Hiroyuki Sanada is a Japanese actor from Tokyo. Before breaking in to the movie business, he trained at Sonny Chiba’s Japan Action Club hoping to one day become a martial arts action film star. Sanada appeared in many action films in the 70s and early 80s and branched out as an actor in several different genres and roles. Today he is best known for his involvement in big-budget Hollywood productions such as The Last Samurai (Warner Bros.) and Rush Hour 3 (Columbia Pictures).