Masahiro Motoki
Encyclopedia
Masahiro Motoki is a Japanese actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. He portrayed protagonist Daigo Kobayashi in Departures
Departures (film)
All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"Shine of Snow I" 1:12#"Nohkan" 3:10#"Kaisan" 0:53#"Good-Bye Cello" 2:16#"New Road" 1:15#"Model" 0:47#"First Contact" 1:51#"Washing" 0:34#"Kizuna I" 1:57#"Beautiful Dead I" 3:12#"Okuribito " 1:51...

, which won the 81st Academy Awards
81st Academy Awards
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2008 and took place February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST...

 for Best Foreign Language Film. His performance earned him the Award for Best Actor at the 2009 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an international cultural initiative of the State Government of Queensland, Australia, through Events Queensland, to honour and promote the films, actors, directors, and cultures of Asia-Pacific to a global audience and to realise the objectives of UNESCO to...

, at the 3rd Asian Film Awards
3rd Asian Film Awards
The 3rd Asian Film Awards was given in a ceremony on 23 March 2009 as part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival.-Best Film:*Winner: Tokyo Sonata **Forever Enthralled...

 and at the 32nd Japan Academy Prize.

Career

Motoki started his entertainment career as a member of boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...

  (name of the group is abbreviation of , which makes it an homonym of ) that made a debut in 1982 under the management of Johnny & Associates
Johnny & Associates
is a talent agency formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962. Johnny & Associates trains and promotes groups of male idols, collectively known as , in Japan.-1962–1989:...

. They were top idols for a good part of the eighties in Japan.

When the band broke up, he turned to acting. His first main role in film was as a Zen monk in comedy directed by Masayuki Suo
Masayuki Suo
is a Japanese film director. He is perhaps best known for his two Japan Academy Prize-winning films, 1992's Sumo Do, Sumo Don't and 1996's Shall We Dance?.According to Suo:- Life and career :...

. Motoki again starred in Suo's next film which practically introduced Motoki to the audience outside Japan. He then worked with directors such as Takashi Miike
Takashi Miike
is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...

  and Shinya Tsukamoto
Shinya Tsukamoto
is a Japanese film director and actor with a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad.-Biography:Tsukamoto started making movies at the age of 14, when his father gave him a Super 8 camera. He made a number of films, ranging...

 .

His breakthrough on the international stage came with the 2008 film directed by Yōjirō Takita
Yojiro Takita
Yōjirō Takita , is a Japanese filmmaker.-Career:Yōjirō Takita entered the film industry throughMukai Productions, where he served as an assistant director...

. He played cellist-turned-mortician protagonist in this dramatic film which received the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 81st Academy Awards
81st Academy Awards
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2008 and took place February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST...

. The film project started from Motoki's idea after he read a book written by an encoffinment professional.

Family

He married essayist and musician Yayako Uchida, the daughter of actress Kirin Kiki and rock'n roll singer Yuya Uchida
Yuya Uchida
is a Japanese actor and singer, who is regarded as a major figure in Japanese popular music.He began his music career in 1957, and became one of Japan's pivotal rock and roll figures. He became good friends with John Lennon after touring with The Beatles in 1966...

, in 1995. He adopted his wife's surname as a mukoyōshi
Mukoyōshi
A is a man who is adopted into a family as a daughter's husband, and who takes the family's surname. This is done to preserve the name and occupation of the family when there is no suitable male heir...

, thus his real name on the official registry is now Masahiro Uchida. They currently have two children.

Filmography

(1982) (1982) (1983) (1985) (1989) (1989) (1989) (1989) (1990) (1991) (1991) (1992) (1993) (1993) (1994) (1995) (1996) (1996) (1997) (1998) (1999) (2003) (2003) (2006) (voice only) (2007) (2008)

Television appearances

(1981) (1987) (1987) (1987) (1988) (1990) (1991) (1991) (1992) (1992) (1993) (1993) (1994) (1995) (1996) (1998) (1999) (2000) (2000) (2001) (2001) (2001) (2002) (2005) (2005) (2005) (2009)

External links


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! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" | Asian Film Awards
Asian Film Awards
The Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to recognize excellence of film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.-History:...


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