Japanese actor Ken Takakura, best known overseas for his role as a tough detective in Ridley Scott's film "Black Rain", has died at the age of 83.
Takakura's decades-long acting career was dotted with starring roles, often as a police officer or yakuza gangster.
His characters were mostly the strong, silent types who endure hardship in the pursuit of justice.
A native of the southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka, Takakura -- whose real name was Goichi Oda -- died of lymphoma on November 10, media reports said Tuesday.
Takakura won the best actor prize at the Montreal World Film Festival in 1999 for his portrayal of an old railroad station master in "Poppoya". But it was for his role opposite Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia in Scott's 1989 film that he will be best remembered.