Ken Takakura, the renowned veteran Japanese actor famous for his stoic hero roles on screen, has died of lymphoma, Associated Press reports.

He was 83.

Takakura passed away Nov. 10 at a hospital in Tokyo, where he was undergoing treatment for the disease, a statement from his office reveals.

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Takakura is well-remembered among foreign moviegoers as the police inspector in Ridley Scott's Black Rain in 1989.

Takakura's streetwise swagger and tough-guy image was honed after watching yakuza turf battles in the black market and by racketeering in postwar Fukuoka Prefecture, which has been covered in one of his most unforgettable films, Showa Zankyo-den (Remnants of Chivalry in the Showa Era).

A graduate of Meiji University in Tokyo, Takakura became an actor by chance when, in 1955 while looking for a managerial job he got curious about the audition going on at the Toei Film Company, he decided to get inside. The rest was then history.

He was launched as an actor in Japanese films in 1956 and immediately hit stardom as a star in many yakuza films, including "Abashiri Prison" in the 1960s.

He was also remarkable in the many detective stories and dramas, including The Yellow Handkerchief (1977) and Railroad Man (1999), the latter earning him the best actor at the Montreal World Film Festival.

His death was immediately picked by media outlets throughout Japan.

Takakura was born Goichi Oda in Fukuoka, southern Japan in 1931.

His last movie appearance was in Dearest (2012), having appeared in over 200 films.

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