Masahiro Motoki is a popular Japanese actor. He is known to the audience for his roles in the films "Sumo Enough!", "Gonin" and "Let's Dance?" He also starred in the TV series "Clouds over the Hills".
Biography and personal life
Masahiro Motoki was born on December 21, 1965 in the Japanese city of Okegawa. At the beginning of his career, he sang in one of the Japanese boy bands. In the status of a singer, he achieved great success, but still chose the acting profession.
In 1995, Masahiro married singer and actress Yayako Uchida, who is 11 years his junior. Three children were born in their family. Their daughter Chiara was born in 1999. She took her mother's surname. The girl became a Japanese actress. By the way, Masahiro also took the surname of his wife. Motoki's wife has starred in several films, including "Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me and Sometimes Dad", "A Beautiful Day in Tokyo" and "The Blue Wind is Blowing."
The beginning of a career in cinema
Masahiro began acting in the 1980s. In 1989, he played Toshi Kono in the military action movie 226. In the center of the plot - the revolt of the Japanese army nationalist officers. They sought to overthrow prominent politicians. The drama has been shown not only in Japan, but also in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. The film was presented at the London and Montreal International Film Festivals. In the same year, the actor appeared in the film "Raffles Hotel". Motoki got one of the main roles. Characters include a photographer, adventurer and actress. This is a film about loneliness and finding yourself. In the comedy "Bizarre Dance" the actor got the main role. His character is punk musician Yehei. He will have to join the Buddhist monks. It will not be easy for the hero to get used to the discipline. As soon as he resigned himself to his fate, a girlfriend appears to return him to music. The picture was shown in Japan and South Korea. In addition, the film was seen by guests of the Singapore International Film Festival.
In 1991, the actor played in the film "Kagero". In this crime drama, he got one of the main roles. In the same year, he appeared as Hirata in The Game That Never Ends. In this comedy, written by Hiroshi Saito and Kunihiko Toi, he played the main character. In 1992, the film "Sumo got enough!" featuring Masahiro. In this sports comedy, he reincarnated as the protagonist Xuhei, who is studying at the university. For poor academic performance, he can be expelled. The only chance to continue your studies is to become a participant in sumo competitions. The film has been shown in many countries. She has been featured at events such as the Montreal and Tokyo International Film Festivals, the Japanese Film Festival and the Japanische Filmwoche Düsseldorf.
Creation
In the 1990s, Motoki continues to receive invitations for the main roles. In the film "Dioxin from fish!" he played one of the central characters. After 2 years he could be seen in the title role of the movie "The Riddle of Rampo". Based on the plot of this crime drama, the writer wrote a novel in which a woman killed her husband. The method of murder is unusual: the spouse asks the man to get into the chest, ostensibly for a role-playing game, and then keeps him in captivity until he suffocates. The book was never published. Outraged editors forced the writer to destroy the manuscript because of its immoral content. The novelist obeyed. However, he soon learned about the murder, which was committed under the same circumstances. In addition, the woman who killed her husband bears a striking resemblance to the heroine of his unpublished novel. The film has been screened at the Cannes Film Festival, the Rotterdam and London International Film Festivals, and the Fantasporto International Film Festival in Portugal.
Then the actor got the leading role in the crime thriller "Gonin". This film is presented at the Locarno and Palm Spring International Film Festivals. Later, the actor could be seen in Masayuki Suo's musical melodrama Let's Dance?In the story, a middle-aged man with a wife and a daughter feels that his life is incomplete. Sometimes he sees a woman in the window of one of the buildings that he is passing by on the train. Gaining determination, the main character does not reach his station and leaves where the same building stands. The melodrama has been featured at events such as the Singapore International Film Festival, Wine Country Film Festival, Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival and Japanische Filmwoche Düsseldorf Film Festival.
In 1996, Masahiro was invited to play the lead role in Tokiwa: The House Where Manga Was Born. The drama was presented at the Singapore International Film Festival. After 2 years, he played the leading role in the film "Bird People in China". Motoki's character is Wada. He is engaged in business and travels to the Chinese province to find jade deposits on business. This fantastic adventure comedy has been shown at the Vancouver International Film Festivals, Hawaii, London, San Francisco, Taipei and Istanbul, the Deauville Asian Film Festival and the Los Angeles Asia Pacific Film Festival. Then he played the main character in the horror film Gemini. The characters of the actor are the doctor Yukio, whose wife suffers from memory loss, and the killer, who looks like a doctor like a twin. The fantastic thriller was seen by guests of such events as the International Film Festivals in Venice, Toronto, Busan, Los Angeles, London, Singapore, Karlovy Vary, Sitges, Bergen and Hawaii, as well as the International Fantastic Film Festival in Neuchâtel.
In 2001, the actor got the lead role in the war drama "Prince Shotoku". Two years later, he played one of the central characters in a military action movie co-produced by Japan and Germany, Spy Sorge. The film is set in the 1930s. Then the actor could be seen in the movie "The Longest Night in Shanghai". In 2008, he starred in the film Gone, about an unemployed cellist. In 2009, the series "Clouds over the Hills" began with Masahiro. It went through 2011. 2015 brought Motoki roles in The Emperor in August and Big Bee. Masahiro's recent work includes roles in the 2016 film Long Excuses and the 2019 series Giri / Hadzi.
