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      * Central Asia
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      * Kuwait

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KEN WATANABE INFILTRATES DREAMS IN SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER 'INCEPTION'

July 22nd, 2010


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone is talking about Christopher Nolan's mind-bending summer blockbuster,
Inception. And while Leonardo Dicaprio is technically the star of the film, fans
of Ken Watanabe won't be disappointed by his excellent performance in the role
of "Saito." In fact, with thousands of screaming Watanabe fans asking for
autographs at the film's premiere in Tokyo, one might forget that he isn't the
lead actor.

Americans are probably most familiar with Watanabe's performance in the The Last
Samurai—a role that earned the actor an Oscar nomination in 2003. He continued
to build his credentials as an international star with roles in Memoirs of a
Geisha and Letters from Iwo Jima as well as Batman Begins, where he first worked
with Nolan. However, in Japan, Watanabe has been a household name since the
'80s, when he starred in a long-running television series called "Dokugan-ryu
Masamune."

Nolan was so taken with Watanabe after working with the actor on the set of
Batman that he created the role of Saito especially for him. The fact that
Watanabe does not speak very much English says a lot about his strong presence
as an actor.

"He's just got such incredible charisma, and he's such a huge movie star, it's
amazing," Nolan said in an interview. "There's such a sensitivity in his
performances. It's just been brilliant."

In Inception, Watanabe plays the scene-stealing bad guy "Saito," a wealthy Tokyo
businessman who convinces Dicaprio's character to infiltrate the dreams of one
of his business rivals. The movie is a complex sci-fi thriller that takes the
viewer on a journey through layers and layers of dreams.

Sounds a little confusing for a summer blockbuster, but that hasn't stopped the
film from becoming a box office hit in the US and now, Japan.

"I'm really proud to show this project. It's my country and really honored to
join this project. We can show our project [in Tokyo]. It's really [an] honor,"
said Watanabe at the Tokyo premiere.

The Japanese version of the Inception trailer features Watanabe more heavily
than the American one:

 

 




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