Biography
Ken Takakura (高倉 健, Takakura Ken), born Gouichi Oda (February 16, 1931, in Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan), was a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles. Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka. This subject was covered in one of his most famous movies, Showa Zankyo-den (Remnants of Chivalry in the Showa Era), in which he played an honorable old-school yakuza among the violent post-war gurentai.
A graduate of Meiji University in Tokyo Takakura happened by an audition in 1955 at the Toei Film Company, and decided to look in. Toei found a natural in Takakura as he debuted with Denko Karate Uchi (Lightning Karate Blow) in 1956. Japan experienced a boom in gangster films in the 1960s as the Japanese people struggled with the generational differences between those raised in pre-war and post-war Japan and these were Takakura's stock and trade. His breakout role would be in the 1965 film Abashiri Prison, and its sequel Abashiri Bangaichi: Bokyohen (Abashiri Prison: Longing for Home, also 1965), in which he played an ex-con antihero. By the time Takakura would leave Toei in 1976, he had appeared in over 180 films.
Takakura gained international recognition after starring in the 1970 war film Too Late the Hero as the cunning Imperial Japanese Major Yamaguchi, the 1975 Sydney Pollack sleeper hit The Yakuza with Robert Mitchum and is probably best known in the West for his role in Ridley Scott's Black Rain (1989) where he surprises American cops played by Michael Douglas and Andy García with the line, "I do speak fucking English". He again proved himself bankable to Western audiences with the 1992 Fred Schepisi comedy Mr. Baseball starring Tom Selleck.
While he has slowed down a bit in his older years, he is still active. His most recent film was the 2005 Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles by Chinese director Zhang Yimou.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Ken Takakura, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
all 191
Movies 185
self 6
TV Shows 6
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The World Heritage (2014)
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Dearest (2012)
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Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005)
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The Firefly (2001)
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Railroad Man (1999)
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SMAP×SMAP (1996)
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47 Ronin (1994)
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Mr. Baseball (1992)
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An Elegy of Tyrole (1992)
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Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star (1991)
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Buddies (1989)
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Black Rain (1989)
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See You (1988)
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Demon (1985)
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Antarctica (1983)
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The Longest Tunnel (1982)
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Karate Cop (1982)
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Station (1981)
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A Distant Cry from Spring (1980)
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The Revolt (1980)
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Never Give Up (1978)
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Winter's Flower (1978)
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The Yellow Handkerchief (1977)
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Mount Hakkoda (1977)
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Manhunt (1976)
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The Bullet Train (1975)
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Great Jailbreak (1975)
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The Yakuza (1974)
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The Homeless (1974)
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Golgo 13 (1973)
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Yakuza of the Present (1973)
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Japan's Top Gangster (1973)
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Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love (1971)
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Patience Has An End (1971)
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The Path of the King (1971)
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Too Late the Hero (1970)
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Gambler's Legacy (1969)
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The Domain: Flower and Dragon (1969)
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Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Game (1969)
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New Prison Walls of Abashiri (1968)
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Rogue (1968)
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Red Peony Gambler (1968)
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The Drifting Avenger (1968)
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A Story from Abashiri Prison—Duel in Snow Storm (1967)
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Abashiri Prison: Challenge to the Evil (1967)
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Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 4 (1967)
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Classmates (1967)
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Abashiri Prison: Duel in Hokkaido (1967)
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Glorious Fights (1966)
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Prison Walls of Abashiri 4 (1965)
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Prison Walls of Abashiri 3 (1965)
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Brutal Tales of Chivalry (1965)
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Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro (1965)
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Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2 (1965)
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Abashiri Prison (1965)
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Wolves, Pigs & Men (1964)
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The Domain (1964)
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Main Street in the Underworld (1964)
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Kyôkatsu (1963)
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Duel of the Underworld (1963)
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Tokyo Untouchable: Escape (1963)
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Eleven Gangsters (1963)
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Operation Diamond (1962)
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Tokyo Untouchable (1962)
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Song of Kagoshima (1962)
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Tales of President Mito (1962)
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Devil's Nursery Rhyme (1961)
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Feisty Edo Girl Nakanori-san (1961)
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Tenka no Kaidanji Senpû Tarô (1961)
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Man of the World 2 (1960)
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The Great Road (1960)
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The Outsiders (1958)
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Jet Air Base 101 (1957)
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The Deep Blue Sea (1957)
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Men Fighting Whales (1957)
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Manchurian Sunset (1956)
Gallery
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Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1931-02-16
Deathday2014-11-10 (83 years old)
Birth PlaceKitakyūshū, Japan
RelationshipsChiemi Eri (1959 - 1971)
RelativesRyōko Takakura
CitizenshipsEmpire of Japan, Japan
Also Known AsGoichi Oda, 高仓健, Кэн Такакура
AwardsPerson of Cultural Merit, Kikuchi Kan Prize, Order of Culture, Kinema Junpo Awards for Best Actor, Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year, Mainichi Film Award for Best Actor, Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actor, Medal with Purple Ribbon, Golden Arrow Award
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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