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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
Movies and shows, newest first
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2020
Asian Americans
TV show Self
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2019
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
Movie (archive footage)
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2007
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2002
Swiss Family Robinson: Adventure in the Making
Movie Self (archive)
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1967
Lover's Duet
Movie Tajima
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1966
The Daydreamer
Movie The Mole (voice)
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1965
Taikouki
TV show Takeda Shingen
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1964
The Frozen Moment
Movie Self
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1961
The Big Wave
Movie The Old Man
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1960
Swiss Family Robinson
Movie Kuala, Pirate Chief
- 1960
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1960
Hell to Eternity
Movie General Matsui
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1959
John Gunther's High Road
Movie Self
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1959
Green Mansions
Movie Runi
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1958
The Geisha Boy
Movie Mr. Sikita
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1958
The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant
Movie Self
More credits
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1957
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Movie Col. Saito
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1957
Wagon Train
TV show Sakae Ito
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1955
House of Bamboo
Movie Inspector Kito
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1954
日本敗れず
Movie
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1953
Kurama Tengu and Katsu Kaishū
Movie Awanokami Katsu
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1953
The Tragic General: Yamashita Tomoyuki
Movie Tomoyuki Yamashita
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1953
47 Vendettas
Movie Sakon Tachibana
- 1950
- 1950
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1950
The Motherland Far Far Away
Movie Joe Hayami
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1950
Three Came Home
Movie Colonel Michio Suga
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1949
Tokyo Joe
Movie Baron Kimura
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1947
Quartier chinois
Movie Tchang
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1946
Le Cabaret du Grand Large
Movie Professeur Wang
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1943
Le Soleil de minuit
Movie Matsui
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1943
Malaria
Movie
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1942
Gambling Hell
Movie Ying Tchaï
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1942
Patrouille blanche
Movie
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1938
Tempête sur l'Asie
Movie Prinz Ling
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1937
Forfaiture
Movie Prince Hu-Long
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1937
Yoshiwara
Movie Ysamo, Kuli
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1937
The Daughter of the Samurai
Movie Iwao Yamato
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1932
The Sun Rises from the East
Movie Kenji
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1932
Running Hollywood
Movie Sessue Hayakawa