Line #15 Creator/ToshiroMifune


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8	->''"All you need is one look at Toshiro Mifune to know that he's fucking serious. He's coarse, he's gruff, he's confident, he doesn't take any fucking shit from anyone and he's got the sort of commanding presence that forces you to respect the fact that he could kick your ass fifteen ways from Thursday afternooon and not even break a sweat."''
9	-->-- [[https://www.badassoftheweek.com/mifune Badass of the Week]]'s entry on Toshiro Mifune
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11	Toshiro Mifune (三船敏郎, April 1, 1920 – December 24, 1997) was a prolific Japanese actor best known for his numerous collaborations with Creator/AkiraKurosawa (e.g ''Film/{{Rashomon}}'', ''Film/SevenSamurai'', ''Film/ThroneOfBlood'', ''Film/TheHiddenFortress'', ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'', ''Film/{{Sanjuro}}'' and every other movie Kurosawa made between 1948 and 1965 with the exception of ''Film/{{Ikiru}}'') as well as many other leading roles. Mifune was to JidaiGeki what Creator/ClintEastwood is to TheWestern -- if there was a badass {{Samurai}} character to be played in the 1950s or early 1960s, chances are he was on the short list for it. In particular, his gruff, calculating {{Ronin}} character from ''Yojimbo'' was to be the model for Eastwood's "[[Film/DollarsTrilogy Man with No Name]]" and numerous other [[AntiHero antiheroes]].
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13	Mifune and Kurosawa had a falling out in the late 1960s after the filming of ''Film/RedBeard'',[[note]]Reportedly Kurosawa insisted on holding Mifune to a contract provision requiring him to grow a natural beard and prohibiting him from shaving it (in case he was needed for re-shoots) throughout the entire lengthy post-production process, effectively preventing Mifune from taking any other acting jobs for two whole years at the peak of his fame and nearly bankrupting him.[[/note]] and after that Mifune began popping up occasionally in Western film productions such as ''Film/GrandPrix'' and ''Film/HellInThePacific''. This eventually culminated in Mifune appearing in the American miniseries ''Literature/{{Shogun}}'' (as Toranaga), resulting in acclaim stateside but criticism in Japan due to the lack of historical accuracy. If Creator/GeorgeLucas had had his way instead of [[ExecutiveMeddling being told by higher ups]] to hire [[Creator/AlecGuinness a well-known (to Western audiences) actor]] for the role [[note]]There are also claims that Fox was hesitant to use Mifune due to his English being difficult to understand, necessitating his lines to be dubbed; other claims say it was because he wasn't available. Mifune's daughter Mika, an actress in her own right, [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/toshiro-mifune-turned-down-star-845721 says]] he himself turned down the role. [[/note]], Mifune would have [[WhatCouldHaveBeen played Obi-Wan Kenobi]] in ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]''.[[note]]The VideoGame/SoulSeries' Mitsurugi, an Expy of Mifune, ''was'' Kenobi. Or at least, his Japanese voice was.[[/note]] He was also offered the role of Darth Vader, but turned it down as his face would have been covered by a mask. Of course, he later regretted turning down the roles, which could have allowed him to define the nature of the Jedi in that landmark film franchise and cultural touchstone.
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15	In between 1993 and 1997, Kurosawa and Mifune had a few meetings with one another at funerals and award ceremonies, most notably at the 1993 funeral of their mutual friend, ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' director Creator/IshiroHonda. It seemed that their relationship had begun to repair itself. Rumor had it that they would collaborate once more, but Mifune died in 1997 and Kurosawa a year after him. It's said that Mifune actually succumbed to DeathByDespair: his health had been really bad after a stress-triggered heart attack, but his ex-wife Sachiko Yoshimine was helping him overcome it, and when she suddenly died of cancer his physical and mental state took a nosedive and he simply lost the will to live.
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17	According to legend, Mifune's career was an accident. Toshiro Mifune needed work, and a friend told him that the studio was hiring maintenance men. When he got there, he stepped into the wrong line and wound up at auditions. Mifune was known to be a real darling to the crew, frequently sharing food with them and helping them out with errands during production, partly because he was aware how unplanned and accidental his own career was as an actor.
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19	----
20	!!Films with pages:
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22	* ''Film/SnowTrail'' (1947) -- film debut
23	* ''Film/DrunkenAngel'' (1948)
24	* ''Film/StrayDog'' (1949)
25	* ''Film/{{Rashomon}}'' (1950)
26	* ''Film/{{Scandal\|1950}}'' (1950)
27	* ''Film/{{The Idiot\|1951}}'' (1951)
28	* ''Film/LifeOfAHorseTrader'' (1951)
29	* ''Film/TheLifeOfOharu'' (1952)
30	* ''Film/VendettaForASamurai'' (1952)
31	* ''Film/SamuraiIMusashiMiyamoto'' (1954)
32	* ''Film/SevenSamurai'' (1954)
33	* ''Film/SamuraiIIDuelAtIchijojiTemple'' (1955)
34	* ''Film/ILiveInFear'' (1955)
35	* ''Film/ThroneOfBlood'' (1957)
36	* ''Film/{{The Lower Depths\|1957}}'' (1957)
37	* ''Film/TheHiddenFortress'' (1958)
38	* ''Film/TheRickshawMan'' (1958)
39	* ''Film/TheThreeTreasures'' (1959)
40	* ''Film/TheBadSleepWell'' (1960)
41	* ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'' (1961)
42	* ''Film/AnimasTrujano'' (1962)
43	* ''Film/{{Chushingura}}'' (1962)
44	* ''Film/{{Sanjuro}}'' (1962)
45	* ''Film/{{High and Low\|1963}}'' (1963)
46	* ''Film/RedBeard'' (1965)
47	* ''Film/GrandPrix'' (1966)
48	* ''Film/JapansLongestDay'' (1967)
49	* ''Film/SamuraiRebellion'' (1967)
50	* ''Film/HellInThePacific'' (1968)
51	* ''Film/RedLion'' (1969)
52	* ''Film/ZatoichiMeetsYojimbo'' (1970)
53	* ''Film/{{Machibuse}}'' (1970)
54	* ''Film/RedSun'' (1971)
55	* ''Film/{{Midway\|1976}}'' (1976)
56	* ''Film/NineteenFortyOne1979''
57	* ''Film/WinterKills'' (1979)
58	* ''Film/PortArthur'' (1980)
59	* ''[[Literature/AsianSaga Shogun]]'' (1980)(TV miniseries)
60	* ''Film/{{Inchon}}'' (1982)
61	* ''Film/PrincessFromTheMoon'' (1987)
62	* ''Film/DeepRiver'' (1995) -- last film
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64	!! Tropes associated with Toshiro's works:
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66	* BigOlEyebrows: Even as a child!
67	* EnforcedMethodActing: Was on both ends of this. In ''Film/ThroneOfBlood'', the arrows that were supposed to miss him were shot by real archers; Mifune's reaction was a genuinely frightened one. While filming ''Film/NineteenFortyOne1979'', he was disgusted at the lack of discipline among the actors playing the submarine crew, so, having served in the Japanese military in World War II, he got into character and stayed in character until the others realised he was being serious and began acting more authentic.
68	* FakeNationality: He played a Mexican in ''Film/AnimasTrujano''.
69	* HiddenBadass: Reportedly, he and his drinking buddy Yoshio Tsuchiya would get drunk and then go out and beat the hell out of any yakuza that were hanging around on the street. And not just once, this was a ''regular'' thing. Not bad for a movie tough guy.
70	* UsefulNotes/JapaneseChristian: One of the few of Japan's big stars that were Christian. He married his wife Sachiko Yoshimine according to the Christian tradition.
71	* LargeHam: Half his roles are this. The other half are a ColdHam. Toshiro was arguably a large ham in real life; in his audition he basically tore up the room when he had to express anger.
72	* ManlyFacialHair: For many of his roles, he donned facial hair and played badass samurai warriors.
73	* PlayingAgainstType: He usually plays tough guys, but he played a ShrinkingViolet in ''Conduct Report on Professor Ishinaka''.
74	* PlayingWithCharacterType: Played a wide range of samurai or warrior characters, but they were normally rebels, misfits or nonconformists.
75	* TomHanksSyndrome:His early roles were a mixture of comedic and dramatic, sometimes at the same time. Later in his career his roles were almost exclusively dramatic.
76	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: He was Creator/GeorgeLucas' first choice to play Obi-Wan Kenobi in ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'', but rejected the offer because he wasn't confident with his English skills and thought such a film was beneath him (amusingly, the actor who ended up in the role, Creator/AlecGuinness, felt the same way). He's said to have regretted this later in life, particularly since he could've made the now-iconic Jedi even more samurai-influenced than they already are. This notably would have prevented Creator/EwanMcGregor from playing the younger Kenobi in the prequels.

Context Creator / ToshiroMifune