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, 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 (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. 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 () and Shinya Tsukamoto ().
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 , the daughter of actress Kirin Kiki 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 Year Title RoleNotes1989Fancy DanceYōhei ShionoLead roleFour Days of Snow and BloodHisashi Kōno1992Sumo Do, Sumo Don'tShuhei YamamotoLead role1994RampoKogoro AkechiLead role1995GoninJunichi Mitsuya1996Tokiwa: The Manga ApartmentHiroo TeradaLead roleShall We Dance?Hiromasa Kimoto1998The Bird People in ChinaWadaLead role1999GeminiYukio Daitokuji / SutekichiLead role2003Spy SorgeHotsumi Ozaki2006TekkonkinkreetSnake (voice)2007The Longest Night in ShanghaiNaoki MizushimaLead role; Chinese-Japanese film2008DeparturesDaigo KobayashiLead role2015The Big BeeKōichi MishimaThe Emperor in AugustEmperor Hirohito2016The Long ExcuseSachio KinugasaLead role2020The Works and DaysNPCUSA/Sweden/Japan/UK film2024TouchBritish-Icelandic filmSilence of the SeaRyūji TsuyamaLead role2026The Samurai and the PrisonerAraki MurashigeLead roleThe Man Who Carried the Voices of AugusttTamotsu TsujiharaLead role
Television Year Title RoleNotes1981Sempachi SenseiSubaru Morita1991TaiheikiChigusa TadaakiTaiga drama1998Tokugawa YoshinobuTokugawa YoshinobuLead role; Taiga drama2009–11Clouds Over the HillAkiyama SaneyukiLead role2012Man of DestinyRyōta YuminariLead role2019Giri/HajiFukuharaBritish television series2020Awaiting KirinSaitō DōsanTaiga drama2021Ryūkō KanbōNaoya ShigaLead role; television film2023Friendship: Seiji Hirao and Shinya YamanakaSeiji HiraoLead role; television film2025AsuraTakao SatomiThe Man Who Carried the Voices of AugustTamotsu TsujiharaLead role; television film
References
External links
! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" |Asian Film Awards |-