Cancer surgery not actor’s first
Ken Watanabe underwent surgery for stomach cancer. But he has beaten serious sickness before, having had leukemia more than 20 years ago.
The early-stage cancer was found in a medical checkup, the Tony- and Oscar-nominated actor said on his Japanese Twitter account. His publicist confirmed the sickness Tuesday, noting the 56-year-old actor will delay his return to Broadway’s “The King and I.”
“I hate to worry you, but please wait,” Watanabe tweeted in Japanese.
He also said he was grateful to his wife, actress Kaho Minami, for having recommended a checkup, and to his daughter, also an actress, for recommending a doctor.
Watanabe’s press agent said Tuesday in New York the actor underwent endoscopic surgery and is recuperating.
Watanabe, who has appeared in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” and “Inception,” also starred in the reboot of “Godzilla” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” directed by Clint Eastwood, and lent his voice to the fourth installment of the Transformers franchise.
He earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor in the Tom Cruise- led film “The Last Samurai.” “The King and I” was named best musical revival at last year’s Tonys and is also nominated for a Grammy for best musical theater album.
Before arriving in Hollywood, Watanabe acted in a range of Japanese films. He had leukemia in the late 1980s and a relapse but has worked regularly since.