Renowned Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai, best known for his role in “Ran” (1985), has died at the age of 92, a spokesperson at his famed acting studio Mumeijuku said Tuesday. The spokesperson declined to provide details.
Born in 1932 in Tokyo, Nakadai had no formal training as an actor. While working as a clerk in a Tokyo store, he was spotted by director Masaki Kobayashi, who cast him in his war drama, “The Thick-Walled Room” (1956).
He then had an uncredited role in Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” (1954) before landing roles in films by other accomplished directors such as Mikio Naruse’s “When a Woman Ascends the Stairs” (1960) and Keisuke Kinoshita’s “Immortal Love” (1961). He eventually went on to star in more than 100 movies.
Nakadai founded Mumeijuku in 1975 to inspire young people to become actors. One of his students, Koji Yakusho, went on to become one of Japan’s most recognizable actors.
International audiences arguably know Nakadai best for his role in Kurosawa’s “King Lear”-inspired epic, “Ran,” in which he played Hidetora Ichimonji, an aging warlord caught in a feudal dispute between his three sons. The film’s scene of his dazed, deposed character walking down the steps of a burning castle keep has become one of cinema’s most iconic, haunting images.
In 1996, he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon for his contribution to the film industry. He was also awarded the Order of Culture in 2015.
His last film was 2020’s “The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai.”
AloJapan.com