is a Japanese former actor, known for his break-out performance in the controversial movie '' Battle Royale''.

Career

His break-out performance was in the controversial movie '' Battle Royale'', in which he played the

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaig ...

Hiroki Sugimura The following is a list of characters that appear in the novel, manga and film versions of ''Battle Royale''. Primary characters Shuya Nanahara * Assigned weapon: Army Knife (novel and manga); Pot lid (film) Boy #15 has witnessed a good de ...

(Boy #11). Takaoka then moved from muted heroics to active

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actio ...

ism in portrayals of the grittier side of teenage violence, such as in ''

Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...

''. The film was based on the events of

Junko Furuta was a Japanese high school student who was abducted, raped, tortured and then subsequently murdered. Her case was called the , due to her body being discovered in a concrete drum. The abuse was mainly perpetrated by four male teenagers (Hiros ...

's sadistic murder by four youths in 1988. In 2006, for his role as the introspective Honda in ''Spring Snow'', Takaoka gained a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the

Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan. The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers. In 1961, the six major Japane ...

, a Japanese film event judged by critics.

Public image

In July 2011, Takaoka made headlines and attracted much controversy for several

comments Comment may refer to: * Comment (linguistics) or rheme, that which is said about the topic (theme) of a sentence * Bernard Comment (born 1960), Swiss writer and publisher Computing * Comment (computer programming), explanatory text or informa ...

against the airing of Korean dramas on Japanese television. He stated on Twitter "I used to be indebted to Fuji TV in the past, but now I'm suspicious that they may actually be a Korean network. I'm questioning about what country I'm in as well. It offends me. If anything related to Korea is on broadcast, I just turn the TV off. It troubles me because I feel like I am being brainwashed", and "Since we're in Japan, I would like to see Japanese programs. I get scared every time I hear the word, ' Hallyu'". His comments resulted in a strong public backlash due to his previous role as a

Zainichi Korean comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...

in the film ''Pacchigi'' as well as public protests against the airing of Korean dramas against

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 S ...

. Due to the controversy about his statements he was reportedly dropped from his agency following his tweets and his marriage to Aoi Miyazaki whom he stated shared his views was reportedly in jeopardy. However, he later apologized for his statements and retracted his claims of Miyazaki sharing his views.

Personal life

On June 15, 2007, he married Japanese actress

Aoi Miyazaki is a Japanese actress. She is known for her roles in '' Nana'' and '' Virgin Snow''. Career Miyazaki started working in the entertainment industry at the age of four. Initially she appeared mostly in commercials, magazine advertisements, and ...

, after dating her for seven years. In December 2011, she divorced him. On August 3, 2020, he announced his retirement from acting. in 2021, he then became a boxer

Filmography

*'' Battle Royale'' as Hiroki Sugimura (2000) *''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

'' as Manabu Mizuuchi (2001) *'' Akashia no michi'' (2001) *''

Red Shadow is a Japanese superhero ninja featured in several manga and anime, as well as live-action movies and TV shows. Akakage first appeared in the 1967 TV series, ''Kamen no Ninja Akakage'' which was produced by Toei Company Ltd. Character ...

'' (2001) *'' Blue Spring'' (2001) *'' 17-sai'' (2003) *'' Spirit'' (2004) *''

'' as Tatsuo Oosugi (2004) *''

Break Through! is a 2005 Japanese film directed by Kazuyuki Izutsu. Plot Romeo, A.K.A. Kosuke Matsuyama (Shun Shioya), is a second-year high school student. A nice, normal, nonviolent type, he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a rampaging crowd of Kor ...

'' as An-sung Lee (2004) *'' Tetsujin 28: The Movie'' (2005) *'' Spring Snow'' as Shigekuni Honda (2005) *'' Sugar and Spice'' as Yano (2006) *'' How to Become Myself'' (Ashita no watashi no tsukurikata) as Hiroyuki Tamura (2007) *'' Heat Island'' (Hîto Airando) (2007) *''

Crows Zero , also known as ''Crows: Episode 0'', is a 2007 Japanese action film based on the manga ''Crows'' by Hiroshi Takahashi. The film was directed by Takashi Miike with a screenplay by Shōgo Mutō, and stars Shun Oguri, Kyōsuke Yabe, Meisa Kuroki, ...

'' as Izaki Shun (2007) *'' Roulette in the Blue Sky'' (Aozora no ruretto) (2007) *'' GS Wonderland'' (2008) *'' Rookies the Movie: Graduation'' (Rookies: Sotsugyô) (2009) *'' Crows Zero 2'' (Kurôzu zero II) (2009) *'' Be Sure to Share'' (Chanto Tsutaeru) (2009) *'' Saru Lock The Movie'' (2010) *'' Sankaku'' (2010) *'' Zatoichi: The Last'' (2010) *'' 13 Assassins'' (2010) *'' What a Wonderful Life!!'' (Wararaifu!!) (2011) *''

Bokura ga Ita is a Japanese romance manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Obata. The story follows the relationship between Motoharu Yano and Nanami Takahashi, starting from their teenage years and continuing into their early twenties. It was seri ...

'' as Masafumi Takeuchi (2012) *''Dare to Stop Us'' as Nagisa Oshima (2018)

TV

* '' Taiyō no Kisetsu (2002)'' (Season of the Sun) (2002) * ''

Proof of the Man is a Japanese film from 1977 directed by Junya Satō, starring George Kennedy and Yūsaku Matsuda. It was produced by Haruki Kadokawa. Plot A young black man from New York named Johnny Hayward (Joe Yamanaka) receives a sum of money. He buys ...

'' (Ningen no Shomei) (Fuji TV / 2004) * '' Slow Dance'' (Fuji TV / 2005) * ''

Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower in the Shiba-koen district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, built in 1958. At , it is the second- tallest structure in Japan. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and ...

'' (2007) * ''

Kaze no hate Kaze may refer to: * KAZE, an American radio station located in Texas * KAZe, a Japanese video game developer * Kazé, a French publishing company * Kaze-Forces for the Defense of Democracy, a political party in Burundi Fiction * Kaze (television ...

'' (NHK / 2007) * '' Mop Girl'' (Moppu Gāru) (TV Asahi / 2007) * '' The Negotiator'' (TV Asahi / 2008) * '' Rookies'' (TBS / 2008) * '' Saru Lock'' (NTV / 2009) * '' Real Clothes'' (Riaru kurôzu) (Fuji TV / 2009) * '' The Negotiator 2'' (Koshonin 2) (TV Asahi / 2009)

Theatre work

Takaoka is also a stage actor and appeared in ''

The Lieutenant of Inishmore ''The Lieutenant of Inishmore'' is a black comedy by Martin McDonagh, in which the 'mad' leader of an Irish National Liberation Army splinter group discovers that his cat has been killed. It has been produced twice in the West End and on Broa ...

'' (Wee Thomas) by

Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh (; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright, screenwriter, producer, and director. Born and brought up in London, he is the son of Irish parents. He is known as one of the most acclaimed modern playwrights whose ...

in June 2006.E+ Theatrix: interview with the cast/crew of The Lieutenant of Inishmore
*''

Pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

'' (2003) *''

Bent Bent may refer to: Places * Bent, Iran, a city in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran * Bent District, an administrative subdivision of Iran * Bent, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Rijnwoude, the Netherlands * Bent County, Colo ...

'' (2004)

References

External links

* *
News at Manilla Bulletin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takaoka, Sosuke 1982 births Living people Japanese male film actors Japanese male stage actors Japanese male television actors Male actors from Tokyo Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan 21st-century Japanese male actors Former Stardust Promotion artists