Actors from Japan

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Japanese Actors of all time. This list of famous Japanese Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Japanese Actors.

1. #1

   

   Olivia de Havilland

   1916 - 2020

   HPI 73.4079 langs

   Olivia de Havilland is most famous for her role as Melanie Hamilton in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.

2. #2

   

   Mako

   1933 - 2006

   HPI 72.4636 langs

   Japanese American actor

3. #3

   

   Liv Ullmann

   b. 1938

   HPI 71.1260 langs

   Liv Ullmann is most famous for her role in the movie Persona. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this role.

4. #4

   

   Joan Fontaine

   1917 - 2013

   HPI 70.2671 langs

   Joan Fontaine is most famous for her Academy Award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's "Suspicion" (1941) and her Academy...Read moreShow less

   Joan Fontaine is most famous for her Academy Award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's "Suspicion" (1941) and her Academy Award-nominated performance in "Rebecca" (1940).

5. #5

   

   Sonny Chiba

   1939 - 2021

   HPI 69.2536 langs

   Sonny Chiba is most famous for his karate skills and his starring roles in the "Street Fighter" and "Kill Bill" movies.

6. #6

   

   Ken Watanabe

   b. 1959

   HPI 68.5251 langs

   Ken Watanabe is most famous for his role as the King of Siam in the musical "The King and I" in the 1990s.

7. #7

   

   Hiroyuki Sanada

   b. 1960

   HPI 68.1839 langs

   Japanese actor

8. #8

   

   Ken Takakura

   1931 - 2014

   HPI 67.8123 langs

   Japanese actor

9. #9

   

   Takashi Shimura

   1905 - 1982

   HPI 67.3540 langs

   Takashi Shimura is most famous for his role as the priest in the film "The Seven Samurai."

10. #10

    

    Victoria Principal

    b. 1950

    HPI 66.9137 langs

    American actress, producer, entrepreneur