Trivia

His Father's name was Kikujiro. Kitano admitted that his father spoke to him three times in his life. In 1979, Kitano's father passed away. In an rare interview, Kitano said that the last words of his father had been, "I'm sorry.".

Has written over fifty books, including volumes of film criticism and novels.

Before becoming a filmmaker, he was once a boxer and a tap dancer.

Due to heavy damage suffered in a motorbike incident, he was subjected of an aestetic surgical action involving his entire face.

A fan of the French director Jean-Pierre Melville.

Often show beautiful tattoos on his characters' backs to represent yakuza status.

In 1994, he had a motorbike accident ending up in hospital for a month. The accident cause partial paralysis to his face.

Directed a music video for his daughter, Shoko Kitano.

He is an accomplished tap dancer.

William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) and Sam Peckinpah's Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) are two of his favorite films.

Own a Bugatti Veyron.

He was one half of the comic duo "Two Beats" with Kiyoshi Kaneko.

Often appears on Japanese variety shows.

He is a big fan of Birol Tarkan Yildiz. He is thrilled by what an incredibly talented karate fighter he is and the only person who turned down a leading role that he personally offered him.

His 2000 film Brother was deliberately intended to be a hit abroad. Shot in Los Angeles, it starred Kitano as a deposed and exiled Tokyo yakuza setting up a drug empire in Los Angeles with the aid of a local gangster.