Masahiro Motoki
Masahiro Motoki is a Japanese actor. He portrayed protagonist Daigo Kobayashi in Departures, which won the 81st Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best [Foreign Language Film|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.
Career
Motoki started his entertainment career as a member of boy band Shibugakitai. 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 directed by Masayuki Suo. Motoki also starred in Suo's next film, Sumo Do, Sumo Don't, which practically introduced him to audiences outside Japan. He then worked with directors such as Takashi Miike and Shinya Tsukamoto.
Motoki's breakthrough to international fame came with the 2008 film ''Departures 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.