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Takeshi Kitano

Takeshi Kitano

Birthday: 1947-01-18 | Place of Birth: Tokyo, Japan

Takeshi Kitano (北野 武, Kitano Takeshi, born January 18, 1947), also known in Japan as Beat Takeshi (ビートたけし, Bīto Takeshi), is a Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. Kitano rose to prominence in the 1970s as one half of the comedy duo Two Beat, before going solo and becoming one of the three biggest comedians in the country. After several small acting roles, he made his directorial debut with 1989's Violent Cop and garnered international acclaim for Sonatine (1993). He was not widely accepted as an accomplished director in Japan until Hana-bi won the Golden Lion in 1997. In October 2017, Kitano completed his Outrage crime trilogy with the release of Outrage Coda. He is also known internationally for hosting the game show Takeshi's Castle (1986–1990) and starring in the film Battle Royale (2000).

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2025
Battle Royale

as    Kitano

2025
AUM: The Cult at the End of the World

as    Self (archive footage)

2024
Broken Rage

as    Nezumi

2023
Kubi

as    Hashiba Hideyoshi

2022
Johnny Mnemonic: In Black & White

as    Takahashi

2020
Citizen Kitano

as    Self

2018
Kiseki taiken! Unbelievable

as    Storyteller

2017
Ghost in the Shell

as    Aramaki

2017
Outrage Coda

as    Otomo

2016
While the Women Are Sleeping

as    Sahara

2015
Mozu The Movie

as    Daruma

2015
Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen

as    Detective Murakami

2015
Aka Medaka

as    Tatekawa Danshi

2014
2014
Beyond Outrage

as    Otomo

2014
Seicho Matsumoto's Black Gospel

as    Rokuro Fujisawa

2013
Miwa: A Japanese Icon

as    Himself

2012
Dearest

as    Teruo Sugino

2011
Outrage

as    Otomo

2010
Kikoku

as    Private First Class Oomiya