

Tom Cruise

Cast · Known for Digger, Eyes Wide Shut, Minority Report

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (/ˈmeɪˌpɒθər/ MAY-poth-ər; born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Hollywood icon, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or, an Academy Honorary Award, and three Golden Globes, in addition to nominations for four competitive Academy Awards. As of 2026, his films have grossed more than $13.3 billion worldwide, placing him among the highest-grossing actors of all time. One of Hollywood's most bankable stars, he is consistently one of the world's highest-paid actors. Cruise began acting in the early 1980s and made his breakthrough with leading roles in Risky Business (1983) and Top Gun (1986), the latter earning him a reputation as a sex symbol. Critical acclaim came with his roles in the dramas The Color of Money (1986), Rain Man (1988), and Born on the Fourth of July (1989). For his portrayal of Ron Kovic in the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. As a leading Hollywood star in the 1990s, he starred in commercially successful films, including the drama A Few Good Men (1992), the thriller The Firm (1993), the horror film Interview with the Vampire (1994), and the sports comedy-drama Jerry Maguire (1996); for the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and his second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Cruise's performance in the drama Magnolia (1999) earned him another Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Cruise subsequently established himself as a star of science fiction and action films, often performing his own risky stunts. He played fictional agent Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible film series (1996–2025). His other films in the genre include Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), Knight and Day (2010), Jack Reacher (2012), Oblivion (2013), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022). Cruise holds the Guinness World Record for the most consecutive $100 million-grossing movies, a feat achieved with eleven films released between 2012 and 2025. In December 2024, he was awarded the U.S. Navy's highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Award, in recognition of his "outstanding contributions" to the military, with his screen roles. In March 2025, he was named the recipient of the British Film Institute Fellowship, the BFI's highest honor, for his contributions to cinema. Forbes ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006. He was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 1990, and received the top honor of "Most Beautiful People" in 1997. Outside his film career, Cruise has been an outspoken advocate for the Church of Scientology, which has resulted in controversy and scrutiny of his involvement in the organization. An aviation enthusiast, he has held a pilot certificate since 1994. Description above from the Wikipedia Tom Cruise, article licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Marcus Young

Marcus Young is a stuntman, martial artist, actor, and stunt coordinator who performed stunts as burly Starfleet cadet in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. Young also worked as a fight coordinator on Star Trek Into Darkness. Young previously performed stunts for two of J.J. Abrams' productions; the television series Alias and the action sequel Mission: Impossible III (2006). Young, born in Honolulu, Hawaii, started his career as a stunt fighter in the late '90s with appearances in the action films Bloodsport III (1996, with John Rhys-Davies, Sidney Liufau, and Scott McElroy), Sworn to Justice (1997, with Brad Dourif, Walter Koenig, and Max Daniels), L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies: Return to Savage Beach (1998, with Cristian Letelier), Champions (1998, with Jeff Wolfe), and Better Never Than Late (1999). He performed stunts in the thriller True Vengeance (1997, along with Scott McElroy), the action film Recoil (1998, with Thomas Kopache,Robin Curtis, and stunts by Noby Arden, Bobby Burns, Erik Cord, Rosine "Ace" Hatem, Al Jones, and Spiro Razatos), and the science fiction drama Interceptors (1999, with Brad Dourif and stunts by Lauro Chartrand). Young served as main stunt double for actor Bruce Locke in the fantasy action series Mortal Kombat: Conquest (1998-1999), which starred Kristanna Loken and stunts by Dana Hee, Christopher Leps, and Boni Yanagisawa. Other television series he worked on include Walker, Texas Ranger, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (2000), V.I.P. (2000, with Michael Bailey Smith and stunts by Joni Avery and Darlene Ava Williams), Angel, The Invisible Man (2000, with Jeremy Roberts, Mike Massa, and Denney Pierce), The District, 24, She Spies, Birds of Prey (2002, starring Dina Meyer and Ian Abercrombie), and Threat Matrix. Further stunt performancs include the thriller The Ghost (2001, with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), the 2001 ABC World Stunt Awards (2001), the comedy sequel Scary Movie 2 (2001, with stunts by Geneviere Anderson,LaFaye Baker, Mike Gunther, and Chris Palermo), John Carpenter's horror film Ghosts of Mars (2001), Sam Raimi's superhero movies Spider-Man (2002) and its sequel Spider-Man 2 (2004), John Woo's war drama Windtalkers (2002), the superhero movie Daredevil (2003), the science fiction sequel The Matrix Reloaded(2003), the horror film Underworld (2003, with Kevin Grevioux and Scott McElroy), and the drama The Last Samurai (2003, written by John Logan). Behind the camera, Young served as fight choreographer and stunt coordinator on films such as Rob Bowman's fantasy film Elektra (2005, with stunts by Shauna Duggins), the action sequel xXx: State of the Union(2005), the documentary Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D (2005, with Scott Wilder, Neal McDonough, and stunts by Xuyen Valdivia and Denney Pierce), the action film Adventures of Johnny Tao (2007, with Ilram Choi, Bridgett Riley, and stunts by Mike Gunther and Dennis Keiffer), and sevral episodes of the television series Fallen (2007).

Sala Baker

Cast · Known for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Sala Baker is an actor and stuntman from Wellington, New Zealand. Originally hired as one of several stunt performers for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, he ended up landing the part of the Dark Lord Sauron. In addition, he also played several Orcs, a Gondorian, and one of the Rohirrim. Outside of the trilogy, Baker has performed in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and two Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Baker was also a part of the miscellaneous crew in the making of The Last Samurai in 2003.

Hiroyuki Sanada

Cast · Known for Shōgun, The Last Samurai, Bullet Train

Hiroyuki Sanada (真田 広之, Sanada Hiroyuki, born Hiroyuki Shimosawa (下澤 廣之, Shimosawa Hiroyuki); 12 October 1960) is a Japanese actor from Tokyo. Before breaking in to the movie business, he trained at Sonny Chiba’s Japan Action Club hoping to one day become a martial arts action film star. Sanada appeared in many action films in the 70s and early 80s, but as it became clear he was actually a talented and well-rounded actor, he was able to branch out into all different types of roles in every genre. Today he is best known in the west for his involvement in big-budget Hollywood productions such as The Last Samurai and Rush Hour 3.

Forest Whitaker

Cast · Known for Arrival, Southpaw, Havoc

Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, producer, director, and activist. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. After making his film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Whitaker went on to earn a reputation for intensive character study work for films, such as Platoon (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Bird (1988), The Crying Game (1992), Phenomenon (1996), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), The Great Debaters (2007), The Butler (2013), Arrival (2016), and Respect (2021). He has also appeared in blockbusters, such as Panic Room (2002), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) as Saw Gerrera, and Black Panther (2018) as Zuri. For his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the British historical drama film The Last King of Scotland (2006), Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Whitaker made his directorial debut with the television film Strapped (1993), and directed the films Waiting to Exhale (1995), Hope Floats (1998), and First Daughter (2004). Apart from his film career, Whitaker is also known for his humanitarian work and activism. In 2011, he was inducted as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, later receiving a promotion to Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, and serves as the CEO of Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), a non-profit outreach program.

Koyuki

Cast · Known for The Last Samurai

Koyuki Katō (born December 18, 1976), better known as Koyuki, is a Japanese model and actress. Koyuki was born in Zama, Kanagawa-ken. She started her modeling career in 1995 and has since starred in various Japanese dramas, TV and magazine ad campaigns and films. She frequently appears in Japanese print and television campaigns for the electronics company Panasonic. She rose to fame in the drama Kimi wa petto (2003) with Jun Matsumoto and gained huge popularity. Her first international film was The Last Samurai (2003) where she played Taka, wife of a Samurai slain by the character Nathan Algren, portrayed by Tom Cruise, Koyuki was well-known in Japan for years before that. She first caught the attention of the public in 1997 by winning an exclusive modelling contract with the magazine Non-no, but quickly grew beyond modelling and has earned acclaim as an actress through her many roles on Japanese television and in several Japanese films. Description above from the Wikipedia article Koyuki, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. ​

Takehiro Hira

Cast · Known for Shōgun, Captain America: Brave New World

Takehiro Hira (平 岳大, Hira Takehiro, born July 27, 1974) is a Japanese theatre, film, and television actor. Hira was born in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, to actors Mikijirō Hira and Yoshiko Sakuma. He was raised in Japan until he was 15 years old. He went to high school at Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, and then attended Brown University. He made his theatrical debut in 2002 with Rokumeikan, which was written by Yukio Mishima. He worked closely with his father, Mikijirō Hira, who was also a Japanese actor. Takehiro played the role of Iago in the production of Othello with his father playing Othello. He received major recognition when he played the last shogun, Yoshinobu Tokugawa, in the NHK taiga drama Atsuhime. He has appeared in several films of Takashi Miike, including Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, Ace Attorney, and Aku no Kyoten. He plays Natsuka Masaie in the big-budget film Nobou's Castle. He played the role of the Player Queen in the English stage production of Hamlet in 2005, in which the title role was played by Michael Maloney. This three-month tour was received well at many places in the UK. Hira played the lead role in the 2019 British TV series Giri/Haji. He has also had notable parts in the American films Lost Girls & Love Hotels (2020) and Snake Eyes (2021) and a minor role in Gran Turismo. In 2024, Hira starred in FX's adaptation of Shōgun. Description above from the Wikipedia article Takehiro Hira, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.