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Hidetoshi Nishijima
西島 秀俊
Nishijima Hidetoshi from "The House Where the Mermaid Sleeps" World Premiere Red Carpet of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018 (45632820412).jpg
Nishijima at the 2018 Tokyo International Film Festival
Born (1971-03-29) March 29, 1971 (age 53)
Education Yokohama National University
Occupation Actor model
Years active 1992–present
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Spouse(s)
  • Ayaka Mori
    (m. 2014)
Children 2

Hidetoshi Nishijima (Japanese: 西島 秀俊, Hepburn: Nishijima Hidetoshi, born March 29, 1971) is a Japanese actor model. He is widely regarded as one of Japan's leading actors, having appeared in a wide range of films from science fiction films such as Shin Ultraman (2022) to small-scale art films such as Dolls (2002). He gained international recognition for his critically acclaimed leading role in the 2021 film Drive My Car, for which he received the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Actor.

Early life

Nishijima became interested in watching films as a child, influenced by his father. He wanted to be a film crew member, but while in college, he passed the acting audition that an acquaintance encouraged him to take, and he became an actor.

Career

Nishijima made his debut in the contemporary detective television drama series Hagure Keiji Junjōha in 1992.

In 1993, Nishijima gained public recognition for his portrayal of a gay character in the massive hit television series Asunaro Hakusho, which co-starred Takuya Kimura. Nishijima’s subtle performance and good looks in that series attracted attention.

In 1990s, Nishijima gained popularity as a young actor in television series, but left a major talent agency to become a film actor, and did not appear on commercial television from 1998 to 2002.

Nishijima played his first leading role in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 1998 film License to Live, and co-starred with Kōji Yakusho. He won the Best Actor award at the Japan Film Professional Awards for the film.

Nishijima attracted attention again later, being selected by Takeshi Kitano for the lead role in Dolls in 2002. The film was a major turning point in his career.

In 2009, he was given the Best Supporting Actor award at the Yokohama Film Festival for his portrayal of a strange death row inmate in Vacation.

While establishing himself as a film actor, Nishijima also resumed appearing in television series.

In the 2010s, he became one of the most popular actors in Japan, for his performances in hit television series, such as General Rouge no Gaisen, Strawberry Night, Yae's Sakura, and MOZU.

In 2011, Nishijima had his first starring role alongside Korean actress Kim Tae-hee in the television series Boku to Star no 99 Nichi, a romantic comedy drama about the romance between an actress and her bodyguard.

In Amir Naderi's 2011 film Cut, he played the leading role, which was described by Chris Cabin of Slant Magazine as "the most convincingly pretentious and frustrated cinephile to ever be portrayed on film". His performance in the film was praised by Dan Fainaru of Screen International as "painfully memorable".

He also played the role of Kiro Honjo in Hayao Miyazaki's 2013 animated film The Wind Rises as a voice actor. His other voice work includes dubbing Colin Farrell in Dumbo and Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) in Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

In 2017, he became the first Japanese man to model for Giorgio Armani's Made-to-Measure.

He was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award at the Japanese Academy Awards in 2019 for his performance in Samurai's Promise.

In 2019, Nishijima starred in the television series What Did You Eat Yesterday?, a drama about the daily lives of a middle-aged gay couple. The drama became very popular and was made into a hit film.

In 2021, he starred in Ryusuke Hamaguchi 's film Drive My Car. His performance was highly acclaimed, with The New York Times selecting him as one of the "Great Performers / The Best Actors of 2021". He also won the National Society of Film Critics Award, the Boston Film Critics Circle Award, and the Japan Academy Award for Best Actor in a leading role for the film.

He has also appeared in films such as Akihiko Shiota's Canary and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Loft.

In 2022, Nishijima portrayed the role of Kotaro Minami in the remake of 1987's Kamen Rider Black film titled Kamen Rider Black Sun.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref
1994 Ghost Pub Koichi
1995 Marks no Yama Mori
Kura Ryota Takeda
1997 2/Duo Kei
1998 License to Live Yutaka Lead role
2000 Love/Juice Sakamoto
2001 Sekai no Owari to Iu Na no Zakkaten Lead role
2002 Dolls Matsumoto
Tokyo.sora
Last Scene Lead role
2004 Casshern Lieutenant Colonel Kamijo
Tony Takitani Narrator (voice)
The Cat Leaves Home
Kikyo
Angel in the Box
2005 House of Himiko Hosokawa
Sayonara Midori-chan
Su-ki-da Yosuke
Loft Koichi Kijima
Canary Akira Izawa
2006 Oh! Oku Shingoro Ikushima
2007 Freesia: Bullet Over Tears Toshio Iwasaki
Pacchigi! Love & Peace
Shindo
2008 Tokyo Rendezvous Takashi Nogami Lead role
Vacation Shin'ichi Kaneda
Over the Hilltop Ma Hae-song
2009 Kanikōsen Asakawa
Zero Focus Kenichi Ubara
2010 Goodbye, Someday Yutaka Higashigaito Lead role; South Korean film
2011 Cut Shuji Lead role
2012 Seiji: Riku no Sakana Seiji Lead role
2013 Strawberry Night Kazuo Kikuta
Memories Corner Okabe
The Wind Rises Kiro Honjo (voice)
2014 Genome Hazard Taketo Ishigami Lead role
2015 Mozu Naotake Kuraki Lead role
Poison berry in my brain Yoshida
2016 Creepy Takakura Lead role
While the Women Are Sleeping Kenji
2017 The Last Recipe Yamagata
2018 Samurai's Promise Uneme Sakakibara
The House Where the Mermaid Sleeps Kazumasa Harima
Ozland Yoshihiko Ozuka
Penguin Highway Aoyama's Father (voice)
2019 Ninkyō Gakuen Seiji Himura Lead role
Aircraft Carrier Ibuki Ryōta Akitsu Lead role
2020 Voices in the Wind Morio
Silent Tokyo Shinobu Seta
2021 99.9 Criminal Lawyer: The Movie Kyōhei Nagumo
What Did You Eat Yesterday? Shirō Kakei Lead role
Caution, Hazardous Wife Yūki Isayama
Drive My Car Yūsuke Kafuku Lead role
2022 Shin Ultraman Kimio Tamura
Goodbye Cruel World Mikiya Anzai Lead role
2023 Kubi Akechi Mitsuhide

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref
1992 Hagure Keiji Junjōha Tsuyoshi Nakagami Season 5
Dinner On Thursday Tatsuro Miyazawa
1993 Asunaro Hakusho Junichiro Matsuoka
1997 Mori Motonari Aiō Mototsuna Taiga drama
2003 Always Smiling Kazuya Yuzuhara
2004 Ōoku Tokugawa Iemitsu
Waltz Of Her Heart [1] Shinya Minazuki
2006 Unfair Ichiro Sezaki
2007 Yama Onna Kabe Onna Iguchi Shohei
2009 Real Clothes Yusaku Tabuchi
2010 General Rouge no Gaisen Koichi Hayami
2011 School Iori Kirihara
Boku to Star no 99 Nichi Kohei Namiki Lead role
2012 Strawberry Night Kazuo Kikuta
2013 Yae's Sakura Yamamoto Kakuma Taiga drama
2015 Mutsu: Mieru Me Eisuke Tameyori Lead role
Second Chance Chauffeur Kazuo Nagata Lead role
2016 Daddy Sister Takezō Kohashi Asadora
2017 Crisis Saburo Tamaru
Blanket Cats Shusuke Shiina
Caution, Hazardous Wife Yuki Isayama
2019 Maison de Police Soichiro Natsume
2019–23 What Did You Eat Yesterday? Shiro Kakei Lead role; 2 seasons
2020 North Light Minoru Aose Lead role; miniseries
2021 Welcome Home, Monet Satoru Asaoka Asadora
Guilty Flag Ryosuke Sagara Lead role
Chef Is A Great Detective Shinobu Mifune Lead role
2022 Riding a Unicorn Satoshi Kotori
Kamen Rider Black Sun Kōtarō Minami / Kamen Rider Black Sun Lead role
2023 Outsider Cops Eiji Kagawa Lead role
TBA Sunny Masa Sakamoto Lead role

Dubbing roles

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2000 9th Japan Film Professional Awards Best Actor License to Live Won
2006 15th Japan Film Professional Awards Best Actor Kikyō, Sayonara Midori-chan, Ame Yori Setsunaku Won
20th Takasaki Film Festival [ja] Best Actor Kikyō Won
2009 30th Yokohama Film Festival Best Supporting Actor Vacation, Tokyo Rendezvous and Over the Hilltop Won
2012 26th Takasaki Film Festival Best Actor Cut Won
21st Japan Film Professional Awards Best Actor Won
2019 42nd Japan Academy Film Prize Best Supporting Actor Samurai's Promise Nominated
2021 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards Best Performance by an Actor Drive My Car Nominated
42nd Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best Actor Won
34th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Actor Nominated
34th Nikkan Sports Film Award Best Actor Won
2022 76th Mainichi Film Awards Best Actor Nominated
35th Takasaki Film Festival Best Actor Won
45th Japan Academy Film Prize Best Actor Won
56th National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Actor Won
25th Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor Nominated
20th San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actor Nominated
2023 16th Asian Film Awards Best Actor Nominated

See also

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