One of the first martial-arts cinema stars, Sonny Chiba was no joke: he made it onto Japan's Olympic team as a young man. He broke onto the international scene with 1974's "The Street Fighter" and has since become iconic. Most recently, he had a major role in Tarantino's Kill Bill.

Credits include: The Last Samurai, Sunshine, The Wolverine, Rush Hour 3 and Ring

Credits include: Message from Space, Sister Street Fighter, Legend of the Eight Samurai, Golgo 13 - Assignment: Kowloon and Shogun's Ninja

He prepared for these movies by practicing other disciplines such as Kenpo, Iaido, Kendo, or Bo-Jutsu. portrayed Kiichi Hogan in the TV series The Mute Samurai, Shikoro Ichibei in the 1975 TV series The Bounty Hunter and his most famous role: Ogami Itto, the Lone Wolf. After that, Wakayama starred in many films. His only roles in American movies were as a baseball coach in The Bad News Bears Go To Japan and as a Yakuza boss playing opposite Michael Douglas in Black Rain.

Credits include: Gamera: The Giant Monster, Sister Street Fighter, The Legend of Red Dragon, Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie and Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie

Credits include: Biotherapy, Round About Midnight, Tales of the Bizarre: 2003 Fall Special, Yume ka? Maboroshi ka? Habataku Ôgon no Tori and Kamen Rider W Returns: Kamen Rider Eternal