Toshiro Mifune

1920 – 1997 · died at about 77^[1][2]

Film & Entertainment

Fun Facts About Toshiro Mifune

• Toshiro Mifune turned down George Lucas's offer to play Darth Vader or Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, according to his daughter.^[1][3][4]
• Mifune hoped to work behind the camera: a friend sent his resume to Toho's New Faces audition because the Photography Department was full, and at first he still hoped to transfer.^[1]
• Mifune lost his audition contest, but his frenzied performance won over Akira Kurosawa, who said, "in the case of Mifune I was completely overwhelmed."^[1][5][6]
• To prepare for Seven Samurai and Rashomon, Mifune reportedly studied footage of lions in the wild.^[1]
• Red Beard required Mifune to keep a real beard for two years of shooting, so he could act in no other films; it was his last film with Akira Kurosawa.^[1][5][6]
• For the Mexican film Ánimas Trujano, Mifune studied tapes of Mexican actors so he could deliver all of his lines in Spanish.^[1]
• Toshiro Mifune was alive at the same time as Alexander Graham Bell — their lives overlapped for 2 years (1920–1922).^[1][2][7][8]
• Toshiro Mifune shares a birthday with Otto von Bismarck: both were born on April 1.^{[1][2][9][10]}

Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. Noted for his commanding screen presence in the Japanese film industry, he typically played hypermasculine or heroic characters.^[1]

Contemporaries

Bob Hope

77 yr overlap

Mother Teresa

77 yr overlap

Akira Kurosawa

77 yr overlap

Jacques Cousteau

77 yr overlap

Rosa Parks

77 yr overlap

Ingmar Bergman

77 yr overlap

Frank Sinatra

77 yr overlap

Nelson Mandela

77 yr overlap

Edmund Hillary

77 yr overlap

Hedy Lamarr

77 yr overlap

Pope John Paul II

77 yr overlap

Ronald Reagan

77 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Toshiro Mifune

When was Toshiro Mifune born?

Toshiro Mifune was born on April 1, 1920, and died on December 24, 1997.

How old was Toshiro Mifune at death?

Toshiro Mifune was born on April 1, 1920, and died on December 24, 1997, at age 77.

What was Toshiro Mifune known for?

Toshiro Mifune was known for: Star of Seven Samurai, Rashomon and Yojimbo. Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. Noted for his commanding screen presence in the Japanese film industry, he typically played hypermasculine or heroic characters.

Who was alive at the same time as Toshiro Mifune?

Toshiro Mifune's closest contemporary was Bob Hope. Their lives overlapped for 77 years.