Sessue Hayakawa filmography

Sessue Hayakawa (June 10, 1886 – November 23, 1973) was one of the first Asian actors and filmmakers to gain great fame and success in the United States. He starred in both English-language and Japanese-language films. His career peaked during the silent film period but continued on and eventually thrived in the talkie era, culminating with an Academy Award-nominated performance in The Bridge on the River Kwai in 1957.

Advertisement in Moving Picture World, May 1919.

Key

†	Denotes a lost or presumed lost film.

Early work

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1914	O Mimi San	Yorotomo	Charles Miller	Two reels
1914	The Courtship of O San †	Shotoku	Charles Miller	Two reels
1914	The Geisha †	Takura	Raymond B. West	Two reels
1914	The Ambassador's Envoy †	Kamuri		Two reels
1914	A Tragedy of the Orient †	Kato	Reginald Barker	Two reels
1914	A Relic of Old Japan †	Koto	Reginald Barker	Two reels
1914	The Curse of Caste †	Kato	Reginald Barker	Two reels
1914	The Village 'Neath the Sea †	Red Elk	Thomas H. Ince Jay Hunt	Two reels
1914	Star of the North †		Thomas H. Ince Jay Hunt	Two reels
1914	The Death Mask †	Running Wolf	Thomas H. Ince	Two reels
1914	The Hateful God †			Two reels
1914	Nipped †	Taro Kamura	George Osborne	Two reels
1914	The Vigil †	Kenjiro	George Osborne	Two reels
1914	Mother of the Shadows †	Running Elk	George Osborne	Two reels
1914	The Last of the Line	Tiah - Gray Otter's Son	Jay Hunt	Two reels
1914	The Typhoon	Tokorama	Reginald Barker
1914	The Wrath of the Gods	Lord Yamaki	Reginald Barker
1914	The Sacrifice †
1915	The Famine †	Horisho	George Osborne	One reel
1915	The Chinatown Mystery †	Yo Hong	Reginald Barker	Two reels

Famous Player Lasky Films

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1915	After Five †	Oki - the Valet	Cecil B. DeMille Oscar Apfel
1915	The Clue †	Nogi	James Neill Frank Reicher
1915	The Secret Sin	Lin Foo	Frank Reicher
1915	The Cheat	Hishuru Tori (original release) / Haka Arakau	Cecil B. DeMille
1915	Temptation †	Opera Admirer	Cecil B. DeMille
1916	Alien Souls †	Sakata	Frank Reicher
1916	The Honorable Friend †	Makino	Edward LeSaint
1916	The Soul of Kura San †	Toyo	Edward LeSaint
1916	The Victoria Cross	Azimoolah	Edward LeSaint
1917	Each to His Kind †	Rhandah	Edward LeSaint
1917	The Bottle Imp †	Lopaka	Marshall Neilan
1917	The Jaguar's Claws †	El Jaguar	Marshall Neilan
1917	Forbidden Paths	Sato
1917	Hashimura Togo †	Hashimura Togo
1917	The Call of the East †	Arai Takada	George Melford
1917	The Secret Game	Nara-Nara	William C. deMille
1918	The Hidden Pearls †	Tom Garvin
1918	The Honor of His House †	Count Ito Onato	William C. deMille
1918	The White Man's Law	John A. Genghis	James Young
1918	The Bravest Way	Kara Tamura	George Melford
1918	The City of Dim Faces †	Jang Lung	George Melford

Haworth Pictures Corporation

Sessue Hayakawa is costumed as the Prince of the Island of Desire in a publicity still for the 1920 silent fantasy film The Beggar Prince.

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1918	His Birthright	Yukio	William Worthington	Incomplete Served as writer
1918	Banzai †	The American General		One reel
1918	The Temple of Dusk †	Akira	James Young
1919	A Heart in Pawn †	Tomaya	William Worthington
1919	The Courageous Coward †	Suki Iota	William Worthington
1919	His Debt †	Goto Mariyama	William Worthington
1919	The Man Beneath	Dr. Chindi Ashutor	William Worthington
1919	The Gray Horizon †	Yamo Masata	William Worthington
1919	The Dragon Painter	Tatsu - the Dragon Painter	William Worthington
1919	Bonds of Honor †	Yamashito / Sasamoto	William Worthington
1919	The Illustrious Prince †	Prince Maiyo	William Worthington
1919	The Tong Man †	Luk Chen	William Worthington	This film is not lost. It is available to watch. Just viewed on Turner Classic Movies together with the Dragon Painter.
1920	The Beggar Prince †	Nikki / Prince	William Worthington
1920	The Brand of Lopez †	Vasco Lopez	Joseph De Grasse
1920	The Devil's Claim	Akbar Khan / Hassan	Charles Swickard
1920	Li Ting Lang	Li Ting Lang	Charles Swickard
1920	An Arabian Knight †	Ahmed	Charles Swickard
1921	The First Born	Chan Wang		Served as producer
1921	Black Roses †	Yoda	Colin Campbell	Served as producer
1921	Where Lights Are Low †	Tsu Wong Shih	Colin Campbell	Served as producer
1921	The Swamp	Wang	Colin Campbell	Served as producer and writer
1922	Five Days to Live †	Tai Leung	Norman Dawn
	The Vermilion Pencil †	Tse Chan / The Unknown / Li Chan

European, American and Japanese Films

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1923	La Bataille †	Le Marquis Yorisaka	Himself Édouard-Émile Violet	French film Served as producer
1924	The Great Prince Shan †	Prince Shan	A. E. Coleby	British film
	The Danger Line †	Marquis Yorisaka	Édouard-Émile Violet	American film
	Sen Yan's Devotion †	Sen Yan	A. E. Coleby	British film
	I Have Killed	Hideo - l'antiquaire japonais		French film
1929	The Man Who Laughed Last			Short film. Early talking film for Sessue Hayakawa
1931	Daughter of the Dragon	Ah Kee	Lloyd Corrigan	American film
1932	Taiyo wa higashi yori	Kenji		Japanese film
1934	Bakugeki hikôtai			Japanese film
1935	Tojin Okichi	Townsend Harris		Japanese film
	Kuni o mamoru mono: Nichiren	Nichiren		Japanese film
1937	The Daughter of the Samurai	Iwao Yamato	Arnold Fanck Mansaku Itami	German-Japanese Film
	Yoshiwara	Ysamo, Kuli	Max Ophüls	French film
	The Cheat	Prince Hu-Long	Marcel L'Herbier	French film
1938	Storm Over Asia	Le prince Ling	Richard Oswald	French film
1942	White Patrol	Halloway		French film
	Macao, l'enfer du jeu	Ying Tchaï		French film
1943	Malaria	Saïdi	Jean Gourguet	French film
	The Midnight Sun	Matsui	Bernard-Roland	French film
1946	Le Cabaret du grand large	Professeur Wang		French film
1947	Chinese Quarter	Tchang		French film

Final films

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1949	Tokyo Joe	Baron Kimura	Stuart Heisler
1950	Three Came Home	Col. Mitsuo Suga	Jean Negulesco
	Harukanari haha no kuni	Joe Hayami		Japanese film
	Re mizeraburu: kami to akuma			Japanese film
	Re mizeraburu: kami to jiyu no hata			Japanese film
1953	Onna kanja himon - Akô rôshi	Sakon Tachibana		Japanese film
	Kurama Tengu to Katsu Kaishû	Awanokami Katsu		Japanese film
1954	Nihon yaburezu			Japanese film
1955	House of Bamboo	Insp. Kita	Samuel Fuller	Dubbed by Richard Loo
1957	The Bridge on the River Kwai	Colonel Saito	David Lean	Nomination - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1958	The Geisha Boy	Mr. Sikita	Frank Tashlin
1959	Green Mansions	Runi	Mel Ferrer
1960	Hell to Eternity	Gen. Matsui	Phil Karlson
	Swiss Family Robinson	Kuala, Pirate Chief	Ken Annakin
1961	The Big Wave	The Old Man	Tad Danielewski
1966	The Daydreamer	The Mole	Jules Bass	Voice role
1967	Junjô nijûsô	Tajima		Japanese film

Appearances as himself

Year	Title	Notes	Ref(s)
1918	United States Fourth Liberty Loan Drive
1922	Night Life in Hollywood
1931	Around the World in 80 Minutes with Douglas Fairbanks	Directed by Douglas Fairbanks and Victor Fleming.
1932	Running Hollywood

Television appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1958	Kraft Television Theatre
1958	Studio One
1958	Wagon Train	Sakae Ito
1959	The Steve Allen Show
1961-1962	Here's Hollywood
1963	Route 66	Takasuka
1965	Taikōki	Takeda Shingen

Bibliography

• Miyao, Daisuke (2007). Sessue Hayakawa: Silent Cinema and Transnational Stardom. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-3969-4. OCLC 470908395.