Hiroyuki Sanada: Actor and producer driving TV's 'Shogun'

He’s one of the very few Japanese actors who can actually act.

I like this guy.

One of the very, very few Japanese actors and actresses who can actually act.

He always plays tough guy roles, but he does it with a special charisma and his own personality.

And yes, even if the previous comments are downvoted, he is one of the fewest Japanese actors that can actually act properly, without overacting or totally fake manga style acting, which is predominant with most of the local Japanese actors. This is the reasons why, together with Ken Watanabe, Hiroyuki Tagawa, Koji Yakusho, Takeshi Kitano or Mako, got so much success in Hollywood and all over the world, due to their charisma, dedication, passion and professionalism, which is so rare nowadays.

He's come along way from starring in Ringu. I think he's a good actor, he speaks English well, and more importantly for acting, his pronunciation is clear. However, he plays the role of a samurai often. We know he can play that role in his sleep so Id like to see him in different roles using English. He is the top Japanese actor for western films and is much better than the others in terms of acting and English ability. Beat Takeshi??! He was unfortunately in the live action version of Ghost in the Shell and all his lines were in Japanese because his English is so poor. He was cringe worthy.

Like anywhere, Japan has both good and bad actors. But those who think that most Japanese actors can not act do not watch films and TV entirely in Japanese. Their exposure is limied to the very few who appear in Hollywood and other Western productions.

"Hiroyuki Sanada: Actor and producer driving TV's 'Shogun."

Hiroyuki Sanada is a classy and brilliant actor.

This guys has played every samurai or salary man in almost every Japan themed Hollywood production of the last 20 years. He was in Lost. Anyone remember that? Before him it was Ken Takakura in the 70’s and 80’s. There’s a lot of good actors in Japan but unfortunately Hollywood plays it safe and sources from an incredibly small pool of talent. Talk about beating a dead horse. There is nothing special about this guy. Sorry.