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Legendary Japanese Actor Tatsuya Nakadai Dies at 93
11 Nov
Summary
- Nakadai, born in 1932, was a renowned actor associated with directors Kobayashi and Kurosawa
- Starred in acclaimed films like The Human Condition trilogy and the Oscar-winning Ran
- Founded the Mumeijuku acting school, whose alumni include Cannes Best Actor winner Koji Yakusho
Renowned Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai, who was one of the most celebrated performers of his generation, has passed away at the age of 93. Nakadai, who was born in Tokyo in 1932, died on November 8 while being treated for pneumonia in the hospital.
Nakadai's early career was closely associated with acclaimed directors Masaki Kobayashi and Akira Kurosawa. Kobayashi gave Nakadai his big screen break after spotting him working as a sales assistant in a Tokyo department store in the 1950s. Nakadai went on to star in Kobayashi's acclaimed The Human Condition trilogy and the samurai drama Harakiri.
It was Nakadai's collaborations with Kurosawa, however, that earned him the most international fame. The pair worked on five films together, including the Oscar-winning epic Ran in 1985, in which Nakadai played a tragic feudal warlord. He also starred in Kurosawa's Kagemusha, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980.
Beyond his prolific acting career, Nakadai founded the influential Mumeijuku acting school in 1975, whose alumni include Koji Yakusho, the Cannes Best Actor winner in 2023 for his performance in Wim Wenders' Perfect Days. Nakadai was widely revered in Japan, receiving the country's highest honors for the arts, including the Order of the Rising Sun in 2003 and the Order of Culture in 2015.
