Tatsuya Nakayo (なかだい たつや), born on December 13, 1932, is a Japanese actor whose performances include stage plays, movies, and television dramas, and has many collaborations with famous Japanese directors such as Akira Kurosawa and Hideo Gosha.
Born into a poor family in meguro,Tokyo, Japan, he entered an actor training institute in 1952, where his teenage career laid a solid foundation for him to portray a wide range of roles. He first appeared on the screen in 1954 as a lineless ronin in the movie Seven Samurai.
In 1957, he made his first leading role in "Black River" and won the Producers Association Newcomer Award that year.
In 1980, he starred in the film "Shadow Samurai" directed by Akira Kurosawa, and won the Best Actor Award at the "Blue Ribbon Award" of the Japanese "Mainichi Movie" that year.
In 1985, he starred in Akira Kurosawa's film "Chaos". The film was named Best Picture by the New York Filmmakers Association. Since the film, there have been more than a hundred works, many of which are excellent. His performance style is bold and clear, unique in the Japanese film industry, and is deeply loved by people.
In 2019, Tatsuya Nakayo won the Lifetime Achievement Award in the main competition section of the 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival.
Stills from Tatsuya Nakadai's early films