Masahiro Motoki
Birth nameMasahiro Motoki (本木雅弘)
Birth date21 December 1965 (age 60)
Birth placeOkegawa, Saitama, Japan
SpouseYayako Uchida (m. 1995)
Years active1981–present
AwardsAsian Film Award for Best Actor
2009 Departures
Japanese Academy Award for Best Newcomer
1990 226
Japanese Academy Award for Best Actor
1993 Sumo Do, Sumo Don't
2009 Departures
Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor
1993 Sumo Do, Sumo Don't
2009 Departures
Hochi Film Award for Best Actor
1992 Sumo Do, Sumo Don't
Japanese Professional Movie Award for Best Actor
1992 Bang!
Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actor
2009 Departures
Mainichi Film Concours for Best Actor
1999 The Bird People in China
Nikkan Sports Film Award for Best Actor
1999 The Bird People in China
Tokyo International Film Festival (Best Actor)
1993 Last Song
Yokohama Film Festival (Best Actor)
1993 Sumo Do, Sumo Don't

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.[1]

Career

Motoki started his entertainment career as a member of boy band Shibugakitai (シブがき隊) (the name of the band contains a portmanteau of tough (渋い, Shibui) and kids (ガキ, gaki), a homonym of astringent persimmon (渋柿, Shibugaki)). 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 Fancy Dance (ファンシイダンス, Fanshii Dansu) directed by Masayuki Suo. Motoki also starred in Suo's next film, Sumo Do, Sumo Don't (シコふんじゃった。, Shiko Funjatta.), which practically introduced him to audiences outside Japan. He then worked with directors such as Takashi Miike (The Bird People in China (中国の鳥人, Chūgoku no Chōjin)) and Shinya Tsukamoto (Gemini (双生児, Sōseiji)).

Motoki's breakthrough to international fame came with the 2008 film Departures (おくりびと, Okuribito) 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 Yayako Uchida, 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.[2] The couple have three children.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
1989Fancy DanceYōhei ShionoLead role[3]
Four Days of Snow and BloodHisashi Kōno[4]
1992Sumo Do, Sumo Don'tShuhei YamamotoLead role[5]
1994RampoKogoro AkechiLead role[6]
1995GoninJunichi Mitsuya[7]
1996Tokiwa: The Manga ApartmentHiroo TeradaLead role[8]
Shall We Dance?Hiromasa Kimoto[9]
1998The Bird People in ChinaWadaLead role[10]
1999GeminiYukio Daitokuji / SutekichiLead role[11]
2003Spy SorgeHotsumi Ozaki[12]
2006TekkonkinkreetSnake (voice)[13]
2007The Longest Night in ShanghaiNaoki MizushimaLead role; Chinese-Japanese film[14]
2008DeparturesDaigo KobayashiLead role[5]
2015The Big BeeKōichi Mishima[5]
The Emperor in AugustEmperor Hirohito[5]
2016The Long ExcuseSachio KinugasaLead role[15]
2020The Works and DaysNPCUSA/Sweden/Japan/UK film[16]
2024TouchBritish-Icelandic film[17]
Silence of the SeaRyūji TsuyamaLead role[18]
2026The Samurai and the PrisonerAraki MurashigeLead role[19]

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
1981Sempachi SenseiSubaru Morita[20]
1991TaiheikiChigusa TadaakiTaiga drama[21]
1998Tokugawa YoshinobuTokugawa YoshinobuLead role; Taiga drama[22]
2009–11Clouds Over the HillAkiyama SaneyukiLead role[23]
2012Man of DestinyRyōta YuminariLead role[24]
2019Giri/HajiFukuharaBritish television series[25]
2020Awaiting KirinSaitō DōsanTaiga drama[21]
2021Ryūkō KanbōNaoya ShigaLead role; television film[26]
2023Friendship: Seiji Hirao and Shinya YamanakaSeiji HiraoLead role; television film[27]
2025AsuraTakao Satomi[28]

References

  1. ^ "ja:第32回日本アカデミー賞優秀作品" (in Japanese). Japan Academy Prize. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  2. ^ "Motoki Masahiro" (in Japanese). Nihon jinmei daijiten. Kodansha. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  3. ^ "ファンシイダンス" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "226" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  5. ^ "【第39回日本アカデミー賞】本木雅弘、最優秀助演男優賞を初受賞！義母・樹木希林に感謝" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  6. ^ "RAMPO 奥山監督版" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  7. ^ "GONIN" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  8. ^ "本木雅弘主演『トキワ荘の青春』デジタルリマスター版、5月公開". Cinematoday. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  9. ^ "Shall We ダンス？" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  10. ^ "中国の鳥人" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  11. ^ "双生児" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  12. ^ "スパイ・ゾルゲ" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  13. ^ "鉄コン筋クリート" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  14. ^ "夜の上海" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  15. ^ "永い言い訳" (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  16. ^ "仕事と日(塩谷の谷間で)". Shima Films. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  17. ^ "TOUCH". Universal Pictures. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  18. ^ "本木雅弘と小泉今日子が31年ぶり共演 倉本聰氏35年ぶり映画脚本手がけた「海の沈黙」で". Nikkan Sports. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  19. ^ "『黒牢城』主演・本木雅弘×黒沢清監督で実写映画化 菅田将暉、吉高由里子、オダギリジョーら主演級キャスト集結" (in Japanese). Oricon. 21 January 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  20. ^ "2年B組仙八先生". TV drama database. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  21. ^ "大河ドラマ 麒麟がくる". Nagoya Touken World. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  22. ^ "徳川慶喜" (in Japanese). Haiyaku Jiten. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  23. ^ "坂の上の雲:足かけ3年ついに完結 最終回視聴率11．4％" (in Japanese). Mantan-web. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  24. ^ "運命の人". The Television. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  25. ^ "平岳大・窪塚洋介・本木雅弘ら出演、英国ドラマ『Giri / Haji』Netflixで1・10配信". Oricon. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  26. ^ "本木雅弘主演、スペイン風邪の流行を描いた志賀直哉「流行感冒」ドラマ化". Oricon. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  27. ^ "本木雅弘、"約10年ぶり"民放ドラマ出演 "ミスター・ラグビー"平尾誠二さん役で撮影中に10キロ減量". Oricon. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  28. ^ "Netflix『阿修羅のごとく』に本木雅弘、松田龍平、藤原季節、内野聖陽、國村隼、松坂慶子ら 豪華共演キャスト発表" (in Japanese). Crank-in!. Retrieved 17 December 2024.

|- ! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" |Asian Film Awards |-