- In his audition for the film Sixteen Candles (1984), he went through the entire process pretending he did not speak any English, imitating a Korean friend. After he was finished, he eloquently thanked the casting director in perfect English. He was soon cast.
- His mother was interned by the United States during World War II.
- For Mulan (1998), he had another person do his singing voice because his own voice was too good.
- Began his show business career as a street singer.
- Grew up in San Francisco's Chinatown.
- Studied at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California, USA.
- In his role in the original cast of the Stephen Sondheim musical, "Pacific Overtures", he performed the song, "Someone in a Tree". Watanabe is arguably best-known as the character, "Long Duk Dong", from Sixteen Candles (1984), in which he famously leaped out of a tree and onto Michael Schoeffling's character, "Jake".
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