Biography
Hiroyuki Sanada is a Japanese actor and martial artist. Born Hiroyuki Shimozawa on 12 October 1960 in Shinagawa, Tokyo, he began his career as a child actor in the mid-1960s and trained at Sonny Chiba’s Japan Action Club.
He appeared in numerous Japanese action films during the 1970s and 1980s before taking on a wider range of roles. Sanada is known internationally for performances in The Last Samurai (2003) as Ujio, The Wolverine (2013) as Shingen Harada, John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) as Shimazu, Bullet Train (2022) as The Elder, and Mortal Kombat (2021) as Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion. He has also appeared in Avengers: Endgame (2019), the television series Westworld (2016) and Lost (2010), and the miniseries Shōgun (2024).
Sanada has received multiple awards in Japan, including Japan Academy Film Prizes, and international recognition such as a Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Awards.
