Hiroyuki Sanada is a Japanese actor who was born Hiroyuki Shimaosawa. On October 12, 1960, he was born in Tokyo. He is primarily recognized for his roles in martial arts films, although he has also been on stage and on television. At the start of his acting career, he was known by several names, including Duke, Henry, and Harry Sanada.

Despite the fact that all of his information is available online, we’ve brought you some unknown facts about him that you probably didn’t know before.

8 Things You Didn’t Know About Hiroyuki Sanada

1. Studied Martial Arts

Sanada trained in a variety of martial arts styles in order to become an action actor and appear in martial arts films. He began by learning Shorinji Kempo. Doshin So founded this Japanese martial art in 1947, and it is a modified version of Shaolin Kung Fu. [1]

2. Honorary Member Of The British Empire

Sanada was named an Honorary Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 2002 for his efforts to popularise British culture throughout Japan. This came after a two-year tenure with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1999 and 2000. [2]

3. His Marriage Didn’t Work Out

Sanada married Satomi Tezuka, a well-known Japanese actress, in 1990. After seven years of marriage, the couple divorced in 1997, leaving two sons. Tezuka was in charge of both of their sons.

4. Fluent In Three Different Languages

Sanada’s first language is Japanese, as he grew up in Japan. He learned English in order to perform roles in American and British films, and he is fluent in it. He also had to learn Mandarin for his role in Mo Gik (The Promise).

5. Protégé of Shin’ichi Chiba

His strengths and capabilities are primarily due to his training from Shin’ichi Chiba, popularly known as Sonny Chiba, since Sanada was his protégé. Sanada began training with Chiba when he was only 11 years old.

6. First US Hit

Sanada has appeared in a number of samurai films that have been seen by Japanese viewers. Prior to 2003, however, he was almost unknown to the majority of Americans. It was therefore fitting (if not a little typecasting) that Sanada made his Hollywood debut with The Last Samurai.

7. A Versaltile Actor

Sanada has established himself as a versatile character actor who can play a wide range of characters. He made his debut as a serious actor in Makoto Wada’s film Mahjong Hourouki. Since then, he has been in Wada’s films, which are full of fun and affection for vintage films.

8. Work In the Musical Industry

From 1980 through 1991, Sanada released a number of albums and singles in Japan as a vocalist, many of them were associated with films, TV shows, or stage productions in which he appeared. Compilations of his music for movies and pop hits were released in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

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