---
name: "James Saito"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-saito"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "6 March 1955"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-17T11:43:27.170108+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# James Saito

Actor. Born 6 March 1955 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 6 March 1955, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Active:** 1995–2012
- **Also known as:** James Tomio Saito, Джеймс Саіто
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 78 (1), 2010s 78 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q936061, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0756839/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/77155

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Life of Pi*](https://film.one/film/life-of-pi.md) (78)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

James Saito is an American actor born on 6 March 1955 in Los Angeles, California. He studied theatre at the University of California, Los Angeles and began his career with early stage work at the Asian American theatre company East West Players.

Saito is known for his physical portrayal of the Shredder in the 1990 film *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*. His film credits include *Life of Pi* (2012) as the Older Insurance Investigator, *Pearl Harbor* (2001), *The Devil's Advocate* (1997), *Home Alone 3* (1997) and *Die Hard with a Vengeance* (1995). Television appearances include *Grey's Anatomy*, *House of Cards* and a regular role as Dr Chen in *Eli Stone*.

On stage he has appeared on Broadway in *The King and I* and *Golden Child*. He won an Obie Award in 2007 for his performance in *Durango* at The Public Theater in New York.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Life of Pi* (2012), Fi1m 78, as Older Insurance Investigator — [page](https://film.one/film/life-of-pi.md)
- *Die Hard: With a Vengeance* (1995), Fi1m 78, as Korean Proprietor — [page](https://film.one/film/die-hard-with-a-vengeance.md)

## Also known for

- *Pearl Harbor* (2001), Japanese Aide #1
- *The Devil's Advocate* (1997), Takaori Osumi
- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), Judge Henry Suzuki
- *Big Eyes* (2014), Judge
- *Home Alone 3* (1997), Chinese Mob Boss
- *House of Cards* (2013), Dr. Krebs
- *Long Shot* (2019), Minister Kishido
- *Marvel's Iron Fist* (2017), Yü-Ti

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/james-saito