47 Facts About Takeshi Kitano

Takeshi Kitano, known as Beat Takeshi in Japan, is a Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker.

Takeshi Kitano gained recognition as an actor in director Nagisa Oshima's film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence.

Takeshi Kitano won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for his film Hana-bi, becoming the third Japanese director to receive this honor after Akira Kurosawa and Kihachi Okamoto.

In October 2017, Takeshi Kitano completed his Outrage crime trilogy with the release of Outrage Coda.

Takeshi Kitano is known internationally for hosting the game show Takeshi's Castle and starring in the film Battle Royale.

Takeshi Kitano has received critical acclaim for his idiosyncratic cinematic work, winning numerous awards with Japanese film critic Nagaharu Yodogawa having once dubbed him "the true successor" to influential filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

Many of Takeshi Kitano's films are dramas about yakuza gangsters or the police.

Takeshi Kitano was born in Adachi, Tokyo, with two older brothers and an older sister.

Takeshi Kitano's father worked as a house painter, with Kitano revealing that he used to live like a yakuza, while his mother was a strict disciplinarian and educator who worked in a factory.

Takeshi Kitano entered Meiji University and studied engineering, before dropping out at age 19.

Takeshi Kitano went to the Asakusa district in 1972 to become a comedian.

Takeshi Kitano confirmed in a video interview that he was forbidden to access the NHK studios for five years for having exposed his body during a show when it was totally forbidden.

Together with Sanma Akashiya and Tamori, Takeshi Kitano is said to be one of the "Big Three" television comedians of Japan.

Many of Takeshi Kitano's routines involved him portraying a gangster or other harsh characters.

Takeshi Kitano said that after playing comedy clubs he would be invited to drink with yakuza, who would tell him stories about the big crime bosses.

Takeshi Kitano said that he was happy with his performance and snuck into a showing of the film to see how the audience would accept him as a serious actor instead of a comedian.

Takeshi Kitano was devastated when the audience burst into laughter upon his appearing on screen, but vowed to stick to serious and dark characters in film.

Takeshi Kitano was the first Japanese celebrity to actively contribute to the development of a video game and starred in several commercials promoting its release.

Takeshi Kitano has published a number of novels and other books which have been translated into French.

Takeshi Kitano co-founded the Agency Office Kitano with Masayuki Mori.

Takeshi Kitano rewrote the script heavily, and this marked the beginning of Kitano's career as a filmmaker.

Mark Schilling cited it as the film in which Takeshi Kitano defined his style with long takes, minimal camera movement, brief dialogue, sly humor, and sudden violence.

Takeshi Kitano plays a Tokyo yakuza who is sent by his boss to Okinawa to help end a gang war there.

Takeshi Kitano is tired of gangster life, and when he finds out the whole mission is a ruse, he welcomes what comes with open arms.

Takeshi Kitano made Kids Return in 1996, soon after his recovery.

That year Kitano appeared in the film adaptation of William Gibson's 1995 Johnny Mnemonic, credited by the mononym "Takeshi", although his on-screen time was greatly reduced for the American cut of the film.

Takeshi Kitano's paintings have been published in books, featured in gallery exhibitions, and adorn the covers of many of the soundtrack albums for his films.

Takeshi Kitano's paintings were featured prominently in his most critically acclaimed film, 1997's Hana-bi.

Takeshi Kitano himself said it was not until he won this award that he was accepted as a serious director in Japan; prior his films were looked at as just the hobby of a famous comedian.

Takeshi Kitano hosted Koko ga Hen da yo Nihonjin which was a Japanese TV show that was broadcast weekly from 1998 to 2002, a talk show on which a large panel of Japanese-speaking foreigners from around the world debate current issues in Japanese society.

Takeshi Kitano played a similarly named character in the controversial 2000 Japanese blockbuster Battle Royale, which takes place in a future in which a group of teenagers are randomly selected each year to eliminate each other on a deserted island.

Dolls in 2002 had Takeshi Kitano directing but not starring in a romantic drama with three different stories about undying love, and was loosely based on a bunraku play.

Takeshi Kitano revealed that he was approached by others to create the film and therefore differed from his own techniques and followed the common filmmaking process in order to please them and make a pure-entertainment film.

From April 2005 to 2008, Takeshi Kitano was an instructor at the Graduate School of Visual Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts.

In between these films, Takeshi Kitano appeared in a number of other television projects and smaller projects.

Also in 2007, Kitano appeared in To Each His Own Cinema as the projectionist as Beat Takeshi, and in the TV movie Wada Akiko Satsujin Jiken.

Takeshi Kitano admitted he tried something different for Outrage by adding a lot of dialogue, stepping back as the main character to make an ensemble piece, and having the feel of a nature documentary watching the characters kill each other.

In September 2012, Takeshi Kitano said that the producers wanted him to make a third Outrage film depending on the box office.

On 7 March 2013, Minkei News of Hong Kong reported that Takeshi Kitano won the Best Director award for Outrage Beyond at the 7th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong.

On 10 August 2013, in an interview reported by John Bleasdale, Takeshi Kitano revealed his current plans for a sequel to Outrage Beyond and an untitled personal film project.

In September 2015, it was announced that Takeshi Kitano would be contributing his voice and likeness to the character Toru Hirose in the SEGA video game Yakuza 6: The Song of Life.

Takeshi Kitano co-starred in the live action adaptation of the manga Ghost in the Shell, marking his return to American cinema nearly twenty years after Johnny Mnemonic in 1995.

In 2017, Takeshi Kitano released the third and final installment in the successful Outrage series titled Outrage Coda.

Takeshi Kitano won the Golden Lion award at the 54th Venice International Film Festival in 1997 for his film Hana-bi.

In 2008, at the 30th Moscow International Film Festival, Takeshi Kitano was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.

In March 2010 Takeshi Kitano was named a Commander of the Order of the Arts and Letters of France.

On March 2018 Takeshi Kitano left Office Takeshi Kitano in order to become independent.