Kintaro Hayakawa (æ—©å· é‡'太郎 ; June 10, 1889 â€" November 23,
1973), known professionally as Sessue Hayakawa (æ—©å· é›ªæ´²), was a
Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was one of the biggest stars in
Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s.
Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a
leading man in the United States and Europe. His "broodingly handsome"
good looks and typecasting as a sexually dominant villain made him a
heartthrob among American women during a time of racial
discrimination, and he became one of the first male sex symbols of
Hollywood.He made his breakthrough in The Cheat (1915), and thereafter
became famous for his roles as a forbidden lover. Hayakawa was a
highly paid star of his time, earning $3,500 a week in 1919 and $2
million through his own production company from 1918 to 1920. Because
of rising anti-Japanese sentiment and business difficulties, Hayakawa
left Hollywood in 1922 and performed on Broadway and in Japan and
Europe for many years before making his Hollywood comeback in Daughter
of the Dragon (1931).Of his talkies, Hayakawa is probably best known
for his role as Colonel Saito in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957),
for which he earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actor. Hayakawa starred in over 80 feature films, and three
of his films (The Cheat, The Dragon Painter, and The Bridge on the
River Kwai) stand in the United States National Film Registry.Hayakawa
was born Kintaro Hayakawa (æ—©å· é‡'太郎, Hayakawa KintarÅ ) in the
village of Nanaura, now part of a town called Chikura, in the city of
MinamibÅ sÅ in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on June 10, 1886. From a
young age he yearned to go overseas and took on English studies in
preparation. His father was the head of a fishermen's union with some
wealth. He had five siblings.
1973), known professionally as Sessue Hayakawa (æ—©å· é›ªæ´²), was a
Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was one of the biggest stars in
Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s.
Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a
leading man in the United States and Europe. His "broodingly handsome"
good looks and typecasting as a sexually dominant villain made him a
heartthrob among American women during a time of racial
discrimination, and he became one of the first male sex symbols of
Hollywood.He made his breakthrough in The Cheat (1915), and thereafter
became famous for his roles as a forbidden lover. Hayakawa was a
highly paid star of his time, earning $3,500 a week in 1919 and $2
million through his own production company from 1918 to 1920. Because
of rising anti-Japanese sentiment and business difficulties, Hayakawa
left Hollywood in 1922 and performed on Broadway and in Japan and
Europe for many years before making his Hollywood comeback in Daughter
of the Dragon (1931).Of his talkies, Hayakawa is probably best known
for his role as Colonel Saito in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957),
for which he earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actor. Hayakawa starred in over 80 feature films, and three
of his films (The Cheat, The Dragon Painter, and The Bridge on the
River Kwai) stand in the United States National Film Registry.Hayakawa
was born Kintaro Hayakawa (æ—©å· é‡'太郎, Hayakawa KintarÅ ) in the
village of Nanaura, now part of a town called Chikura, in the city of
MinamibÅ sÅ in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on June 10, 1886. From a
young age he yearned to go overseas and took on English studies in
preparation. His father was the head of a fishermen's union with some
wealth. He had five siblings.
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