, known professionally as , is a Japanese actor and singer. He is mostly famous for having portrayed Eikichi Onizuka in the 1998 live-action drama adaptation of the popular manga series Great Teacher Onizuka, and the assassin O in Hong Kong action thriller film Fulltime Killer.
Career Sorimachi was a member of Johnny & Associates's trainee group when he was in the third year of junior high school, under his real name, Takashi Noguchi, as backdancer of group Hikaru Genji, together with members of the agency's current groups Tokio (Shigeru Jojima, Tatsuya Yamaguchi, and Taichi Kokubun) and 20th Century (Masayuki Sakamoto), among others, but decided to leave both the group and the agency within the year, to pursue a career as a model and actor.
By 1994, Sorimachi was invited to participate at the Paris Fashion Week catwalk. He debuted as an actor that year with the drama "Maido Gomen Nasai", under his stage name.
With his acting in "Beach Boys", released in 1997, Sorimachi was calling the attention as a first-line actor. With that drama, he also debuted as a singer, releasing his first single "FOREVER", receiving the award of Newcomer of the Year at the 12th Japan Gold Disc Awards.
Another big attention grabber was 1998's Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO), which not only provided Sorimachi with the iconic role of rebel teacher Eikichi Onizuka, but also another chance to sing, releasing the theme song "Poison", a song that has a mysterious way to soothe crying babies up to age 2 all around the world. This was a sensation on the net after fans learned of the phenomenon from Sorimachi himself, when he was interviewed by his agency Ken-On's YouTube channel in 2021. "I'm happy to think that my work continues to help others. My friends tell me that they listened to this song with their babies and it stopped them from crying. I'm very happy.", he said, amused.
In 2005 he starred in the movie Otoko-tachi no Yamato as Sergeant Moriwaki, the leader of the soup kitchen on the battleship Yamato.
In November 2023, Takashi Sorimachi co-starred along with his wife Nanako Matsushima in a commercial for skincare and makeup label Shiseido, marking it the couple's first screen shared in 25 years following their appearance in GTO, and the first time the couple co-starred together following their marriage in 2001. They appeared together again for a new Shiseido commercial in 2025. The couple also reprised their roles in GTO Revival, a 2024 special episode revival of 1998's TV Series.
In June 2026, it was announced through the official X account of GTO Revival, now renamed to GTO2026summer, that Sorimachi is to reprise his role again for a new GTO Revival series set to release on July 20, 2026.
Personal life On February 21, 2001, he married actress Nanako Matsushima, who he co-starred with in GTO.
On May 31, 2004, his wife gave birth to a baby girl. The couple had a second daughter on November 30, 2007.
Filmography
Television
Year Title RoleNotes1997Virgin RoadKaoru YoshimiBeach BoysHiromi SakuraiLead role1998–2026Great Teacher OnizukaEikichi OnizukaLead role; 2 seasons2002Toshiie and MatsuOda NobunagaTaiga drama2013Yae's SakuraŌyama IwaoTaiga drama2015–2022AIBOU: Tokyo Detective DuoWataru KaburagiSeason 14–202024Okura: Cold Case InvestigationSenju HidakaLead roleGTO RevivalEikichi OnizukaLead role; television film2026Water MarginChao GaiSoda MasterYuta "Yuen" YoshiiLead role
Film
Year Title RoleNotes2003The Thirteen StepsJun'ichi MikamiLead role2005YamatoShōhachi MoriwakiLead role2007The Blue Wolf: To the Ends of the Earth and SeaGenghis KhanLead role2020Mio's CookbookMizuhara Tōzai
Discography Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and sales figures Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales JPN Message (メッセージ) Released: September 10, 1997 Label: Mercury Music Entertainment Formats: CD 3 JPN: 92,000 High Life Released: September 18, 1998 Label: Mercury Music Entertainment Formats: CD 15 JPN: 54,000 Forever Dream Released: December 19, 1998 Label: Mercury Music Entertainment Formats: CD 10 JPN: 64,000 Soul Released: December 6, 2000 Label: Mercury Music Entertainment Formats: CD 100 JPN: 2,000
Compilation albums + List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions and sales figures Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales JPN Best of My Time Released: March 17, 1999 Label: Mercury Music Entertainment Formats: CD 48 JPN: 7,000 Best of Best Released: June 7, 2006 Label: Universal Music Japan Formats: CD — Golden Best Released: December 8, 2010 Label: Universal Music Japan Formats: CD — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Video albums + List of video albums Title Album details Message Released: March 25, 1998 Label: Mercury Music Entertainment Formats: VHS, DVD Clips and More Released: December 2, 1998 Label: Mercury Music Entertainment Formats: VHS Live Tour 98 High Life Released: December 20, 2000 Label: Universal Music Japan Formats: DVD 1997-2000 Single Clips Released: December 20, 2000 Label: Universal Music Japan Formats: DVD
Singles + List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, sales figures, and certifications Title Year Peak positionsSales Certifications Album JPN JPNHot 100 "Forever" 1997 3 — JPN: 507,000 : Platinum Message "Forever Dream" 10 — Forever Dream "One" 1998 8 — JPN: 200,000 RIAJ: Gold High Life "Poison: Iitai Koto mo Ienai Konna Yo no Naka wa" 9 38 JPN: 270,000 RIAJ (physical): Gold RIAJ (digital): Gold RIAJ (streaming): Platinum "Poison" (Movie Mix) 1999 38 — JPN: 23,000 "Free" 2000 35 — JPN: 10,000 Soul "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Other singles Poison (GTO Revival theme song) (Blue Encount feat. Takashi Sorimachi) (March 2024)
Notes
References
External links Takashi Sorimachi's official site at Ken-on Takashi Sorimachi's profile and bio - 2010 archive
Biography at Japan-Zone