Underappreciated Actors: Ken Takakura
Filed Under (Movies) by admin on 19-04-2009
Tagged Under : Black Rain, Ken Takakura, Underappreciated Actors
A superstar in his own country, Ken Takakura is considered by some to be the “Clint Eastwood of Japan.” Unlike other Asian stars such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Chow Yun Fat, Takakura never became a headlining star in the United States, though some of his earlier American work did help pave the way for these other stars to make the transition.
While Takakura boasts an unparalleled body of work in Japanese cinema, he first came to prominence for international viewers in the 1974 film The Yakuza, starring Robert Mitchum.
Takakura made an impression with those in the industry, and he was brought back in 1989 as the Japanese lead in Ridley Scott’s definitive cross-cultural America / Japan film Black Rain.
In the film, Takakura holds his ground with Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia, contrasting against their New York individualism with his collectivist and reserved Japanese approach. The result was a tangible on-screen cultural clash between these actors, raising this film to the top of a list of respectable Japan vs. America films that proliferated in the 1980s, including Gung Ho and Mr. Baseball. The latter film also starred Takakura across from Tom Selleck, who played an American baseball player transplanted into the Japanese leagues.
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