Born in 1947, Tokyo. He was attracted to theatre in the early ’70s, he is still referred to by his stage name ‘Beat Takeshi‘ and is known as one of the leading comedians in Japan. An eclectic character: anchor man, sports commentator, critic, novelist and songwriter.
He owes his fame in the west to his key role in the film Furyo by Oshima Nagisa. 1989 marked his directing dubut with Violent Cop. Other films followed at brief intervals, all to public and critical acclaim; many were selected and won awards at the important festivals, such as Fireworks (1997 Golden Lion at Venice).

filmography:
1989 Violent Cop (Nasilni policaj)
1990 Boiling Point (Vrelišče)
1991 A Scene at the Sea (Prizor na obali)
1993 Sonatine (Sonatina)
1994 Getting Any? (Vsi to počnejo)
1996 Kids Return (Vrnitev otrok)
1997 Fireworks (Ognjemet)
1999 Kikujiro (Kikujiro)
2000 Brother (Brat)
2002 Dolls (Lutke)
2003 Zatoichi