Ken Takakura gained international fame for starring alongside Michael Douglass in Ridley Scott's 1989 police drama Black Rain, but he made more than 200 movies in his long career, including the 1975 cult classic The Yakuza. His frequent role as a tough, honorable gangster earned him the nickname "Japan's Clint Eastwood," Reuters reports. Takakura died on Nov. 10 of malignant lymphoma in a Tokyo hospital, his office confirmed Tuesday. He was 83.
Takakura was born Goichi Oda in 1931 in Fukuoka, Japan. He started making films in 1955 after walking in to audition at Tokyo's Toei movie studio. His last project was Yasuo Furuhata's 2012 drama Dearest, but his office said he was preparing for another film while hospitalized.
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