Masahiro Motoki (本木 雅弘 ''Motoki Masahiro'', born December 21, 1965) is a Japanese actor. He portrayed protagonist Daigo Kobayashi in ''
Departures'', which won the
81st Academy Awards for
Best Foreign Language Film. His performance earned him the Award for Best Actor at the 2009
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia, sometimes called "Asia-Pacific Oscars". In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting a ...
, at the
3rd Asian Film Awards and at the 32nd
Japan Academy Prize.
Career
Motoki started his entertainment career as a member of
boy band
A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...
(the name of the band contains a portmanteau of and , a homonym of ). The band made its debut in 1982 under the management of
Johnny & Associates and was popular for a good part of the 1980s.
After the band broke up Motoki turned to acting. His first main role in a film was as a Zen monk in the comedy directed by
Masayuki Suo
is a Japanese people, Japanese film director. He is best known for his two Japan Academy Prize (film), Japan Academy Prize-winning films, ''Sumo Do, Sumo Don't'' (1992) and ''Shall We Dance? (1996 film), Shall We Dance?'' (1996).
Life and caree ...
. Motoki also starred in Suo's next film, , which practically introduced him to audiences outside Japan. He then worked with directors such as
Takashi Miike
is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over 100 feature film, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films span a variety of different genres, ranging from violent and surrealism, b ...
() and
Shinya Tsukamoto
is a Japanese filmmaker and actor. With a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad, Tsukamoto is best known for his body horror/Japanese cyberpunk, cyberpunk film ''Tetsuo: The Iron Man'' (1989), which is considered the defining ...
().
Motoki's breakthrough to international fame came with the 2008 film directed by
Yōjirō Takita, in which he plays a cellist turned mortician. The film received the
Best Foreign Language Film award at the
81st Academy Awards, as well as
six acting awards for Motoki. The film project started from an idea of Motoki's after he read a book written by a professional mortician.
Family
He married essayist and musician
Yayako Uchida, the daughter of actress
Kirin Kiki
was a Japanese actress for Japanese cinema and television.
Biography
Kiki was born on January 15, 1943, in Kanda, Tokyo. Her father was a master of the ''biwa'' lute and a former police officer. Her mother owned a cafe in Jinbōchō, Tokyo an ...
and rock'n roll singer
Yuya Uchida, in 1995. As a
mukoyōshi, he took his wife's surname, which is thus his legal surname.
The couple have three children.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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Asian Film Awards
The Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Asian Film Awards Academy to recognise the excellence of the film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.
History
On January 29, 2007, Wilfred Wong, the Chairman of Hong Kon ...
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motoki, Masahiro
1965 births
Japanese male actors
Johnny & Associates
Living people
Musicians from Saitama Prefecture
Taiga drama lead actors
Best Actor Asian Film Award winners
Asia Pacific Screen Award winners