Tet Wada (born January 20, 1973) is a global

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

working in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Wada was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Early life

Wada was born in Minato-ku, Tokyo. He moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the age of 18 and obtained a degree in international marketing from

Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates und ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Career

After graduating, Wada worked in a marketing role at Donna Karan New York's headquarters. While he was a student, Wada worked as a researcher and house model for leather designer Anton, whose celebrity clients include

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

and

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

. New York-based modeling agency Q Models saw Wada and signed him on as its first Asian model. Wada was initially not interested in modeling and continued to work at Donna Karan, but his strong Asian features and cool persona shot him to modeling fame, and Wada resigned from his marketing job. Wada became the first Japanese male model to be featured in

Vogue Paris The French edition of ''Vogue'' magazine, formerly called ''Vogue Paris'', is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1920. History 1920–54 The French edition of ''Vogue'' was first issued on 15 June 1920, the first editor-in-chief ...

. He was cast with top model

Daria Werbowy Daria Werbowy (born 19 November 1983) is a Canadian retired fashion model born in Poland. She became a spokesmodel for the French beauty brand Lancôme in 2005. According to '' Forbes'', Werbowy has appeared on over 50 international ''Vogue'' ...

in a widely talked about photograph of the two kissing. Wada solidified his reputation as a leading Asian fashion artist and collaborated with world-famous photographers including Michael Thompson,

Terry Richardson Terrence Richardson (born August 14, 1965) is an American fashion and portrait photographer. He has shot advertising campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Aldo, Supreme, Sisley, Tom Ford, and Yves Saint Laurent among others, and also done work for ma ...

Markus Klinko Markus Klinko is an international fashion/celebrity photographer. and director, Klinko has photographed Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, David Bowie, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet, Will S ...

and Greg Lotus. Wada also acted in numerous TV shows and movies in the U.S. and a film he had a

leading role A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typic ...

in screened at the 2012 New York City Independent Film Festival. In 2012, Wada formally shifted his career focus to Asia. After shooting a film in Japan, he spent 3 months in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

as a main cast member of the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series Chocolat. (Chocolat aired in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, and other Asian countries in 2013.) Wada has appeared in multiple advertisement campaigns for global brands including

SONY , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Hewlett Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

, SK-II, L'Oreal,

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

Evian Evian ( , ; , stylized as evian) is a French company that bottles and commercialises mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. It produces over 2 billion plastic bottles per year. Today, Evia ...

Bacardi Bacardi Limited (; ) is one of the largest privately held, family-owned spirits companies in the world. Originally known for its Bacardi brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 an ...

, KOOL Cigarettes, Uniqlo, and GAP. He was booked by Uniqlo at the onset of the brand's expansion into the U.S. and European markets and appeared in its campaigns for four years. He has appeared in ads for brands in Asia and modeled for the Diane Shampoo series from 2013 to 2015 co-starring with

Yuriko Yoshitaka is a Japanese actress. She has played numerous roles in film and television, including lead roles in ''Snakes and Earrings'', ''Yurigokoro'', and the NHK asadora ''Hanako to Anne''. Career At age 16, her first year of high school, Yoshitaka join ...

. He also appeared in ad campaigns for Laundrin with Ai Tominaga and Fine Visual with Harisembon in 2018-19.

Personal life

*He is fluent in Japanese, English and Spanish and learned Chinese in Taipei after being cast in Chocolat. *He is often mistaken for Japanese-American due to living overseas for a long time and because of his toned physique, but he is 100% Japanese. He values living in different countries and learning about their culture and meeting their people. *He is big on correspondence and always sends a hand-written note to close friends and family members on their birthdays. He also updates his blogs frequently. *He was always interested in English and motorcycles since he was little, and watched English TV programs in earnest. According to his blog, he decided to move to the United States when he was in elementary school after watching the American movie Smokey and the Bandit II. *During elementary school, he mastered riding a miniature Yamaha Motocross. He still rides his vintage U.S.-manufactured Honda that he rode in New York that he arranged to send back to Japan. He has said, "A motorcycle is a man's life partner in pursuing his dreams." *He is friends with New York-based exotic skin and leather artist Anton, and studied fashion by going to his studio every day. It was Anton who convinced Wada to model for the first time. *He worships Bruce Lee's way of life. He has pursued multiple martial art forms including Aikido. He has followed a workout regimen for over 20 years. After reaching a point of doing over 1800 push-ups a day, in 2018, he switched his workout to doing pull-ups.　He has a 3rd-level blackbelt of Aikido, the Japanese martial art.

Filmography

*2005 Winter Butterfly *2006 One Night with You *2008 Dungeon *2008 Tenure of Edmond Fontier *2010 Sex and the City II *2010 Wall Street II *2011 Into the New World *2012

Premium Rush ''Premium Rush'' is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by David Koepp and written by Koepp and John Kamps. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, and Jamie Chung. It follows a bicycle messenger chased around ...

*2014 Fuja *2015 S Last Policeman-Recovery of Our Future *2016 Iyana Onna (Desperate Sunflowers) *2017 Kyou no Kirakun *2018 Impossibility Defense

Television

*2008

BLOODY MONDAY Bloody Monday was a series of riots on August 6, 1855, in Louisville, Kentucky, an election day, when Protestant mobs attacked Irish and German Catholic neighborhoods. These riots grew out of the bitter rivalry between the Democrats and the Nat ...

TBS Television (Japan) JORX-DTV, branded as is the flagship station of the Japan News Network (JNN), owned-and-operated by , a subsidiary of JNN's owner, TBS Holdings. It operates in the Kantō region and broadcasts its content nationally through TBS-JNN Networ ...

*2010

Royal Pains ''Royal Pains'' (stylized ℞oyalPains) is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016. The series was based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies. The ca ...

(USA) *2011 Lights Out (USA) *2014 Chocolat (Taiwan & 15 different Asian countries) *2015 Ashitamokitto, oishii gohan

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...

*2016 99.9-Keijisenmon Bengoshi

*2017 Utsubokazura no Yume

*2017 Anatagakokoni Irudakede

RKB Mainichi Broadcasting (stylized as ''rkb'') is a broadcasting station in Fukuoka, Japan, and it is affiliated with Japan Radio Network (JRN), Japan News Network (JNN) and TBS Network. It is owned by Mainichi Broadcasting System, Mainichi Shimbun and the Aso Grou ...

*2018

Boys Over Flowers Season 2 ''Boys Over Flowers Season 2'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoko Kamio. It is a sequel to Kamio's ''Boys Over Flowers'', The story takes place at Eitoku Academy, two years after the members of the F ...

*2022

Avataro Sentai Donbrothers is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' television drama, the 46th entry in Toei's long-running ''Super Sentai'' series and the third produced in the Reiwa era. The series is a semi-sequel to the previous entry, ''Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger'', and premiered o ...

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

*2022 Keishicho Kyokohankakari Higuchi Akira Season 2

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

*2022

Kurosagi (manga) is a Japanese manga written by Takeshi Natsuhara and illustrated by Kuromaru. The series is about a boy named Kurosaki who swindles only other professional swindlers known as . The series was adapted as an 11-episode TV drama that was ai ...

Season 2

Theatre

T. Schreiber Studio The T. Schreiber Studio is an acting studio located in New York City at 151 West 26th Street. History Established in 1969 by Terry Schreiber, the studio was originally run out of a loft on the Upper East Side, holding classes for just a handful o ...

New York, NY 「Fat Pig」（2014 by Peter Jensen ／Tom ） *

Stella Adler Studio of Acting The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler.

New York, NY 「The Performers」（2014. Paul Takacs ／Lee ） *

Stella Adler Studio of Acting The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler.

New York, NY 「Lone Star」（2014. Paul Takacs ／Roy ） *THE LAST SONG (2015.　The Galaxy Theatre Tokyo　by Ryosei Kajiwara／Kida) *RADIO 311 (2016.

Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1990 and is operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture. There is a concert hall with 1999 seats and a playhouse with 834 seats as ...

by Ryosei Kajiwara ／Tuxedo )

Radio

*Rocky's Music Salad (Jan 21, 2012）Shibuya FM, Tokyo *Sounds of Story Asada Jiro Library （Sep 13, 2014）

J-Wave J-Wave is a commercial radio station based in Tokyo, Japan, broadcasting on 81.3 FM from the Tokyo Skytree to the Tokyo area. J-Wave airs mostly music, covering a wide range of formats. The station is considered the most popular among FM broad ...

, Japan *ON THE PLANET (2015- 2017) Radio personality

Japan FM Network is a commercial radio network in Japan. It was founded in 1981. TOKYO FM is the main station of the network. Japan FM Network stations Special station Originally in JFN, but now independent FM Fuji was a member from 1988 to 199 ...

(

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

) *Go Around the World (April, 28, 2021) Rainbow Town FM, Tokyo *Go Around the World (Aug 24, 2022) Rainbow Town FM, Tokyo

Modeling

Television Commercials

SUBARU ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

Legacy (2007 USA) * UNIQLO (Japan, 2008 Korea) *

Mineral water (2011-13 Worldwide) * Eruca (2014 Japan) * Laundrin (2013-14 Japan) * Moist Diane series (2013-15 Japan) * Fine Visual (2018-2019 Japan)

Print Advertisements

* L'Oreal (USA, Canada, Europe) * SK-II (Worldwide) *

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Cybershot (USA) * Uniqlo (Japan、Korean、USA、England) * Gap (Japan、USA、Europe) *

Puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

(Germany) *

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...

(USA) *

RAZR V3 (USA) *

Rum (USA) * Kool Cigarettes (USA) *Kane Cigarettes (Spain) *

Baby Phat Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons is a privately held American apparel brand established in 1999 by fashion model, creative director, and entrepreneur, Kimora Lee Simmons. Initially launched as a womenswear offshoot of the menswear label, Phat F ...

Kimora Lee Simmons Kimora Lee Simmons (née Perkins) is an American model, business woman, fashion designer, venture capitalist, entrepreneur, TV personality, philanthropist and author. Early life Kimora Lee Perkins was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Stephen M. ...

(USA) *

House of Deréon House of Deréon was a ready-to-wear fashion line introduced by singer and actress Beyoncé and her mother/stylist Tina Lawson. The style and concept is inspired by three generations of women in their family, with the name "Deréon" paying tribu ...

by Beyonce (USA) *Baveria Beer (Netherlands)

Editorial

Vogue magazine ''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vogue ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

、

) Wada was the first Japanese male model to be featured in French Vogue. Madonna was on the

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of the issue. He was photographed kissing Canadian supermodel Daria Werbowy (photographer: Terry Richardson). * GQ (USA, Taiwan) * i-D (United Kingdom) *

TRACE Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Trace (Son Volt album), ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * Trace (Died Pretty album), ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * The Trace (album), ''The ...

(New York) *

SURFACE A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is t ...

(New York) *

ROLLING STONE ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

(1000th Special Collectors Issue) *

GLAMOUR Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

(United Kingdom) *FLAIR (Italia) *COMPLOT (Venezuela) * AUGUST MEN (Singapore) *

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

(Japan) * SUPER TOKYO by Leslie Kee etc.

Runway

Imitation of Christ In Christian theology, the imitation of Christ is the practice of following the example of Jesus.''A concise dictionary of theology'' by Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia 2004 page 115''Imitating Jesus: an inclusive approach to New Testament ...

(New York) *Matrix L'Oreal (New York) * Y R B (New York) *Romain Kapadia (New York) *Anton (New York) *

Dr. Martens Dr. Martens, also commonly known as Doc Martens, Docs or DMs, is a German-founded British footwear and clothing brand, headquartered in Wollaston in the Wellingborough district of Northamptonshire, England. Although famous for its footwear, Dr ...

(New York) *Pierrot (New York) * Yoko Devereaux (New York) *

Elisa Jimenez Elisa Jimenez (born 1965) is an interdisciplinary artist, primarily in fashion design but also including writing, drawing, painting, performance art, and art installation. Her main ongoing project is called "The Hunger World," a world of marione ...

(New York) etc.

Management

Wada moved back to Asia in 2012 and lived in Taiwan for over 3 years and has resided in Tokyo since 2015. He was represented by Q Models (New York & Los Angeles) http://qmanagementinc.com from 2001 to 2011 and by CAJ (2012–2018), and is now represented by Anthem-Pro http://anthem-pro.com/

References

External links

Tet Wada official website

Tet Wada Blog

Tet Wada Official Instagram
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wada, Tet 1973 births Living people Japanese male actors Japanese male models Male actors from Tokyo People from Tokyo