child prodigy
A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...
, he has garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards for his performances across 25 years in the industry.
Kamiki debuted in a 1995 commercial. Four years later, he had a leading role in the television drama ''Good News'' (1999). His early film roles include ''
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 ...
's ''
The Great Yokai War
is a 2005 Japanese fantasy film directed by Takashi Miike, produced by Kadokawa Pictures and distributed by Shochiku. The film stars Ryūnosuke Kamiki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Chiaki Kuriyama, and Mai Takahashi.
The film focuses lar ...
Keishi Ōtomo
is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He is known for psychological thrillers and historical dramas, as well as adapting a variety of manga and novels to film, including ''The Vulture'' (2009), ''Ryōmaden'' (2010), and the ''Rurouni Ke ...
's ''
jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
'' As the Gods Will'' (all 2014).
In 2016, Kamiki voiced the lead in
Makoto Shinkai
, known as
, is a Japanese filmmaker and novelist. He is known for his anime feature films produced with CoMix Wave Films.
Shinkai began his career as a video game animator with Nihon Falcom in 1996, and gained recognition as a filmmaker with ...
's anime film ''
Your Name
is a 2016 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, produced by CoMix Wave Films, and distributed by Toho. Inspired by the frequency of natural disasters in Japan, the film depicts the story of high scho ...
'', for which he won the Best Actor Award at the 11th Seiyu Awards.
After this, he collaborated with Shinkai again on ''
Weathering with You
is a 2019 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, produced by CoMix Wave Films and distributed by Toho. It follows a 16-year-old high school boy, Hodaka Morishima, who runs away from his troubled rur ...
'' (2019) and '' Suzume'' (2022) as supporting characters. Kamiki later co-starred with Minami Hamabe in two productions released in 2023: the TV drama series '' Ranman'' and
Takashi Yamazaki
is a Japanese filmmaker and visual effects supervisor. Known for his blockbusters featuring advanced visual effects, he is considered a leading figure in the Cinema of Japan, Japanese film industry. Yamazaki is the recipient of multiple accolade ...
's ''
Godzilla Minus One
is a 2023 Japanese Epic film, epic ''kaiju'' film written, directed, and with visual effects by Takashi Yamazaki. It is the 37th film in the Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' franchise, Toho's 33rd ''Godzilla'' film, and the fifth installme ...
Kamiki was born on May 19, 1993.
He was fragile in infancy, spending months in intensive care, and at one point was given only a 1% chance of survival. He was not discharged from the hospital until he was seven months of age. Doctors believed that even if he survived, he would live his life with
disability
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...
. His mother came up with the idea of making him a child actor to leave concrete proof of his existence. His family consists of his grandparents, father, mother, an older sister (11 years older than him) and two nieces. His grandmother died in 2020.
Career
Kamiki began acting as a child actor after entering the Central Group talent agency. His first commercial was for a Toy Box when he was only two years old. He made his television debut with the 1999 drama ''Good News'' in a lead role. In 2001, when he was five years old, he was personally scouted by
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...
. Kamiki went on to voice characters in many of
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...
's feature films, giving him the title of the Ghibli Child. In 2004, he led the film ''Backdrop del mio Papa'', for which he won his first award. In the following years, he continued to work both as an actor and voice actor, winning awards every two years. Kamiki won the Rookie Award 2020 at the
Elan d'or Awards
The are awards presented annually by the All Nippon Producers Association (ANPA) in Japan to recognize achievements in domestic motion pictures and television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving im ...
, one of the most prestigious awards in Japan.
On March 16, 2021, Kamiki left Amuse and founded Co-LaVo along with
Takeru Satoh
is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his leading role as Kamen Rider Den-O (character)#Ryotaro Nogami, Ryotaro Nogami in the ''Kamen Rider Den-O'' franchise, and as Himura Kenshin in the live-action ''Rurouni Kenshin (film), Rurouni Kenshin ...
.
Other ventures
Kamiki wrote his first book ''Master's Cafe: The Fulfillment of Masters' Dreams'' in 2015. He approached fifteen professionals who are active on the front lines of various fields. In 2019, he made his stage debut with the play ''Beautiful: The Woman Who Met with God'', written and directed by Suzuki Matsuo. The following year, he debuted in multiple fields such as a radio host for ''All Night Nippon 0'' (ANN0), directing the music video for "I Treasure You" and opened his official
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel. He was also the official photographer for Satoh's 2021 calendar. In 2020, he started to conceptualize his annual calendar.
The 2021 calendar, one part of the 25th anniversary project, was started when "Novel characters I want Kamiki to play" video was posted on his Twitter, urging fans to suggest novel characters for him to portray. It garnered reactions from many celebrities, including voice actor Yuki Kaji and film director Shunji Iwai, among others. Finally, twelve novels were selected from the retweets to represent the themes for the twelve months. The lineup expanded from classics to more recent pieces. The calendar shot by the renowned photographer and film director Mika Ninagawa was a new attempt to play different roles for twelve works in the calendar. As Yonosuke in
Ihara Saikaku
was a Japanese poet and creator of the " floating world" genre of Japanese prose (''ukiyo-zōshi'').
His born name may have been Hirayama Tōgo (平山藤五), the son of a wealthy merchant in Osaka, and he first studied haikai poetry under a ...
's ''The Life of an Amorous Man'' for August, props such as smoke tubes are used in a colorful set to express the sex appeal of adults that has never been seen before by him, and the novel published in May cover, '' No Longer Human'' (as Ōba Yōzō), the darkness of human beings and the beauty of men are produced. Of the twelve novels so far, ''Mysterious Weather at Yanaka's Retro Camera Store'' (as Imamiya Ryūichi) and ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' (as Ophelia), including the prior mentioned works have been confirmed. For this project, Kamiki sported silver hair for the first time, with shooting taking two days to complete. The calendar was sold on December 25, 2020, to signify the 25 year anniversary.
Kamiki was invited to be the photographer for Takeru Satoh's 2021 Calendar. The concept of a "photobook-like calendar" featured natural expressions when spending time with friends—with a sense of distance that can be taken by an old friend. It is a special calendar taken in places where Satoh wants to go with Kamiki and where he would like to take pictures of him, such as driving the car, in Shibuya and Harajuku, in maid cafes, etc. He took over eight thousand photos. Some are excluded in the desk calendar. He wants to have a photo exhibition and albums.
In 2022, Kamiki excavated one of the world's oldest
ichthyosaur
Ichthyosauria is an order of large extinct marine reptiles sometimes referred to as "ichthyosaurs", although the term is also used for wider clades in which the order resides.
Ichthyosaurians thrived during much of the Mesozoic era; based on fo ...
fossils in Minamisanriku in his first fossil excavation during the filming of ''From Miyagi''. The fossil is on display at the Minasan Museum.
Artistry and public image
In the award-winning ''
The Great Yokai War
is a 2005 Japanese fantasy film directed by Takashi Miike, produced by Kadokawa Pictures and distributed by Shochiku. The film stars Ryūnosuke Kamiki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Chiaki Kuriyama, and Mai Takahashi.
The film focuses lar ...
'', he overcame his fear of swimming. For his role in ''Kokoro no Ito'', he learned sign language and the piano. In 2022, he was voted the Most Powerful Actor in Japan.
Filmography
Films
Live-action
Animation
Television
Live-action
Television Animation
Theater
Dubbing
; Live-action
; Animation
Awards and nominations
, -
, 2004
, ''Backdrop del mio Papa''
, The Japanese Movie Critics Awards 2004: Rookie of the Year
,
, -
, 2006
, ''The Great Yokai War''
, The 29th Japan Academy Film Prize: Newcomers of the Year
,
, -
, 2007
, ''Tantei Gakuen Q (2007)''
, 54th Japanese Drama Academy Awards: Lead Actor
,
, -
, 2011
, ''Kokoro no Ito''
,
Seoul International Drama Awards
Seoul International Drama Awards (), simply known as SDA, is an annual award ceremony based in Seoul, South Korea which honors excellence in television drama
In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrat ...
: Popular Actor
,
, -
, 2011
, ''Kokoro no Ito''
, Mipcom Buyers' Award for Japanese Drama
,
, -
, 2011
, ''Kokoro no Ito''
, 47th Hugo TV Awards Feature Film Category Gold Award
,
, -
, 2011
, ''Kokoro no Ito''
, 51st Monte-Carlo Television Festival: Best Actor
,
, -
, 2011
, ''Kokoro no Ito''
, 51st Monte-Carlo Television Festival: The AMADE Prize
,
, -
, 2012
, ''The Kirishima Thing'' and ''SPEC: Heaven''
, Tama Cinema Forum: Best Emerging Actor
,
, -
, 2012
, ''The Kirishima Thing''
, 37th Hochi Film Award: Best Actor
,
, -
, 2014
, ''Fathers''
, Galaxy Monthly Awards: TV
,
, -
, rowspan="3" , 2013
, rowspan="3" , ''The Family Game''
, The 17th
Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix
The Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix is an award given by the Nikkan Sports newspaper to Japanese television dramas.
The award is determined by viewer votes.
The 14th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix was canceled due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake an ...
Spring: Best Supporting Actor
,
, -
, The 77th The Television Drama Academy: Best Supporting Actor
,
, -
, The 23rd TVLife Drama Award 2013: Best Supporting Actor
,
, -
, 2015
, ''Poison Berry in My Brain'' and ''
Bakuman
is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, the same creative team responsible for ''Death Note''. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from Augus ...
''
, 40th Hochi Film Awards
,
, -
, 2015
, Popularity
, Seoul International Drama Awards: Asian Stars
,
, -
, 2015
, ''The Girl's Speech''/''Samurai Teacher''
, TV Navi's Drama Awards 2015
,
, -
, 2016
, ''Too Young to Die!''
, Fantasia Film Festival: Best Asian Feature Silver
,
, -
, 2016
, ''Too Young To Die!''
, Rotterdam International Film Festival: Netpac Award
,
, -
, 2016
, ''Too Young To Die!''
, New York Asian Film Festival: Audience Award
,
, -
, 2017
, ''March Comes in Like a Lion''
, 42nd Hochi Film Award: Best Actor
,
, -
, 2017
, ''Your Name''
, The 11th Seiyu Awards: Best Lead Actor
,
, -
, 2018
, ''Detective Yugami''
, The 10th CONFiDENCE AWARD DRAMA PRIZE: Best Supporting Actor
,
, -
, 2018
, ''Detective Yugami''
, The 95th Drama Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor
,
, -
, 2020
, ''Idaten: The Epic Marathon to Tokyo''
, The 44th
Elan d'or Awards
The are awards presented annually by the All Nippon Producers Association (ANPA) in Japan to recognize achievements in domestic motion pictures and television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving im ...
: Best Producer
,
, -
, 2020
, ''Idaten: The Epic Marathon to Tokyo'' and ''Fortuna's Eye''
, The 44th
Elan d'or Awards
The are awards presented annually by the All Nippon Producers Association (ANPA) in Japan to recognize achievements in domestic motion pictures and television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving im ...
Blue Ribbon Awards
The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan, established in 1950 by , established under the name of the "Association of Tokyo Film Journalists Award", which was formed mainly by film reporters from th ...