Cover Hiroyuki Sanada won Best TV Drama Actor at the Golden Globes 2025 (Photo: Getty Images)
Hiroyuki Sanada won Best TV Drama Actor at the Golden Globes 2025 (Photo: Getty Images)
1 / 1
Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada took home the award for best performance by a male actor in a TV series—drama at the Golden Globes for his role in the samurai series ‘Shōgun’, following his historic Emmy win
Tokyo-born actor Hiroyuki Sanada, 64, won best lead actor in TV series (drama) at the Golden Globes this year with his role as Yoshii Toranaga in FX’s Shōgun. This makes him the first Japanese to claim this award in the history of the Golden Globes.
When Sanada accepted the award today (January 6), he thanked the Golden Globes for the recognition and FX, Disney+ and the cast and crew of Shōgun for “sharing this amazing journey. I’d love to say thank you [to] everyone who has been in my life. All of you have brought me here. And I’d like to say to the young actors and creators in the world: please be yourself. Believe in yourself and never give up.”
Shōgun is a 2024 American historical drama television series set in the warring dynasties in the late Sengoku-era Japan in 1600. The series swept up more awards at the ceremony, including Best Actress (Anna Sawai) and Best Supporting Actor (Tadanobu Asano) for TV drama series.
Here are five things to know about Sanada.
Don’t miss: ‘Shōgun’ makes history by winning 18 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama
1. Hiroyuki Sanada won Best Actor at the Emmy Awards
Above From left: Tadanobu Asano, Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada and Cosmo Jarvis at the Golden Globe Awards (Photo: Getty Images)
From left: Tadanobu Asano, Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada and Cosmo Jarvis at the Golden Globe Awards (Photo: Getty Images)
1 / 1
Before the Golden Globes, Sanada already took home the Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series in September 2024 for his role in Shōgun. He was the second Asian actor to win the Emmy in this category. Sanada is also the producer of this superhit series, which won 18 Emmys in 2024.
2. Hiroyuki Sanada has a black belt in karate
Above Hiroyuki Sanada in ‘Bullet Train’ (Photo: Instagram/@hiroyukisanadapr)
Hiroyuki Sanada in ‘Bullet Train’ (Photo: Instagram/@hiroyukisanadapr)
1 / 1
Sanada is a black belt in Kyokushin karate, a full-contact style of stand-up fighting which originated in Japan. This has helped him immensely in his career, especially in the early days when he was actively involved in action films in Japan and Hong Kong.
3. Hiroyuki Sanada has acted alongside Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves and Jackie Chan
Above Hiroyuki Sanada in ‘John Wick 3’ (Photo: Instagram/@hiroyukisanadapr)
Hiroyuki Sanada in ‘John Wick 3’ (Photo: Instagram/@hiroyukisanadapr)
1 / 1
Before Shōgun, Sanada had made a name for himself in action movies. In The Last Samurai (2003), he played master swordsman Ujio who trains Tom Cruise’s character Nathan Algren; in Rush Hour 3 (2007), he took up the role of Kenji, the triad leader and nemesis to Jackie Chan’s Lee; and in John Wick 4 (2023), he stole the show as Shimazu Koji, the brother-in-arms to Keanu Reeves’ John Wick.
4. Hiroyuki Sanada is a prominent theatre thespian
Above Hiroyuki Sanada and his Emmy trophies (Photo: Instagram/@hiroyukisanadapr)
Hiroyuki Sanada and his Emmy trophies (Photo: Instagram/@hiroyukisanadapr)
1 / 1
As well as his prolific onscreen profile, Sanada’s theatrical performances are also noteworthy. In 1999 and 2000, he played the Fool in a production of Shakespeare’s King Lear, which led to his appointment as an Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2002.
Read more: Gwulo.com founder David Bellis receives the British Empire Medal for preserving Hong Kong’s history
5. Hiroyuki Sanada to star in ‘Mortal Kombat 2’
Above A poster of ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ (Image: Instagram/@rottentomatoes)
A poster of ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ (Image: Instagram/@rottentomatoes)
1 / 1
Sanada will star as Scorpion, a spectre warrior, in Mortal Kombat 2, slated for release in October this year. Mortal Kombat 2 is an American martial arts fantasy film co-produced and directed by Simon McQuoid and written by Jeremy Slater. It’s the fourth movie of the franchise.
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
