Hiroyuki Sanada has been at it in the movie industry for the better part of fifty years. The actor, who started acting at the tender age of five, has worked on over 113 projects, movies, TV shows, and voice acting roles included.

Sanada has gathered a massive following over the years, with fans and critics alike breaking down his every acting role, every method he uses on the screen, and every project he takes on.

One thing neither the fans nor the media know much about, though, is his personal life. It has been said that the actor used to have a wife and even had children with her.

But, how true are the things said about his family life?

Hiroyuki Sanada’s Ex Wife, Children, and Short-Lived Marriage

When no major outlet reports about a person, the next place you turn to for information is the fans. And that is where we turn to, too, for Sanada.

Some sources, like IMDb, Filmreference, and Encyclopedia, report  Sanada was once a married man. He was married to Satomi Tezuka, a big actress in her own right.

They reportedly got married in 1990 and had two children during their time together. Their short-lived marriage ended in 1997 when the couple got a divorce.

A few outlets claim it was Tezuka who got their sons' custody after the divorce.

Sanada might have kept their kids away from acting for the early years of their life, as that was the advice he got when he was little. As they grew older, however, they apparently chose their own ways.

"My manager and my parents said to me that if I want to be an actor in the future that I should spend more time as a normal kid," Sanada told NBC News in 2017. Cool Japan Videos, in their short bio about Sanada, claim both his sons were pursuing acting as of September 2020.

Hiroyuki Sanada's ex wife, Satomi Tezuka, and their children.

Hiroyuki Sanada's ex wife, Satomi Tezuka, and their children. (Photo: Sanada Corner)

Whereabouts of Tezuka and their two sons are scarce, but on an internet forum about Sanada called Sanada Corner, a fan posted what they claimed to be a picture of Tezuka with her two boys, who were probably teenagers when the picture was taken.

Hiroyuki Sanada’s Dating Rumors and Girlfriends

After his marriage ended, as Japan Zone notes in their piece about the Bullet Train actor, Sanada developed a reputation "as a playboy."

He has reportedly dated Riona Hazuki, Kyoka Suzuki, and Yuki Amami, all actresses and all younger than him, though no pictures exist of the actor with any of his reported girlfriends.