Kitano began acting in films in 1981 and won international acclaim for the first time in Nagisa Oshima's MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE in which he played the sadistic POW camp commander Sgt. Hara.

He continued work in TV and stared in several feature films in Japan. But it wasn't until 1989, when he was cast in the yakuza thriller VIOLENT COP, did he get his first directorial experience. Originally set to play lead role, Kitano took over helm after the original director fell ill.

After Violent Cop, Kitano wrote and directed BOILING POINT in 1990. In 1991 came A SCENE AT THE SEA a humorous but heart wrenching love story between two deaf-mute outcasts.

In 1993, Kitano finally reached international critical acclaim for his films when SONATINE was selected in A CERTAIN REGARD at the Cannes Film Festival. After Sonatine, Kitano made his first comedy in 1994 GETTING ANY? The film was both a critical and box office failure. Later that same year, Kitano nearly died after crashing his moped in to a telephone pole. Following these bleak events Kitano took a break form TV and comedy to focus on film.

In 1996 Kitano made triumphant comeback with both domestic and international audiences with his poignant and ironic coming of age drama KIDS RETURN

The high point, so far, in his film career came in 1997 when he took home the much coveted Golden Lion in Venice for his international acclaimed crime/melodrama FIREWORKS (HANA-BI). Recent films directed by Kitano include KIKUJIRO, and BROTHER

Today Kitano continues to maintain an incredibly diverse career. He continues to produce and star in dozens of TV programs, writes poetry and fiction, publishes articles of wit and criticism, and is an accomplished painter.