“Dude grinded really hard”: Hiroyuki Sanada’s 21-Year Long Hollywood Journey That Started With Tom Cruise’s $454 Million Epic Was Filled With Many Forgotten Roles

SUMMARY

• Actor Hiroyuki Sanada has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his work on the FX series Shōgun.
• Also a producer on the show, Sanada took painstaking efforts in getting the magnum opus made and has finally received his due recognition.
• The actor has also worked in Hollywood for over 21 years, having begun his career in Tom Cruise's iconic film The Last Samurai.

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With his Emmy win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the FX series Shōgun, actor Hiroyuki Sanada became the second Asian winner in the history of the awards. The legendary actor has been in the industry for over two decades and worked as an actor in Tokyo since he was a child.

Sanada had his first Hollywood breakthrough in Tom Cruise’s historic drama The Last Samurai. Then known as the ‘Tom Cruise of Japan’, Sanada starred as Ujio in the film, which earned multiple Oscar nominations and over $454 million at the global box office. Sanada’s win for Shōgun is the first award recognition he has received since then.

Legendary Actor Hiroyuki Sanada Wins Big At The Emmys For Shōgun

Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga in Shōgun | Credits: FX

The historical drama series Shōgun has been the highlight of the Emmys this year. After winning in big categories at the Creative Emmy Awards early last week, the show won Outstanding Drama Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Moreover, lead actor and producer Hiroyuki Sanada won the award for his role.

Sanada has been associated with the series since its announcement by FX in 2018. The legendary actor reportedly filmed for a day in 2019 before the network decided to retool the show (via Variety). Sanada also became a producer for the first time after twenty years in Hollywood and reportedly took a lot of effort to make the series authentic.

Hiroyuki Sanada in Shōgun | Credits: FX

The actor’s efforts have paid off as he became the second Asian actor to win the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Emmy. This was the first award recognition for the actor in his twenty-one-year career in Hollywood.

As a producer, Sanada also won the Outstanding Drama Series award and Shōgun broke the record for the number of Emmy wins for a single season, clocking in 18 awards.

Hiroyuki Sanada Started His Hollywood Career With Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai

Hiroyuki Sanada in The Last Samurai | Credits: Warner Bros.

While Shōgun may have finally brought the actor the recognition that was due to him, Hiroyuki Sanada has been one of the most prominent Asian actors in Hollywood for over twenty years. Already a huge star in Japan, Sanada began his Hollywood career with Tom Cruise’s Oscar-nominated historic drama The Last Samurai.

Sanada played Ujio, a swordsman who is a follower of the antagonist Katsumoto. Ujio teaches Cruise’s Captain Algren sword fighting while the latter is in captivity and even considers him an equal. The film was a huge success, earning over $454 million at the box office, and was nominated for multiple Academy Awards(via Box Office Mojo).

Sanada was also seen in films like The White Countess, Rush Hour 3, and more recently Avengers: Endgame and Bullet Train. He also starred in shows like Lost and Westworld. Apart from Endgame, Sanada had a prominent Marvel role in the Hugh Jackman-starrer The Wolverine.

Shōgun is available to stream on Hulu while The Last Samurai is available to rent on Apple TV.

Written by Nishanth A

Articles Published: 1359

Nishanth A is a Media, English and Psychology graduate from Bangalore. He is an avid DC fanboy and loves the films of Christopher Nolan. He has published over 1,000 articles on FandomWire. When he's not fixating on the entire filmography of a director, he tries to write and direct films.