Images of Hiroyuki Sanada During His ‘Remarkable Ladies’ Man’ Days as He Receives U.S. Emmy Nomination

The Emmy Awards, often referred to as the Academy Awards of American television, will be held on September 16.

 

The most highly anticipated nominee this year is the drama *SHOGUN* (Disney+), starring Hiroyuki Sanada (63). 

 

“This drama, which features Sanada as both an actor and producer, is nominated for 25 awards across 22 categories, including Best Actor. It is based on the novel “Shogun” by James Clavell. In 1980, a television adaptation of this novel, starring Yoko Shimada, became a major hit in America. This new adaptation sees Sanada taking on the role of the Shogun, Yoshi Toranaga (historically equivalent to Tokugawa Ieyasu), a role previously played by Toshiro Mifune. His performance has been highly praised.

 

Sanada’s Emmy nomination for Best Actor is undoubtedly a remarkable achievement for a Japanese actor, though it does seem like it took a long time to come to this point. Given his accomplishments in Hollywood, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had won some award much earlier.” (film magazine writer)

 

Sanada gained attention when his 2002 film “The Twilight Samurai” was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, leading to his Hollywood debut in “The Last Samurai” the following year. In 2007, he appeared alongside Jackie Chan in “Rush Hour 3”. He has continued to feature in notable films, including “The Wolverine” (2013), “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), and “John Wick: Chapter 4” (2023). 

Since 2003, he has been based in Los Angeles, returning to Japan only for filming and Since 2003, he has relocated to Los Angeles and only returns to Japan for film shoots or promotions. There is no information available about his private life, but he is known for his past reputation as a “rarely seen ladies’ man” with numerous romantic rumors.

“His first major relationship made headlines when he was 24. Sanada, already a popular actor, was reported to be dating Yuki Okazaki, a seven-year-older actress with whom he had worked on the stage production ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ the previous year. Later, in 1990, he married Rimi Tezuka, with whom he had two children, but they divorced in 1997. The cause of their divorce was reportedly his affair with Rio Natsuki, then 20, which began during their collaboration on the film ‘Shōraku’ in 1995.” (sports newspaper reporter)

Amidst the scandal of the affair, Natsuki appeared in an interview with Mariko Hayashi in the September 22, 1995 issue of “Weekly Asahi”.

 

“Even if he is married, he is very open about it. Because it doesn’t matter, right? So, should we have met only after his divorce? Is it wrong to meet now?”

 

“If a marriage is going well, whether it’s a man or a woman, they wouldn’t have feelings for anyone else.”

Her comments only added fuel to the fire, leading to severe backlash against both of them. Sanada, who had previously kept silent on the matter, addressed the press at the 8th Tokyo International Film Festival on September 28 of the same year, stating,

 

“I want to proceed faithfully to my own principles and take responsibility.”

 

Shortly after, the relationship between Sanada and Natsuki ended. 

 

Later, rumors about him remarrying surfaced, such as with Kyoka Suzuki, his co-star from 

the 2001 TV drama “Hikon Kazoku” (Fuji TV), and Yuki Amami, his co-star in the Japanese dubbed version of “Minions” in 2015. However, these rumors remained unsubstantiated. Now, Sanada has reached the age of 63. 

 

“Although Mr. Sanada is still single, he has been living in the U.S. for 20 years with the intention of becoming a bridge between Japan and America through movies. He is now finally able to convey the true culture of Japan, which he has expressed to those around him. He feels strongly that what he truly wants to do lies ahead, and he only seems to discuss work. We hardly hear anything about his private life.” (a Hollywood-savvy writer)

 

Who knows, maybe someday we’ll hear news of him marrying a woman 53 years younger, just like Al Pacino, who at 81 wed a woman much younger than him.

Cast at the press conference for the film “The Last Assassination.” Hiroyuki Sanada is the third person from the left (September 17, 2004 issue).