Biography
Hiroyuki Sanada (真田 広之, Sanada Hiroyuki, born Hiroyuki Shimosawa (下澤 廣之, Shimosawa Hiroyuki); 12 October 1960) is a Japanese actor from Tokyo. Before breaking in to the movie business, he trained at Sonny Chiba’s Japan Action Club hoping to one day become a martial arts action film star. Sanada appeared in many action films in the 70s and early 80s, but as it became clear he was actually a talented and well-rounded actor, he was able to branch out into all different types of roles in every genre...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Mortal Kombat II
2025
as Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion
A sequel to the 2021 film 'Mortal Kombat'.

John Wick: Chapter 4
2023
as Shimazu
With the price on his head ever increasing, John Wick uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face ...

Bullet Train
2022
as The Elder
Unlucky assassin Ladybug is determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs gone off the rails. Fate, however, may have other plans, as La...

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye
2022
as Akihiko (archive footage)
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and...

Army of the Dead
2021
as Bly Tanaka
Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble: venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest...

Mortal Kombat
2021
as Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion
Washed-up MMA fighter Cole Young, unaware of his heritage, and hunted by Emperor Shang Tsung's best warrior, Sub-Zero, seeks out and trains with Earth...

Minamata
2020
as Mitsuo Yamazaki
War photographer W. Eugene Smith travels back to Japan where he documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities.

Avengers: Endgame
2019
as Akihiko
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaini...

The Catcher Was a Spy
2018
as Kawabata
Former major league baseball player Moe Berg lives a double life working for the Office of Strategic Services in World War II Europe.

Life
2017
as Sho Murakami
The six-member crew of the International Space Station is tasked with studying a sample from Mars that may be the first proof of extra-terrestrial lif...

Mr. Holmes
2015
as Tamiki Umezaki
In 1947, long-retired and near the end of his life, Sherlock Holmes grapples with an unreliable memory and must rely on his housekeeper's son as he re...

Minions
2015
as Sumo (voice)
Minions Stuart, Kevin and Bob are recruited by Scarlet Overkill, a super-villain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over...

47 Ronin
2013
as Kuranosuke Ôishi
Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and ...

The Wolverine: Path of a Ronin
2013
as Self
A nice exploration of the samurai-ninja aspect of the story, including its roots in the actual Marvel comic books. There are the requisite interviews ...

The Railway Man
2013
as Nagase
A victim from World War II's "Death Railway" sets out to find those responsible for his torture. A true story.

The Wolverine
2013
as Shingen Harada / Lord Shingen
Wolverine faces his ultimate nemesis - and tests of his physical, emotional, and mortal limits - in a life-changing voyage to modern-day Japan.

The City of Your Final Destination
2009
as Pete
28-year-old Kansas University doctoral student Omar Razaghi wins a grant to write a biography of Latin American writer Jules Gund. Omar must get throu...

Speed Racer
2008
as Mr. Musha
Speed Racer is a young and brilliant racing driver. When corruption in the racing leagues costs his brother his life, Speed must team up with the poli...

Rush Hour 3
2007
as Kenji
After a botched assassination attempt, the mismatched duo finds themselves in Paris, struggling to retrieve a precious list of names, as the murderous...

Sunshine
2007
as Kaneda
Fifty years into the future, the sun is dying, and Earth is threatened by arctic temperatures. A team of astronauts is sent to revive the Sun — but th...

The Promise
2005
as General Guangming
An orphaned girl, driven by poverty at such a young age, makes a promise with an enchantress. In return for beauty and the admiration of every man, sh...

The White Countess
2005
as Matsuda
In 1930s Shanghai, 'The White Countess' is both Sofia, a fallen member of the exiled Russian aristocracy, and a nightclub created by a blind American ...

Aegis
2005
as Hisashi Sengoku
The Isokaze, an Aegis-class escort vessel, sets sail on a routine training exercise, playing host to a platoon from the Fleet Training Group. No soone...

The Last Samurai
2003
as Ujio
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and th...

The Twilight Samurai
2002
as Seibei Iguchi
Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles ...

Vengeance for Sale
2002
as Sukeroku Sukedachiya
In a world where vendettas are officially sanctioned, the people sometimes needed help in carrying out their vengeance. Sanada Hiroyuki stars as Suker...

Onmyoji
2001
as Dōson
During a dark time in the Heian period, when evil forces threaten the kingdom, the emperor relies on the onmyōji to keep the supernatural forces in li...

All About Our House
2001
as Bartender
Two newlyweds decide to build their dream home, and hire an old friend named Yanagisawa to design it. Unfortunately, Yanagisawa isn’t licensed to buil...

First Love
2000
as Shinichirô Fujiki
This coming-of-age story from Japan opens just after 17-year-old Sataka has gotten dumped by her boyfriend. When her mother is hospitalized with a mal...

Round About Midnight
1999
as Koji
While on a cigarette break in between sets, Koji, a jazz musician, witnesses a murder and runs into a girl, Linda, who is being pursued by the killers...

Keijitachi no Natsu
1999
The TV movie follows a detective with a burning sense of justice who risks his life to pursue a corruption case involving the prime minister's office.

Ring 2
1999
as Ryuji Takayama
While investigating the horrifying death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano learns about a videotape haunted by the spirit of a disturbing girl named Sadako...

Tadon and Chikuwa
1998
A film based on two short stories by Shiina Makoto. Tadon is the story of a cab-driver who spends his days listening to his passengers' conversations....

Murder on D Street
1998
as Seiichiro Fukiya
Detective Kogoro Akechi is faced with a peculiar murder case involving forgeries of classic pornographic artworks.

Ring
1998
as Ryuji Takayama
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a...

The Spiral
1998
as Ryûji Takayama
A young pathologist seeks answers to the mysterious death of a friend and soon comes into contact with the same cursed videotape that caused the death...

The Abe Clan
1995
as Emoto Matashichiro
A Choice between Loyalty or Duty of the Samurai! Can the heartlessness of society crush the honor of an individual? In the spring of the 18th year of ...

Kinkyu Yobidashi: Emergency Call
1995
as Hideyuki Harada
The North General Hospital in the Tondo district of Manila was as busy as a battlefield. Hideyuki Harada, an intern on duty at the Department of Obste...

East Meets West
1995
as Kamijo Kenkichi
A disgraced warrior planning the murder of a Japanese diplomat, and a ninja in the employ of a navy official are about to land in San Francisco when a...

Sharaku
1995
as Tonbo
A crippled kabuki player is taken into a strolling company of itinerant actors. An influential publisher notices his honest, bold drawings, and nurtur...

119
1994
In Harari-cho, a small and quiet bayside town by the sea, the firemen have not seen a fire for nearly twenty years. Each day passes eventlessly... unt...

Crest of Betrayal
1994
as Takuminokami Asano
Weaving two storylines together: the first is the story of 18th-century shogunate intrigue and loyalty, and the second is a ghost story about a beauti...

Hero Interview
1994
as Jinta Todoroki
Kasumi Sawaki (Honami Suzuki) works for a top-ranked newspaper publishing company as a capable economic reporter. Speaking six languages fluently, she...

Uneasy Encounters
1994
A five-part comedy and horror anthology

The City That Never Sleeps: Shinjuku Shark
1993
as Detective Same
Adaptation of the Arimasa Ohsawa novel Shinjuku Shark.

We Are Not Alone
1993
Businessmen competing for international building contracts in this globe-trotting comedy-adventure.

Yamai wa kikara: Byôin e ikô 2
1992
A comedy about a young woman who has terminal cancer.

Succession
1992
as Masakazu Yoshinari
A former stockbroker-turned-yakuza must make sure his alcoholic boss is up to the task of swearing in the next leader of their syndicate.

Oda Nobunaga
1992
Among the great ‘Warlords’ in Japanese history, Oda Nobunaga holds a unique place. In effect, his military success led to the ultimate unification of ...

Tsugumi
1990
as Kyoichi Takahashi
Tsugumi, who lives in a small seaside town, has been in delicate health from birth. Her parents spoiled her and she is rough and selfish. However, a f...

Let's Go to the Hospital
1990
When a hard-driving copywriter (Hiroyuki Sanada) discovers his comely wife (Keiko Saito) is involved in a scintillating game of strip rock-paper-sciss...

Yellow Fangs
1990
as Eiji
Based on actual events that occurred in Hokkaido, Japan, 1915. Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki yuusha-tachi tells the story of a group of bear hunters that are ...

Yellow Fangs
1990
Music Director
Based on actual events that occurred in Hokkaido, Japan, 1915. Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki yuusha-tachi tells the story of a group of bear hunters that are ...

Shingo's Ten Duels
1990
as Aoi Shingo
The classic tale of the shogun's illegitimate son Aoi Shingo is told in three parts as he strives to become the greatest fencer in Japan, while his fa...

Why Do I Choose?
1989
Who Do I Choose? is a Japanese film directed by Shūsuke Kaneko.

I Love You So Much
1988
The Sagami family has been running an Edo-style woodworking shop in downtown Tokyo for generations. The head of the family, Bunzo (Kunie Tanaka), has ...

Kaito Ruby
1988
as Toru Hayashi
Toru Hayashi is an unremarkable bachelor who lives with his mother, until one day a young woman named Rumi moves in in the apartment upstairs. Rumi is...

Tokugawa Ieyasu – TBS Warlord Special
1988
From his early days as Matsudaira Motoyasu through his rise to the most powerful man in Japan as Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first of the Tokugawa Shoguns, t...

Seiko Matsuda's Sweet Memories
1987

Sure Death 4
1987
as Ukyo
Having been demoted for failing to prevent the murder of one of his superiors, Mondo is startled by a group of masked thugs who are soon attacked in t...

Royal Warriors
1986
as Peter Yamamoto
When a tough policewoman learns about a group of violent terrorists, she, along with her partner and a Japanese detective, does everything it takes to...

Cabaret
1986
as Tanokura
A young jazz musician's desire to advance in his career runs afoul of organized crime in this thriller from Haruki Kadokawa. After a saxophonist start...

One Who Died in Vain
1986
After returning from the Burmese front in WWII, a man finds trouble brewing back home.

House on Fire
1986
as Chuya Nakahara
In the 50s, the complicated life of a popular writer who must share his life with his family, his numerous mistresses and his work

The Dagger of Kamui
1985
as Jirô
A young boy named Jiro finds his mother and sister murdered in his home. Falsely accused of the crime, he flees from his village and meets a priest na...

Mahjong Horoki
1984
as Bouya Tetsu
A mahjong neophyte loses everything to game master only to hone his skills, take on all challenges and plan for an ultimate revenge match.

Kotaro, An Audacious Karate Boy
1984
as Date Yoshioka
Lewd, long-haired karate kid Kotaro Shindo spends his days causing amok at the prestigious Tsurugamine Academy, until the Disciplinary Committee decid...

The Street of Desire
1984
as Joji Tanaka
A valet at a fancy nightclub hatches a plot to punish those responsible for his father's death.

The Awesome Circus Bastard
1984
as Satomi Go
Daigaku, member of the circus, is involved in a certain case and is suspected by Detective Hattori and others that he's the culprit. In order to unrav...

Legend of the Eight Samurai
1983
as Inue Shinbei Masashi
The evil Hikita clan rises from the dead to fulfill a curse on the Satomi clan by restoring the face of their warlord by using the skin of Princess Sh...

Kabamaru the Ninja Boy
1983
as Shizune Mejiro
Kabamaru is a young boy raised and trained by his grandfather as a ninja. After the sudden death of his grandfather, he starts living with Mai, his gr...

Ninja Wars
1982
as Jotaro Fuefuki
A fortuneteller prophesizes that whoever marries the beautiful Ukio will become the ruler of the world. Naturally, this makes her very popular with th...

Fall Guy
1982
as Actor
Ginshiro, threatened by poor repute and upcoming star Tachibana, forces his friend Yasu to marry Konatsu, Ginshiro's pregnant mistress; Yasu becomes a...

Ninja in the Dragon's Den
1982
as Genbu
A Japanese master of ninjutsu and a Chinese expert in kung fu, put their differences aside after their master is killed by a mortal enemy.

Lovers Lost
1982
as Kunihiko Yasuoka
A poignant love story between a 29-year-old woman, who has once been a prostitute but is now the mistress of a wealthy jewelry merchant, and a 19-year...

The Blazing Valiant
1981
as Joe
Jo has just come back to Japan for the funeral of his parents, who were killed in tribal warfare in Africa where the family had been living throughout...

Kamikaze, the Adventurer
1981
as Akira Hoshino
An ex-Olympic athlete and a student commit cash robbery. Aki Hoshino, a pre-med student, becomes inspired to steal money the school collected as “spec...

Roaring Fire
1981
as Joji
On his death bed the man who raised Joji reveals that he is not his real father and that Joji’s real parents died tragically in a plane crash. Shortly...

Roaring Fire
1981
Theme Song Performance
On his death bed the man who raised Joji reveals that he is not his real father and that Joji’s real parents died tragically in a plane crash. Shortly...

Samurai Reincarnation
1981
as Kirimaru Iga
After surviving the slaughter of many Christians 350 years ago, a samurai denounces God for ignoring the pleas of believers. He sells his soul to Sata...

Space Ninja: Sword of the Space Ark
1981
Sci-fi meets martial arts in this lively chronicle of a warrior pilot who returns to his native planet to find it controlled by a wicked tyrant Captai...

Shogun's Ninja
1980
as Momochi Takamaru
In the middle of the 16th century, Hideyoshi, a power hungry warlord sets out to destroy the Momochi clan. He sends his war commander in search of the...

Dreamy Fifteen
1980
as Isozaki
Aspiring to be admitted to a good university and to become a lawyer, Tasiro Yuusuke, a tenth-grader from Kyushu, enrolls in a prestigious high school ...

G.I. Samurai
1979
as Takeda Katsuyori
A squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai ...

The Shogun Assassins
1979
as Monk Miyoshi Isa
This is a film about a real person. Sanada Yukimura fought a war against Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie
1978
as Gen Hayato / Maboroshi
The movie version of Ryu and Hayato fighting against the Gavanas Empire.

Message from Space
1978
as Shiro Hongo
The peaceful planet of Jillucia has been nearly wiped out by the Gavanas, whose leader takes orders from his mother rather than the Emperor. King Kaib...

Shogun's Samurai
1978
as Hayate
Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the sho...

The Executioner
1974
as Toga
Three men, the skilled ninja Ryuichi Koga, the deadly assassin and former drug detective Takeshi Hayato, and the criminal mastermind Ichiro Sakura wor...

New Prison Walls of Abashiri: The Vagrant Comes to a Port Town
1969
Katsuji takes revenge on evil Tamaru who forcefully took control of the fishery business run by Katsuji’s friend.

Game of Chance 3
1967
Bungo, fulfilling his duty as a yakuza, kills a man from a rival gang. Since then, he has escaped the clan's vengeance by staying on the road with his...

Game of Chance 2
1967
Bungo is released from prison to find his son Kenichi in the care of strangers. Teruko, the woman originally looking after the boy, was forced to leav...

Game of Chance
1966
as Kenichi Endo
Bungo becomes a single parent when his wife leaves him because of his drinking and gambling. Deciding to quit his vices, he works menial jobs, driftin...