Kintaro Hayakawa (早川 金太郎 ; June 10, 1886 – November 23, 1973), known professionally as Sessue Hayakawa (早川 雪洲), was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was one of the most popular 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 Kuala, the pirate captain in Swiss Family Robinson (1960 film) and 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.
Sessue Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian American/Asian actors to find stardom in the United States and Europe and was also the first leading Asian male actor in the United States. He became the first male sex symbol of Hollywood long before and the precursor to Rudolph Valentino. His fame rivaled that of Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin. His fame began during the silent film era, leading into sound pictures in his later life. He became a film actor in a somewhat reluctant and accidental manner when the famous producer Thomas Ince saw his theatre play The Typhoon and wanted to turn it into a silent film and when it was released the film was an instant hit. With rising stardom he was eventually offered film contract by Famous Players-Lasky now Paramount Pictures. His second film with the production company, The Cheat (1915), was a success and made him a romantic hit with U.S. female audiences. He became a leading man of romance films, considered a heartthrob and a sex symbol; many actresses wanted to work with him in films, in which he was often cast as the exotic male Asian lover that women desired. After years of being typecast as a villain and exotic Asian lover that white women could not have, he decided to start his own production company, where he eventually made 23 films; he produced, starred in, and directed them, and contributed to their design, writing and editing. His films also influenced the way the United States viewed Asians. He personally chose American actress Marin Sais to appear opposite him in his films such as The City of Dim Faces and His Birthright. Hayakawa's collaboration with Sais ended with the film Bonds of Honor (1919). In 1919, Hayakawa made what is generally considered one of his best films, The Dragon Painter. After some bad business, he left the United States and for the next 15 years he worked in Europe and Japan where he made many popular films and plays such as the films The Great Prince Chan and the play Samurai which he performed for the king and queen of the United Kingdom at that time King George V and Queen Mary and a stage play version of The Three Musketeers. His fame in France came from France's fascination with anything Asian. In the 1930s with the rise of Talkies and growing Anti-Japanese sentiment due to World War II. During the war, he tried to perform in Europe but eventually became trapped by the Germans and for years was not able to work as an actor until Humphrey Bogart tracked him and down and offered him a role in his film Tokyo Joe (1949) which became a hit and afterwards he did another successful film Three Came Home (1950). After the war his image in films this time was as the honorable villain which he became typecasted as and from it he starred in what is considered to be his most famous film of his entire career The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) for which he was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award. On February 8, 1960, in a joint ceremony with Anna May Wong,
Hayakawa became the first Asian American actor to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Beginnings[edit]
Hayakawa and his wife Tsuru Aoki (1892-1961), were born in Japan but following different paths had, in 1913, both joined a Japanese theater group in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. There they were discovered and put under contract by the pioneering motion picture producer Thomas Ince, who was recruiting “exotic” performers for his new film studio in Santa Monica. (For instance, Ince had also negotiated with the Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Wild West Show, which included a troupe of actual Sioux, to appear in his Westerns in exchange for winter grazing rights). After appearing in a couple of short films, Hayakawa and Aoki made their first feature, The Wrath of the Gods, released in May of 1914 just weeks after their marriage.
Appearances[edit]
| Career Phase | Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late TV Appearances | 1963 | Route 66 (TV Series) | Takasuka |
| Late TV Appearances | 1958 | The Geisha Boy | Mr. Sikita |
| Late TV Appearances | 1958 | Wagon Train (TV Series) | Sakae Ito |
| Late TV Appearances | 1958 | The Red Skelton Hour (TV Series) | Japanese Officer |
| Late TV Appearances | 1958 | Studio One (TV Series) | Dr. Sato |
| Late TV Appearances | 1958 | Kraft Theatre (TV Series) | Japanese soldier |
| Late Films | 1967 | Junjô nijûsô | Tajima (final film role) |
| Late Films | 1966 | The Daydreamer | The Mole (voice) |
| Late Films | 1961 | The Big Wave | The Old Man |
| Late Films | 1960 | Swiss Family Robinson | Kuala, Pirate Chief |
| Late Films | 1960 | Hell to Eternity | Gen. Matsui |
| Late Films | 1959 | Green Mansions | Runi |
| Late Films | 1958 | The Geisha Boy | Mr. Sikita |
| Late Films | 1957 | The Bridge on the River Kwai | Colonel Saito |
| Late Films | 1955 | House of Bamboo | Insp. Kita (dubbed by Richard Loo) |
| Late Films | 1954 | Nihon yaburezu | |
| Late Films | 1953 | Kurama Tengu to Katsu Kaishû | Awanokami Katsu |
| Late Films | 1953 | Onna kanja himon - Akô rôshi | Sakon Tachibana |
| Late Films | 1950 | Re mizeraburu: kami to jiyu no hata | |
| Late Films | 1950 | Re mizeraburu: kami to akuma | |
| Late Films | 1950 | Harukanari haha no kuni | Joe Hayami |
| Late Films | 1950 | Three Came Home | Col. Mitsuo Suga |
| Late Films | 1949 | Tokyo Joe | Baron Kimura |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1947 | Quartier chinois | Tchang |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1946 | Le cabaret du grand large | Professeur Wang |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1943 | Le soleil de minuit | Matsui |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1943 | Malaria | Saïdi |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1942 | Gambling Hell | Ying Tchaï |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1942 | Patrouille blanche | Halloway |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1938 | Tempête sur l'Asie | Le prince Ling |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1937 | The Cheat | Prince Hu-Long |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1937 | Yoshiwara | Ysamo, Kuli (France) |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1937 | Atarashiki tsuchi | Iwao Yamato (German-Japanese) |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1935 | Kuni o mamoru mono: Nichiren | Nichiren (Japan) |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1935 | Tôjin Okichi | Townsend Harris (Japan) |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1934 | Bakugeki hikôtai | (Japan) |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1932 | The Sun Rise from the East | Kenji |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1932 | Running Hollywood (Short) | Sessue Hayakawa |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1931 | Daughter of the Dragon | Ah Kee (USA) |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1929 | Sessue Hayakawa in 'the Man Who Laughed Last' (Short) | |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1924 | Have Killed | Hideo - l'antiquaire japonais |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1924 | Sen Yan's Devotion | Sen Yan |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1924 | The Great Prince Shan | Prince Shan |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1924 | The Danger Line | Marquis Yorisaka |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1923 | The Battle | Le Marquis Yorisaka |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1922 | The Vermilion Pencil | Tse Chan / The Unknown / Li Chan (USA) |
| European, American and Japanese Films (1922-1947) | 1922 | Five Days to Live | Tai Leung |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1919 | A Heart in Pawn | Tomaya |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1919 | The Courageous Coward | Suki Iota |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1919 | His Debt | Goto Mariyama |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1919 | The Man Beneath | Dr. Chindi Ashutor |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1919 | The Gray Horizon | Yamo Masata |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1919 | The Dragon Painter | Tatsu - the Dragon Painter |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1919 | Bonds of Honor | Yamashito / Sasamoto |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1919 | The Illustrious Prince | Prince Maiyo |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1919 | The Tong Man | Luk Chen |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1920 | The Beggar Prince | Nikki / Prince |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1920 | The Brand of Lopez | Vasco Lopez |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1920 | The Devil's Claim | Akbar Khan / Hassan |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1920 | Li Ting Lang | Li Ting Lang |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1920 | An Arabian Knight | Ahmed |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1921 | The First Born | Chan Wang |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1921 | Black Roses | Yoda |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1921 | Where Lights Are Low | Tsu Wong Shih |
| Haworth Pictures (1919-1921) | 1921 | The Swamp | Wang |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1915 | After Five | Oki - the Valet |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1915 | The Famine | Horisho |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1915 | The Chinatown Mystery | Yo Hong |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1915 | The Clue | Nogi |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1915 | The Secret Sin | Lin Foo |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1915 | The Cheat | Hishuru Tori (original release) / Haka Arakau |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1915 | Temptation | Opera Admirer |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1916 | Alien Souls | Sakata |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1916 | The Honorable Friend | Makino |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1916 | The Soul of Kura San | Toyo |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1916 | The Victoria Cross | Azimoolah |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1917 | Each to His Kind | Rhandah |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1917 | The Bottle Imp | Lopaka |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1917 | The Jaguar's Claws | El Jaguar |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1917 | Forbidden Paths | Sato |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1917 | Hashimura Togo | Hashimura Togo |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1917 | The Call of the East | Arai Takada |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1917 | The Secret Game | |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1918 | The Hidden Pearls | Tom Garvin |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1918 | The Honor of His House | Count Ito Onato |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1918 | The White Man's Law | John A. Genghis |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1918 | The Bravest Way | Kara Tamura |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1918 | The City of Dim Faces | Jang Lung |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1918 | His Birthright | Yukio |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1918 | Banzai | The American General |
| Famous Players-Lasky Films (1915-1918) | 1918 | The Temple of Dusk | Akira |
| Thomas Ince Films (1914) | 1914 | The Typhoon | Tokorama |
| Thomas Ince Films (1914) | 1914 | The Wrath of the Gods | Lord Yamaki |
| Thomas Ince Films (1914) | 1914 | The Sacrifice | |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | The Last of the Line (Short) | Tiah - Gray Otter's Son |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | Mother of the Shadows (Short) | Running Elk |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | The Vigil (Short) | Kenjiro |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | Nipped (Short) | Taro Kamura |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | The Hateful God (Short) | (unconfirmed) |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | The Death Mask (Short) | Running Wolf |
| Early Work (1914) | 1941 | Star of the North | |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | The Village 'Neath the Sea (Short) | Red Elk |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | The Curse of Caste (Short) | Kato Matsumoto |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | A Relic of Old Japan (Short) | Koto |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | A Tragedy of the Orient (Short) | Kato |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | The Ambassador's Envoy (Short) | Kamuri |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | The Geisha (Short) | Takura |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | The Courtship of O San (Short) | Shotoku |
| Early Work (1914) | 1914 | O Mimi San (Short) | Yorotomo |
Links[edit]
- Asian American Silent Film Stars]
- Miyao, Daisuke (2007). Sessue Hayakawa: Silent Cinema and Transnational Stardom. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-3969-4.