IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Artist
Eugene Robert Richee, 1895 - 1972
Sitter
Sessue Hayakawa, 10 Jun 1889 - 23 Nov 1973
Date
1931
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image: 26.4 × 34.3 cm (10 3/8 × 13 1/2")
Sheet: 27.4 × 35.3 cm (10 13/16 × 13 7/8")
Topic
Interior
Sessue Hayakawa: Male
Sessue Hayakawa: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie actor
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2015.139
Exhibition Label
Born Chiba, Japan
This photograph of Sessue Hayakawa captures the good looks and glamor of Hollywood’s first male sex symbol. While other silent film stars relied on emphatic gestures to convey emotion, Hayakawa developed a restrained style inspired by Zen Buddhism, Kabuki theater, and martial arts. Invariably cast as the seductive villain or forbidden lover, he grew frustrated with the stereotyping of Asian actors as “exotic.” After turning down the lead role in The Sheik (thus launching the career of Rudolph Valentino), he founded his own highly lucrative production company in 1918. Acting stints in France, England, and Japan expanded Hayakawa’s international fame, but his career declined in the 1930s with the advent of sound pictures and anti-Japanese sentiment. A revival of his fortunes after World War II brought his most memorable film role, as Colonel Saito in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).
Nacido en Chiba, Japón
Esta fotografía evidencia el atractivo físico y el glamur de Sessue Hayakawa, primer símbolo sexual masculino que tuvo Hollywood. Mientras otras estrellas del cine silente recurrían a gestos exagerados para transmitir emociones, Hayakawa desarrolló un estilo sobrio, inspirado en el budismo zen, el teatro kabuki y las artes marciales. Sin embargo, viéndose siempre en papeles de villano seductor o amante prohibido, comenzó a sentirse frustrado con el estereotipo “exótico” de los actores asiáticos. Luego de rechazar el papel protagónico en The Sheik (que lanzaría la carrera de Rudolph Valentino), Hayakawa fundó una lucrativa compañía productora en 1918. Breves actuaciones en Francia, Inglaterra y Japón ampliaron su fama internacional, pero su carrera declinó hacia la década de 1930 con la llegada del cine sonoro y la creciente hostilidad hacia los japoneses. Su suerte mejoró después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y logró su papel más memorable: el coronel Saito en la película El puente sobre el río Kwai (1957).
