Kōji Yakusho

, known professionally as , is a Japanese actor. He is known for his starring roles in Shall We Dance? (1996), 13 Assassins (2010), The Third Murder (2017), The Blood of Wolves (2018), Under the Open Sky (2020) and The Days (2023). He is best known internationally for his role in Shōhei Imamura's The Eel (1997), Rob Marshall's Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel (2006). Early life and education Yakusho was born in Isahaya, Nagasaki, the youngest of five brothers. After graduation from Nagasaki Prefectural High School of Technology in 1974, he worked at the Chiyoda municipal ward office, or kuyakusho, in Tokyo, from which he later took his stage name. Career In 1976, he saw a production of Maxim Gorky's The Lower Depths (Played by Tatsuya Nakadai) and was inspired, first to watch, and then later to take part in, as many plays as possible. In the spring of 1978 he auditioned for Tatsuya Nakadai's the Mumeijuku (Studio for Unknown Performers) acting studio, and was one of four chosen out of 800 applicants.