Toshirô Mifune

Personally trained the Asian extras who were hired to play the Japanese submarine crew in 1941 (1979). He was reportedly very annoyed that they were not real sailors and had no real training, so he used his own military background to teach them how to act like sailors in the film.

Toshiro Mifune achieved more worldwide fame than any other Japanese actor of his century. He was born in Tsingtao, China, to Japanese parents and grew up in Dalian. He did not set foot in Japan until he was 21. His father was an importer and a commercial photographer, and young Toshiro worked in his father's studio for a time after graduating from Dalian Middle School. He was automatically drafted into the Japanese army when he turned 20, and enlisted in the Air Force where he was attached to the Aerial Photography Unit for the duration of the World War II. In 1947 he took a test for Kajirô Yamamoto, who recommended him to director Senkichi Taniguchi, thus leading to Mifune's first film role in These Foolish Times II (1947). Mifune then met and bonded with director Akira Kurosawa, and the two joined to become the most prominent actor-director pairing in all Japanese cinema.

Beginning with Drunken Angel (1948), Mifune appeared in 16 of Kurosawa's films, most of which have become world-renowned classics.

In Kurosawa's pictures, especially Rashômon (1950), Mifune would become the most famous Japanese actor in the world. A dynamic and ferocious actor, he excelled in action roles, but also had the depth to plumb intricate and subtle dramatic parts.

Reportedly watched films of lions in the wild for inspiration for his character in Seven Samurai (1954).

He was twice named Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival (for Yojimbo (1961) and Red Beard (1965)).

In 1963 he formed his own production company, directing one film and producing several others.

A personal rift during the filming of Red Beard (1965) ended the Mifune-Kurosawa collaboration, but Mifune continued to perform leading roles in major films both in Japan and in foreign countries.

In the Japanese animated series Speed Racer (1967), the hero was named Go Mifune as a tribute to him and the M on the hood of the Mach 5 and Speed Racer's helmet was in tribute to him.

Mosfilm wanted him to star in Dersu Uzala (1975), but the producer convinced them otherwise as Mifune would not be attached to such a long production.

He was considered early on by George Lucas for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). The role went to Sir Alec Guinness.

In his later years he gained new fame in the title role of the American TV miniseries Shogun (1980), and appeared infrequently in cameo roles after that.

He was considered for the role of Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid (1984), but after the reading, the producers felt that he acted the role too scary. The role went to Pat Morita.

His prolific career included repeat roles as three of the most noted figures in Japanese history. He portrayed Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto in three separate films, has played both the real-life version of the indomitable warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu in Journey of Honor (1991) and his fictionalized counterpart Toranaga in Shogun (1980), and has performed the role of the legendary master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi four times.

Ranked #90 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]

His unique acting style is referenced by several characters in the Danish film Mifunes sidste sang (1999).

He was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6912 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 14, 2016.