When a punctured eardrum ended Japanese born Sessue Hayakawa's original dream of a naval career, he enrolled at the University of Chicago to study banking. During a 1914 trip to Los Angeles, Hayakawa was lured into acting and went on to become one of the great film idols of the early motion picture era, rivaling Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin in popularity. Hayakawa is best remembered today for his portrayal of the brutal Colonel Saito in the 1957 British film "The Bridge on the River Kwai," for which he received an Oscar nomination at age 68. In this portrait style photograph, Hayawaka looks down and away from the camera with a pensive expression.