Toshiro Mifune Will Be Honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
He was almost in 'Star Wars.' Now, he gets a different star.
Renowned Japanese movie star Toshiro Mifune is finally getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Remembered for his roles in movies like The Seven Samurai, High & Low, Rashomon, and the 1980 NBC television series Shogun, the actor’s recognition is well-deserved. Mifune will posthumously join actors Steve Carrell, Bradley Cooper, and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino in an upcoming ceremony announced by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Mifune died in 1997.
Besides his 2016 classmates, the Throne of Blood star also joins a small, notable circle of Japanese performers to enter granite immortality. It’s a fraternity that includes the likes of Sessue Hayakawa and, yes, Godzilla.
Often starring in movies by Akira Kurosawa, Mifune became an iconic figure of hyper-masculinity and gruff toughness equal to that of Clint Eastwood. Director George Lucas approached the actor to star in his tiny, unknown 1977 movie Star Wars, offering him the roles of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. Mifune passed, feeling he was above being in a kids movie.
Here he is in Red Sun, kicking Charles Bronson’s ass for two minutes.
The date for the ceremony has not yet been confirmed.
