Sessue Hayakawa
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.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (47)
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
as (archive footage)
2019
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
as Self (archive footage)
2007
Swiss Family Robinson: Adventure in the Making
as Self (archive)
2002
Lover's Duet
as Tajima
1967
The Daydreamer
as The Mole (voice)
1966
The Frozen Moment
as Self
1964
The Big Wave
as The Old Man
1961
Swiss Family Robinson
as Kuala, Pirate Chief
1960
Escape to Paradise/Water Birds
1960
Hell to Eternity
as General Matsui
1960
John Gunther's High Road
as Self
1959
Green Mansions
as Runi
1959
The Geisha Boy
as Mr. Sikita
1958
The Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant
as Self
1958
The Bridge on the River Kwai
as Col. Saito
1957
House of Bamboo
as Inspector Kito
1955
日本敗れず
1954
The Tragic General: Yamashita Tomoyuki
as Tomoyuki Yamashita
1953
47 Vendettas
as Sakon Tachibana
1953
Les Miserables II: Banner of Love and Freedom
1950
Les Miserables I: God and the Devil
1950
The Motherland Far Far Away
as Joe Hayami
1950
Three Came Home
as Colonel Michio Suga
1950
Tokyo Joe
as Baron Kimura
1949
Quartier chinois
as Tchang
1947
Le Cabaret du Grand Large
as Professeur Wang
1946
Le Soleil de minuit
as Matsui
1943
Malaria
1943
Gambling Hell
as Ying Tchaï
1942
Patrouille blanche
1942
Tempête sur l'Asie
as Prinz Ling
1938
Forfaiture
as Prince Hu-Long
1937
Yoshiwara
as Ysamo, Kuli
1937
The Daughter of the Samurai
as Iwao Yamato
1937
The Sun Rises from the East
as Kenji
1932
Running Hollywood
as Sessue Hayakawa
1932
Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks
as Self
1931
Daughter of the Dragon
as Ah Kee
1931
I Have Killed
as Hideo
1924
Sen Yan’s Devotion
as Sen Yan
1924
The Danger Line
as Marquis Yorisaka
1924
The Great Prince Shan
as Prince Shan
1924
The Battle
as Le Marquis Yorisaka
1923
Night Life in Hollywood
as Self
1922
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
as Self
1922
The Vermilion Pencil
as Tse Chan / The Unknown / Li Chan
1922
Five Days to Live
as Tai Leung
1922
