Did you know that Hollywood’s very first sex symbol was an Asian man? In the 1910s, Sessue Hayakawa broke into the mainstream when The Typhoon was released, a filmed adaptation of the play, starring the original cast. The film became a hit, and Hayakawa signed with the burgeoning Paramount Studios. He was one of a small amount of stars who utilized muga in his performances instead of the very popular broad-gesturing style. Within three years his salary enabled him to build a castle that later became an LA landmark.
“My one ambition is to play a hero.” - Sessue Hayakawa, 1949
Instead of renewing his contract with Paramount in order to star in The Sheik, Hayakawa started his own production company, Hayworth Studios. Tired of being typecast as the exotic lover or the deductive villain, Hayakawa had free reign to make the content he wanted to make, churning out 23 films in three years and netting 2 million dollars.
After a bad business deal, Hayakawa and his wife left Hollywood, performing in international plays and films. In the 1930s, due to the rise of talkies and a growing anti-Japanese sentiment, his career began to suffer. While filming in France he became trapped and separated from his family due to the German occupation. He joined the French underground and was only reunited with his family after a production company was able to locate him and offer him a role in Tokyo Joe with Humphrey Bogart.
Seriously, this Dude’s life was so phenomenal, his Oscar-nominated turn as Colonel Saito in 1957’s Best Picture-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai is one of the least interesting things about him, despite being a career highlight. He was a painter, a Zen priest, and a true hero, despite the Hollywood machine that could never portray him otherwise.
Sessue Hayakawa, Pretty Dudes Hall of Fame Inductee, September 2016