Masahiro Motoki

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.

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.

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. The couple have three children.