Sessue Hayakawa
Born: 1889-06-10 in Nanaura, Chiba, Japan
Died: 1973-11-23
Known For: Acting
Biography
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
2020
- Asian Americans as Self
2019
- Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood as (archive footage)
2007
- Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema as Self (archive footage)
2002
- Swiss Family Robinson: Adventure in the Making as Self (archive)
1967
- Lover's Duet as Tajima
1966
- The Daydreamer as The Mole (voice)
1965
- Taikouki as Takeda Shingen
1964
- The Frozen Moment as Self
1961
- The Big Wave as The Old Man
1960
- Hell to Eternity as General Matsui
- Swiss Family Robinson as Kuala, Pirate Chief
- Escape to Paradise/Water Birds
1959
- Green Mansions as Runi
- John Gunther's High Road as Self
1958
- The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant as Self
- The Geisha Boy as Mr. Sikita
1957
- Wagon Train as Sakae Ito
- The Bridge on the River Kwai as Col. Saito
1955
- House of Bamboo as Inspector Kito
1954
1953
- The Tragic General: Yamashita Tomoyuki as Tomoyuki Yamashita
- 47 Vendettas as Sakon Tachibana
1950
- Les Miserables I: God and the Devil
- Les Miserables II: Banner of Love and Freedom
- The Motherland Far Far Away as Joe Hayami
- Three Came Home as Colonel Michio Suga
1949
- Tokyo Joe as Baron Kimura
1947
- Quartier chinois as Tchang
1946
- Le Cabaret du Grand Large as Professeur Wang
1943
- Malaria
- Le Soleil de minuit as Matsui
1942
- Gambling Hell as Ying Tchaï
- Patrouille blanche
1938
- Tempête sur l'Asie as Prinz Ling
1937
- Yoshiwara as Ysamo, Kuli
- The Daughter of the Samurai as Iwao Yamato
- Forfaiture as Prince Hu-Long
1932
- Running Hollywood as Sessue Hayakawa
- The Sun Rises from the East as Kenji
1931
- Daughter of the Dragon as Ah Kee
- Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks as Self
1924
- The Great Prince Shan as Prince Shan
- Sen Yan’s Devotion as Sen Yan
- The Danger Line as Marquis Yorisaka
- I Have Killed as Hideo
1923
- The Battle as Le Marquis Yorisaka
1922
- Five Days to Live as Tai Leung
- Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12 as Self
- Night Life in Hollywood as Self
- The Vermilion Pencil as Tse Chan / The Unknown / Li Chan
1921
- Black Roses as Yoda
- Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20) as Himself
- The First Born as Chan Wang
- The Swamp as Wang
- Where Lights Are Low as T''Su Wong Shih
1920
- The Brand of Lopez as Vasco Lopez
- The Devil's Claim as Akbar Khan / Hassan
- The Beggar Prince as Nikki / Prince
- An Arabian Knight as Ahmed
- Li Ting Lang as Li Ting Lang
1919
- The Illustrious Prince as Prince Maiyo
- His Debt as Goto Mariyama
- Bonds of Honor as Yamashito / Sasamoto
- The Courageous Coward as Suki Iota
- The Dragon Painter as Tatsu - the Dragon Painter
- The Tong Man as Luk Chen
- A Heart in Pawn as Tomaya
- The Man Beneath as Dr. Chindi Ashutor
- The Gray Horizon as Yamo Masata
1918
- His Birthright as Yukio
- The Temple Of Dusk as Akira
- The City of Dim Faces as Jang Lung
- The White Man's Law as John A. Genghis
- The Bravest Way as Kara Tamura
- The Honor of His House as Count Ito Onato
- Hidden Pearls as Tom Garvin
- Banzai as The American General
1917
- The Call of the East as Arai Takada
- Each to His Kind as Rhandah
- The Secret Game as Nara-Nara
- Hashimura Togo as Hashimura Togo
- The Jaguar's Claws as El Jaguar
- The Bottle Imp as Lopaka
- Forbidden Paths as Sato
1916
- The Victoria Cross as Azimoolah
- Alien Souls as Sakata
- The Soul of Kura San as Toyo
- The Honorable Friend as Makino
1915
- The Cheat as Hishuru Tori [Haka Arakau]
- The Secret Sin as Lin Foo
- The Chinatown Mystery as Yo Hong
- Temptation as Opera Admirer
- The Clue as Nogi
- After Five as Oki - the Valet
1914
- The Last of the Line as Tiah - Gray Otter's Son
- The Typhoon as Tokorama
- O Mimi san as Yorotomo
- The Wrath of the Gods as Lord Yamaki
- The Death Mask as Running Wolf