Koji Yakusho

Kōji Yakusho, born Kōji Hashimoto, is a Japanese actor known for his starring roles in films such as Shall We Dance? (1996), 13 Assassins (2010), The Third Murder (2017), The Blood of Wolves (2018), Under the Open Sky (2020), and The Days (2023). Internationally, he gained recognition for his performances in The Eel (1997) directed by Shōhei Imamura and Babel (2006) directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Yakusho was born in Isahaya, Nagasaki and graduated from Nagasaki Prefectural High School of Technology. He initially worked at the Chiyoda municipal ward office in Tokyo before pursuing a career in acting. Inspired by a production of Maxim Gorky's The Lower Depths, he began his journey in theater in 1978.