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Actor Ken Watanabe, 50, is the star of a new ad campaign by NTT Docomo featuring "Star Wars" iconic character Darth Vader. The two legends appeared together at a Tokyo launch event at which a laconic Watanabe said, "This is an unusual shot."
The news comes shortly after Watanabe surprised fans by revealing that he and his wife Kaho Minami, 46, held a wedding ceremony in Los Angeles on Aug 1. The couple registered their marriage in 2005 but did not have a wedding ceremony at the time. "It should be encouraging to women all over the world that one can wear a wedding dress at 46," he told the press.
When asked for further details about the ceremony he said, "Lock activated. Please enter password to proceed."
© Japan Today
29 Comments
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Patricia Yarrow
“Lock activated. Please enter password to proceed.” Love that guy!
mhclaw
Best wishes to Ken-san and wife
Alexander Warrick
The force is strong with this one.
The758
Haha very clever!
bobcatfish
let's hope his acting is better than in "inception"
Junnama
Search your feelings, you know it to be true!
blunderbuss
And yet, it is true.
magpie
People seem perpelxed as to why they like Ken Watanabe. My answer for hy I like him is simple. (a) he's a brilliant actor (b) He's a man who recovered from serious illness and came back stronger and more deidcated to his work (leaukemia I think it was). (c) Unlike other famour actors, he seems down to earth and doesn't seem to have been in the news for the wrong reasons.
moonknightskye
“Lock activated. Please enter password to proceed.” - Ken Watanabe
i always think there are cyborgs among us
sctaber56
“It should be encouraging to women all over the world that one can wear a wedding dress at 46,” My respect for one of Japan's great actors of today has diminished a bit - what a ridiculous and sexist thing to say!
manfromamerica
how lame.
ratpack
Darth Vader will rip out his light saber (or what ever you call it) and swish it about threatening cool Ken's life. Cool Ken will rip out his Docomo and push a button that will sound like a light saber swishing through the air. Darth will look perplexed at cool Ken wondering what the truck. Cool ken will look at the camera and smile as he says "Docomo".
ratpack
Wow....more money for George Lucas.
Noripinhead
That dude playing Darth Vader is huge. Ken Watanabe is a pretty tall man to begin with. The Last Samurai meets the Dark Lord of the Sith.
porter
Why is my Docomo keitai bill so expensive? Because of expensive advertising campaigns including hiring Watanabe, Ken and rights to Star Wars characters.
Sarge
Klein2 - Har!
genjuro
Happy for their wedding ceremony. It was in L.A.; wouldn't be surprised if Leo and the other Inception co-stars were invited.
As for the photo... "Ken, I am your father."
Klein2
Wait. Let me try again.
HISS HISS
I find your lack of faith... disturbing.
HISS HISS
Klein2
"Shouldn't this headline read "Ken Watanabe to appear in Docomo ad with actor dressed up as Darth Vader"???"
I find you lack of faith.... disturbing.
CoinLaundry
P.S. I'd just like to add that I wish the very best for Ken Watanabe and Kaho Minami.
CoinLaundry
Oh don't be so negative. Can't you just wish them all the best?
ebisen
Sarge - being married is not about having a silly ceremony - it is about the feelings of the two persons involved ONLY...
kokorocloud
Sarge-- Maybe they didn't have the time? Other similar reasons? Or money, though in Watanabe-san's case, that probably wasn't the reason.
I really like him, and I can't exactly figure out why, haha. He's a great actor, I'm sure that has something to do with it!
proudnippon
good for him. if journalists want to ask the same crappy lazy questions again and again they deserve to get no replies.
smithinjapan
What's the purpose of having Darth Vader in the ad, aside from drumming up some much needed sales to rival the iPhone?
sk4ek
Shouldn't this headline read "Ken Watanabe to appear in Docomo ad with actor dressed up as Darth Vader"???
Sarge
"This is an unusual shot."
It sure is.
"The couple registered their marriage in 2005 but did not have a wedding ceremony at the time."
This seems to be commonplace in Japan. What's up with that? Why bother registering your marriage before you're going to have your wedding? And then there are all the couples who put off their honeymoon for months after getting married. What's up with that?
AfroSensei1
I love Ken Watanabe so much. He says the silliest, craziest things without even trying. And he manages to be this hilarious while at the same time being an extraordinary actor......
JpnDude
Congrats to Watanabe-san and Minami-san for their recent wedding ceremony. I'm guessing Darth Vader was the Best Man. :-D