Ryō Yoshizawa

is a Japanese actor. His breakthrough roles include Okita Sogo in the ''Gintama'' live-action films, King Eisei/Hyou in '' Kingdom'' and Sano Manjiro in the '' Tokyo Revengers (film).'' He is known for his expressive eyes and natural acting style. He is also known for his roles in ''tokusatsu'', including his role as Ryusei Sakuta/Kamen Rider Meteor in ''Kamen Rider Fourze''.

Early life

Yoshizawa was born on February 1, 1994, in Tokyo, Japan. His family consists of his mother, father, an older brother, and two younger brothers. Yoshizawa is skilled in second dan in kendo, which he has been practicing for over nine years.

Career

Yoshizawa won the "Right-on" award at the Amuse National Audition, also known as "Amuse National Audition 2009 THE PUSH! Man," according to a Facebook post in 2009. He competed against 31,514 other applicants. It was said that Yoshizawa's mother who pushed him to join the audition and applied for him by herself.

In the beginning of 2011, Yoshizawa made his entertainment debut in ''Sign'' with other amuse actors like Dori Sakurada and Takuya Uehara. In the second half of that year, he starred in ''Kingyo Club''. He went on to portray Ryūsei Sakuta in ''Kamen Rider Fourze'', making his debut in the seventeenth episode. Yoshizawa was interviewed on his role by '' Uchūsen'', the interview being featured in the 135th issue. Yoshizawa revealed his inspiration behind his character's split personality and his first experience in ADR recording. Yoshizawa compared his character to that of Light Yagami from ''Death Note''. He also watched Bruce Lee films as a reference, as his character frequently performed the trademark ''kiai'' of when firing punches or kicks.

In 2017, he portrayed the role of Shinsengumi 1st Division Captain Okita Sougo in the 2017 live-action film of the popular manga series ''Gintama'', and reprised the role in the sequel, ''Gintama 2'', in 2018. In 2018 alone, he actively participated in acting, appearing in 8 movies, 2 dramas, and 1 play. Among them, ''River's Edge'', a film of the same name based on Kyoko Okazaki's manga, was submitted to the Panorama section of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival , and appeared on the red carpet at an international film festival for the first time with director Isao Yukisada and actress Fumi Nikaido. In addition, for this work, he won the Best New Actor Award at the 10th TAMA Film Festival, the Best New Actor Award at the 40th Yokohama Film Festival, and the Best New Actor Award at the 42nd Japan Academy Awards.

In NHK's 100th serial morning drama, ''Natsuzora'', which aired from April 2019, Yoshizawa played the role of Yamada Tenyo, a character based on the real-life Kanda Nissho, a childhood friend of the protagonist Natsu and a Hokkaido painter. He was selected through an audition of over 2,500 people, and as a leading and supporting actor who has a great influence on the life of the main character, he gave a passionate performance and beautifully portrayed the life of a local painter who loved the soil and lived buried in the soil with transparent acting reminiscent of the great nature of Hokkaido. Since the airing of the 23rd week, in which his character Tenyo last appears, 'Tenyo-kun' has appeared in real-time trends on Twitter, to the point where people are suffering from 'Tenyo-kun aftereffects'. His excellent performance in Natsuzora earned him the honor of the 2019 Elan d'or Awards for Rookie of the Year.

In July 2019, it was announced that Yoshizawa had been selected to play the main character Shibusawa Eiichi in NHK's 60th taiga drama, ''Reach Beyond the Blue Sky'', which is scheduled to air from February until December 2021. Yoshizawa is the first Heisei-born actor to play the lead role in taiga drama, he was selected through an offer from NHK and it was said that there were many recommendations from the production team who worked with him on ''Natsuzora''.

Yoshizawa also attempted voice acting for the first time, performing two roles in his first attempt at Super Peace Busters' new work, ''Her Blue Sky''. With this work, Yoshizawa attended the Sitges Film Festival, where the work was submitted, along with director Tatsuyuki Nagai and actress Riho Yoshioka. He also voiced original character, Rody Soul, for third movie version of the animation series ''My Hero Academia'', which was released on August 6, 2021. Yoshizawa alongside actress Aoi Miyazaki starred in a Netflix mystery & romance comedy movie, ''In Love and Deep Water'' or ''Crazy Cruise'', that premiered in November 2023 which Yuji Sakamoto was the screenwriter.

From October 2022, Yoshizawa took on his first lead role in Getsuku (Golden Time) drama, '' PICU: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit'', playing the role of Takeshiro Shikota. It is also his first doctor character since his debut and the average viewer rating of the drama was 8.5%. He reprised his role for the special drama and spin-off of ''PICU: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit'', which aired in April 2024.

Yoshizawa was questioned by the police after an incident on December 30, 2024, where he had drunkenly entered a neighbor's apartment without permission to use their restroom. As a result, Asahi Beer dropped their endorsement deal with him and Shochiku delayed ''Baban Baban Ban Vampire'' indefinetly. On the other hand, Iris Ohyama announced that it would continue its contract with him, earning praise online.

Yoshizawa stars in Lee Sang-il's film ''National Treasure'' or ''Kokuho'', which is to be released on June 6th 2025. He is playing Kikuo Tachibana, a yakuza's son who performs as a woman in kabuki. The film is based on the novel by Shuichi Yoshida and tells the story of two men from different backgrounds who become rivals in kabuki, one a yakuza's son and the other a kabuki heir, in postwar Japan. ''National Treasure'' has been officially selected for the 57th Directors' Fortnight at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.

Following ''Natsuzora'', Yoshizawa was announced to join another morning drama, ''The Ghost Writer's Wife'',https://www.nhk.jp/g/blog/ciobgxcovt/ as Yuichi Nishikori, an English teacher who will have a major impact on the lives of the heroines Toki Matsuno (Akari Takaishi) and Heaven (Tommy Bastow). His second morning drama is scheduled to air in the second half of 2025.

Filmography

TV series

Films

Others

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official profile

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshizawa, Ryo
1994 births
Living people
Japanese male film actors
Japanese male television actors
21st-century Japanese male actors
Amuse Inc. talents
21st-century Japanese singers
21st-century Japanese male singers
Taiga drama lead actors