is a Japanese actor.

Biography

Born in

Yao, Osaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 263,436 in 126509 households and a population density of 6300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is the birthplace of the Kawachi o ...

, he studied at

Shimizudani High School is a prestigious Japanese public co-educational senior high school (secondary school), located in Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Japan. Overview Shimizudani is one of the oldest high schools in Osaka with a history of over 100 years. The school was founde ...

, and eventually dropped out of

Kwansei Gakuin University , colloquially known as , is a private, non-denominational Christian coeducational university in Japan. The university offers Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees to around 25,000 students in almost 40 different disciplines across 11 u ...

to pursue a career in acting. He began by joining the sho-gekijo theatrical troupe "Under Thirty," which was known for the membership of another famous actor, Watanabe Eriko, at the time. Though like many new theatre actors at the time, he struggled to make ends meet until he got his first big break in 1992, in the television drama ''

Night Head ''Night Head Genesis'' is a Japanese anime television series adapted from the 1992 TV drama ''Night Head''. It began airing on the anime television network Animax on July 27, 2006. The series was licensed for a North American release on Febru ...

'' alongside

Shinji Takeda , born December 18, 1972, is a Japanese actor, talent and saxophone player. He has had notable roles in such works as '' The Incite Mill'', ''Kyō Kara Hitman'' and ''Tokyo Eyes''. Filmography Film Television Dubbing *'' Rambo: Last Blood'', ...

, as one of two brothers with supernatural powers. In 1993 he won the "Newcomer of the Year" award for his drama ''Kira Kira Hikaru'', and the Popularity Award in 1996 for his work in the drama ''

Love Letter A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings. History One of the oldest references to a lo ...

''. He also won the Japanese Academy Award as best supporting actor three times, the

Hochi Film Award The are film-specific prizes awarded by the ''Hochi Shimbun , previously known as , is a Japanese-language daily sports newspaper. In 2002, it had a circulation of a million copies a day. It is an affiliate newspaper of ''Yomiuri Shimbun''. ...

for ''

'', '' No Way Back'' and ''Hanako''.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

Video games

* ''

Lost Odyssey is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Feelplus and planned by Mistwalker for the Xbox 360. It was published by Microsoft Game Studios in 2007 in Japan and 2008 in western territories. The story follows Kaim, one of a select group of ...

'' (2008)

References

External links

* 1962 births Living people Japanese male film actors Japanese male television actors Male actors from Osaka People from Yao, Osaka 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors {{Japan-film-actor-stub