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: Inception, The Last Samurai, Memoirs of a Geisha, Godzilla and Letters from Iwo Jima

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

Credits include: 13 Assassins, Izo, The Yakuza Papers 1: Battles Without Honor and Humanity, The Yakuza Papers 4: Police Tactics and The Yakuza Papers 5: Final Episode

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: Zatoichi's Conspiracy, Asu no taiyô, Kai, Tora-san's Lullaby and Farewell to Spring

Credits include: Usugesho, The Blue Blanket, Jôiuchi: hairyô zuma shimatsu, Oda Nobunaga and The Abe Clan

Credits include: Kagerô, Tokyo Bordello, Wives of the Yakuza, Nikutai no mon and Sennen no koi - Hikaru Genji monogatari

Credits include: Kai, Tokyo Bordello, Stranger, Nikutai no mon and Garasu no nô

Credits include: Dolls of the Shogun's Harem, Labyrinth Romanesque, Oda Nobunaga, Man and Monster and Yakuza Legacy