Born Takeshi Kitano (January 18, 1947) is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, actor, tap dancer, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, widely acknowledged both in Japan and abroad for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. Kitano is dubbed "the true successor" to influential filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Some of Kitano's earlier films are dramas about Yakuza gangsters or the police. Many of his films express a bleak or nihilistic philosophy, are controversial, but also filled with humor and affection for their characters. While formally disguised as dark comedies or gangster movies, his films raise moral questions and provide food for thought.