The Visual Effects Society (VES) has named 2025 Golden Globe nominee and two-time Emmy Award winning actor and producer Hiroyuki Sanada as the forthcoming recipient of the VES Award for Creative Excellence. The award will be presented at the 23rd Annual VES Awards on February 11, 2025 at The Beverly Hilton hotel.
The VES Award for Creative Excellence, bestowed by the VES Board of Directors, recognizes individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to the art and science of the visual effects industry and cinematic entertainment. The Society will honor Sanada for his exceptional roles in Japanese and Hong Kong action films and dramatic cinema for more than five decades, and his impact as a cultural ambassador for Japan. And with his critically acclaimed work as a producer and actor in the titular role in the FX historical drama series Shลgun, Sanada has reached a historic achievement as the first Japanese actor to win a Primetime Emmy Award.
โHiroyuki Sanada has been at the center point of compelling cinematic stories that use visual effects to enhance unforgettable storytelling for decades,โ said Kim Davidson, VES chair. โAs a longtime adviser for Hollywood films to ensure authentic depictions of Japanese history to serving as the creative force behind juggernaut drama Shลgun, Sanadaโs work has left an indelible mark on the global cultural landscape. We are thrilled to honor him with the VES Award for Creative Excellence!โ
Sanada is one of Japanโs most celebrated actors, earning two Japan Academy Film prizes, three Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actor and the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon from the Japanese government for his artistic developments, improvements, and accomplishments. With a career spanning over 50 years, he has appeared in more than 70 films, including The Twilight Samurai, which was nominated for an Academy Awardยฎ for Best Foreign Language Film.
Sanada most recently starred in and produced Shลgun, an FX series where he plays Lord Toranaga, a role that earned him two 2024 Emmy Awardsยฎ–for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama and Outstanding Drama Series as a producer, and a 2025 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Television Drama. Shลgun now holds the record for most Emmy wins in a single year in history. On the big screen, Sanada has appeared in major films such as John Wick: Chapter 4, Bullet Train, Army of the Dead, Mortal Kombat and Minamata. His earlier Hollywood roles include The Last Samurai, The Railway Man, The Wolverine, The White Countess, 47 Ronin, The City of Your Final Destination and Avengers: Endgame.
In television, Sanada has made notable appearances in Lost and Westworld. As a stage actor, he gained critical acclaim for his role as โThe Foolโ in King Lear, performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), earning him an honorary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for promoting British-Japanese cultural exchange.
Previous recipients of the VES Award for Creative Excellence include award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro; award-winning creators-executive producers-writers-directors David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; acclaimed visual effects supervisor Sheena Duggal; award-winning visual effects supervisor and DP Robert Legato, ASC; and actor William Shatner.
