High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Last Samurai is a 2003 American epic drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay based on a story by John Logan. The film was inspired by a project developed by writer and director Vincent Ward. Ward became executive producer on the film working in development on it for nearly four years and after approaching several directors (Coppola, Weir), he interested Edward Zwick. The film went ahead with Zwick and was shot in Ward's native New Zealand. The film stars Tom Cruise (who also co-produced) in the role of American soldier Nathan Algren whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in the Empire of Japan in 1876 and 1877. Other actors include Ken Watanabe, Shin Koyamada, Hiroyuki Sanada, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly and Tony Goldwyn.