His sultry good looks and powerful screen presence dominated the early era of silent films in Hollywood. Sessue Hayakawa became a star rivaling John Barrymore and Charlie Chaplin, thanks to films like Cecil B. DeMille’s The Cheat, in which he played an exotic villain. But the Japanese actor thought the stereotypes were demeaning. He started to make millions with his own films, produced by his own production company. Of course, it was not to last. The rise of anti-immigrant sentiment in the 1930s — in addition to his accent not going over well when sound was added to movies — meant Hayakawa’s golden era in Hollywood came to end. But his career continued around the world, and he eventually made a triumphant return to Tinseltown in The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he won an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
