KEN WATANABE - WATANABE STUNNED AT EASTWOOD FILM ROLE

WATANABE STUNNED AT EASTWOOD FILM ROLE

Japanese star KEN WATANABE was stunned when he was offered the lead role in CLINT EASTWOOD's latest movie, because he assumed the main parts in the Hollywood epic would be filled with American actors. When THE LAST SAMURAI actor heard Eastwood was looking for actors for LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, he assumed the only part he would get would be a supporting character in the movie. He recalls, "I thought, 'I'll have to ring my agent to get a role as a Japanese officer or something." But he was delighted when he found out the film was in fact told entirely from the perspective of the Japanese army in World War II. The movie is up for Best Film at this year's Oscar ceremony (25FEB07) and is a companion piece to Eastwood's FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS.