Favorite East Asian actors

1. Ken Watanabe

Ken Watanabe was born on October 21, 1959 in Uonuma, Japan. Both of his parents were teachers: his mother taught general education and his dad taught calligraphy. He became interested in acting at the age of 24, when a director of England's National Theater Company, where he was studying, told him ...

Always tops every list. Love and adore him.

2. Hiroyuki Sanada

Actor | Tasogare Seibei

Hiroyuki Sanada was born on October 12, 1960 in Tokyo. He made his film debut when he was 5 in Rokyoku komori-uta (1965) (Shin'ichi Chiba played the lead role.) His father died when he was 11. He joined Japan Action Club, organized & run by Sonny Chiba, when he was 12. He 1st became famous as an ...

Such a great actor.

3. Lee Byung-hun

Actor | Dalkomhan insaeng

Lee Byung-hun was born in 1970 in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up in a wealthy family, thanks to his father, who was a successful businessman. He never dreamed of pursuing acting until a friend of his mother's suggested it. He auditioned for the KBS television network in 1991 and was accepted. His ...

Handsome guy

4. Tadanobu Asano

Actor | Mongol

Tadanobu Asano's a Japanese film actor. His father suggested he take on what became his first role in the TV show Kimpachi Sensei at 16. His film debut was Swimming Upstream (1990) though his first major critical success was in Shunji Iwai's La cuisine: Fried Dragon Fish (1993). His first critical ...

5. Chow Yun-Fat

Actor | Wo hu cang long

Chow Yun Fat is a charismatic, athletically built and energetic Asian-born film star who first came to the attention of western audiences via his roles in the high-octane/blazing guns action films of maverick HK director John Woo.

Chow was born in 1955 on the quiet island of Lamma, part of the ...

6. Jet Li

Actor | Huo Yuan Jia

Jet Li born Li Lian Jie in Beijing, China. He started training at the Beijing wushu academy (wushu is China's national sport, largely a performance version of various martial art styles) at age eight. He won five gold medals in the Chinese championships, his first when he was only 11. In his teens,...

7. Jun'ichi Okada

Actor | Kokuriko-zaka kara

He's a singer of the Jpop group V6 (6 members) since 1995 at the age of 14 years (the year of creation). This group are two subgroups: 20th Century (the seniors of them) and Coming Century (the juniors, and Okada's subgroup). He's the most younger of them. He's too a three martial arts instructor, ...

Super cute in Hana

8. Hiroshi Abe

Actor | Aruitemo aruitemo

Hiroshi Abe was born on June 22, 1964 in Kanagawa, Japan. He is an actor, known for Still Walking (2008), Godzilla 2000 (1999) and After the Storm (2016).

9. Etsushi Toyokawa

Actor | Midway

Etsushi Toyokawa was born on March 18, 1962 in Osaka, Japan. He is an actor and director, known for Midway (2019), Love Letter (1995) and The 8-Tomb Village (1996).

He has been in a number of ads in Japan. Kind of a "fringe" Japanese actor, but super attractive.

10. Shidô Nakamura

Actor | Huo Yuan Jia

Shidô Nakamura was born on September 14, 1972 in Tokyo, Japan. He is an actor and director, known for Fearless (2006), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) and Red Cliff (2008). He has been married to Saori Adachi since February 1, 2015. He was previously married to Yûko Takeuchi.

11. Jay Chou

Soundtrack | The Green Hornet

Jay Chou is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor and director. He was born in Taipei to schoolteachers, Yeh Hui-Mei, who taught fine arts, and Chou Yao-Chung, a biomedical researcher. In 2000, Chou released his first album, titled Jay (2000), under the record ...

Curse of the Golden Flower

12. Rain

Actor | Ssa-i-bo-geu-ji-man-gwen-chan-a

Rain was born in Seoul, South Korea on June 25, 1982 as Jung Jihoon. He was extremely shy in elementary school; in interviews he's stated that he barely spoke. He caught the desire to become a dancer at a school talent show in sixth grade; when nobody from his school stepped forward to dance, he ...

13. Takeshi Kaneshiro

Actor | Shi mian mai fu

The 1/2 Taiwanese and 1/2 Japanese Takeshi Kaneshiro may have started out as a puerile teen idol in the Chinese entertainment scene, but he's since become a proper film star in his own right. Whether by his own design or not, the boyishness that marked his first steps into showbiz has evolved into ...

House of Flying Daggers is him at his best.

14. Tony Leung Chiu-wai

Actor | Fa yeung nin wah

Tony Leung Chiu Wai was born in Hong Kong on 27 June 1962. He and his younger sister were raised by their mother after his father left them. In 1982, after passing the training courses of TVB, Tony became a TV actor and became famous for his comedy style in such TV shows as Tales of a Eunuch (1983)...

Infernal Affairs is pretty great.

15. Song Kang-ho

Actor | Salinui chueok

Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School. Later, he joined Kee Kuk-seo's influential theater company with its emphasis on instinctive acting and improvisation, which proved to be Song's training ...

16. Kim Sang-kyung

Actor | Salinui chueok

Kim Sang-kyung was born on June 1, 1972 in South Korea. He is an actor, known for Memories of Murder (2003), What's with This Family (2014) and May 18 (2007).

Memories of Murder

17. Rick Yune

Actor | The Fast and the Furious

Rick Yune was born on August 22, 1971 in Washington D.C., USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Fast and the Furious (2001), Die Another Day (2002) and Olympus Has Fallen (2013).

18. Sung Kang

Actor | Furious 6

Sung-Ho Kang is a Korean-American actor and producer from Clarkston, Georgia who is widely known for playing Han Lue from the Fast & Furious series of films and Better Luck Tomorrow. He also acted in Raya and the Last Dragon, Pearl Harbor, Ninja Assassin and Obi-Wan Kenobi. He is married to Miki ...

19. Koji Yakusho

Actor | Perfect Days

Koji Yakusho is an acclaimed and famed Japanese actor who has appeared in many notable films, including Tampopo, Unagi and Babel, but may be best known internationally for his role in Shall We Dance, which at the time of its release was Asia's biggest film export. He was born in the southern city ...

20. Tsuyoshi Ihara

Actor | Letters from Iwo Jima

Ihara Tsuyoshi was born on November 6, 1963, in Kokura, Kyushu. He grew up in Osaka, and after graduating high school, he joined JAC (Japan Action Club) which is headed by Shin'ichi Chiba (aka Chiba Shinichi), which is a company of stunt and action actors. He made his debut in 1983 in a stage drama...

21. Choi Min-sik

Actor | Oldeuboi

Choi Min-shik first made a name for himself in theater before breaking into the film world with a role in Park Chong-won's acclaimed film 'Our Twisted Hero' (1992). In the mid-nineties he continued to act in theater productions as well as in several TV dramas, including Moon Over Seoul with Han ...

22. Shin Ha-kyun

Actor | Boksuneun naui geot

Shin Ha-kyun was born on May 30, 1974 in Seoul, South Korea. He is an actor and manager, known for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Joint Security Area (2000) and Save the Green Planet! (2003).

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

23. Daniel Henney

Actor | Big Hero 6

Daniel Henney was born on November 28, 1979 in Carson City, Michigan, USA. He is an actor, known for Big Hero 6 (2014), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Last Stand (2013).

24. Ananda Everingham

Actor | Shutter

Ananda Everingham was born on May 31, 1982 in Thailand. He is an actor and producer, known for Shutter (2004), Red Eagle (2010) and Happy Birthday (2008).

Shutter

25. Lee Jung-jae

Actor | Heon-teu

Apart from being a top star in film and TV, Jung-Jae Lee also works as a highly successful fashion model. One year after his debut on television in 1993, Lee was cast in his first film, a feature by Bae Chang-ho. His breakthrough came in late 1998 in the award-winning film An Affair by E-J Yong. ...

26. Jung Woo-sung

Actor | Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom

Born as the youngest of three in Seoul, South Korea. He made his debut with a TV commercial in 1994 and applied for an open audition for a leading role in The Fox with Nine Tails (1994) opposite 'So-Young Ko'. This role launched his career as one of the most promising actors in Korea. He dropped ...

27. Yoo Ji-tae

Actor | Oldeuboi

Yoo Ji-tae was born on April 13, 1976 in Seoul, South Korea. He is an actor and director, known for Oldboy (2003), Ditto (2000) and Mai Ratima (2012).

28. Jang Hyuk

Actor | Nae yeojachingureul sogae habnida

Jang Hyuk was born on December 20, 1976 in Busan, South Korea. He is an actor, known for Windstruck (2004), The Slave Hunters (2010) and Shine or Go Crazy (2015). He has been married to Yeo-Jin Kim since June 2, 2008. They have three children.

29. Kim Dong-wan

Actor | Yeon-ga-si

Kim Dong-wan was born on November 21, 1979 in South Korea. He is an actor, known for Deranged (2012), Dolryeochagi (2004) and Bichi hateu aesol (2015).

30. Kim Myung-min

Actor | Yungnyong-i Nareusya

Kim Myung-min was born on October 8, 1972 in South Korea. He is an actor, known for Six Flying Dragons (2015), Closer to Heaven (2009) and Betoben baireoseu (2008).

31. Godfrey Gao

Actor | The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Godfrey Gao was born on September 22, 1984 in Taiwan. He was an actor, known for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013), The Jade Pendant (2017) and Toy Story 3 (2010). He died on November 27, 2019 in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.

32. Ekin Cheng

Actor | Fung wan: Hung ba tin ha

Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin is a Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer. Earlier in his career he was known as Noodle Cheng, though he has now reverted to a more conventional-sounding first name. Sometimes he uses Dior (because that was what it sounded like when his younger sister tried to call him) as a first...

33. David Lee McInnis

Actor | Taeyangeui huye

David Lee McInnis a Korean American actor, born in Green Bay, WI. Known for his roles in South Korean dramas Descendants of the Sun (2016) (as Argus) , Mr Sunshine (2018) (as Major Kyle Moore) and different advertisements for Samsung and Daniel Cremieux. Now based in Seoul, South Korea and Los ...

34. Aaron Kwok

Actor | Dap huet cam mui

Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer, and actor. He has been active since the 1980s and to the present. He is considered one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong. Kwok's onstage dancing and displays is influenced by Michael Jackson. While most of his songs ...

35. John Cho

Actor | Star Trek

John Yohan Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to Los Angeles, California as a child. His father was a Christian minister. Cho was educated at Herbert Hoover High School at Glendale, before moving on to the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied English literature. Upon ...

36. John Lone

Actor | The Last Emperor

Born Leung Kwok Ng in Hong Kong October 13, 1952, John Lone was spartanly raised by a single mother until the age of 7 when he was sent off to be schooled with the Peking Opera. He never again saw his mother. The Peking Opera could be a brutal and grueling life for a child but he was a diligent and...

37. Toshirô Mifune

Actor | Yôjinbô

Toshiro Mifune achieved more worldwide fame than any other Japanese actor of his century. He was born in Tsingtao, China, to Japanese parents and grew up in Dalian. He did not set foot in Japan until he was 21. His father was an importer and a commercial photographer, and young Toshiro worked in ...

38. Ji Jin-hee

Actor | The Great Seer

Ji Jin-hee was born on June 24, 1973 in Seoul, South Korea. He is an actor, known for The Great Seer (2012), I Have a Lover (2015) and The Man Who Can't Get Married (2009).

39. Cho Seung-woo

Actor | Tajja

Cho Seung-woo was born on February 12, 1980 in South Korea. He is an actor, known for Tazza: The High Rollers (2006), Chunhyang (2000) and Marathon (2005).

40. Kim Min-joon

Actor | Kangryeok 3Ban

Kim Min-joon was born on July 24, 1976 in Busan, South Korea. He is an actor, known for Kangryeok 3Ban (2005), A Love (2007) and Hindsight (2011).