Takeshi Kaneshiro

 is a Japanese-Taiwanese actor and singer. He has worked with some of the most renowned directors in East Asia, namely, Wong Kar Wai ("Chungking Express" and "Fallen Angels"), Peter Chan ("Perhaps Love" and "Wuxia"), Zhang Yimou ("House of Flying Daggers") and John Woo ("Red Cliff" and "The Crossing I and II"). Kaneshiro is also well known in the game industry for being the video game modeled character of Samanosuke Akechi in Capcom’s Onimusha series.
Early life.
Kaneshiro’s mother is from Taiwan and his father is from Okinawa, Japan. He was born and raised in Taipei, but holds Japanese citizenship.
The son of a Japanese businessman and a Taiwanese homemaker, Kaneshiro has two elder brothers: one who is seven years his senior, and another who is just one year older. After graduating from Taipei Japanese Junior High School, he enrolled at an English-medium international school, Taipei American School, where he learned English. While he was studying there, he began doing television commercials and decided to quit school to pursue a singing and acting career. Kaneshiro is multilingual, fluent in Mandarin, Hokkien, Japanese, and to lesser degrees in Cantonese and English. Mandarin was the first language he spoke while growing up in Taiwan.
Name.
 is a common Okinawan surname, albeit with an unusual pronunciation, as the usual reading is Kinjō, while the traditional Okinawan pronunciation is Kanagusuku or Kanegusuku. His given name is . He appears as in Japanese media.
Since personal names are commonly written in Chinese characters in both Chinese and Japanese naming conventions, following the Eastern name order, and in this particular case the name, in its written form, appears native in both Japanese and Chinese, giving Kaneshiro the freedom to associate himself as a Japanese or Chinese when working in China by preserving or removing the space between his surname and given name.
In Korea, where the use of Chinese characters survives in the tradition of rendering names in hanja, the characters 金城武 are read 금성무 (Geum Seong-mu), which is the name by which Kaneshiro is known there.
Career.
1992 to 1999: Early years and career breakthrough.
In 1992, Kaneshiro made his singing debut, entering the business with the nickname "Aniki", meaning 'older brother' in Japanese. His debut album was "Heartbreaking Night" (1992). Contracted to EMI, he wrote many of his own Mandarin and Cantonese songs. The following year, his popularity propelled him into acting. He no longer produces any commercial music, although a few noted film roles, such as those in "Perhaps" "Love" (2005) and "See" "You" "Tomorrow" (2016) have involved his characters singing.
His film debut was "Executioners" (1993) and this was followed by Wong Kar-wai's "Chungking Express" (1994), "Fallen Angels" (1995) and a string of other Hong Kong films. It was Kaneshiro’s collaboration with the auteur director, Wong Kar Wai, in Chungking Express where he played the lovelorn Hong Kong cop 223 that sparked his interest in acting and movie-making. Through his collaboration with Wong, Kaneshiro first developed what would become his onscreen signature, namely quirky, character-driven performances that often played against type and ran counter to his idol image. Later, Kaneshiro starred in the Japanese Drama "" (1998), allowing him to branch into Japanese films such as "Returner" (2002), as well as "K"-"20": "Legend" "of" "the" "Mask" and "Accuracy" "of" "Death" (also titled “"Sweet" "Rain"”).
2000 to 2010: Mainstream success and critical acclaim.
Kaneshiro’s work, however, is more heavily concentrated in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In 2005, he sang his way through Perhaps Love, the first modern musical to be produced in China. It was the first of many collaborations with Hong Kong-based director Peter Chan. In 2008 and 2009 he starred in "Red Cliff", a high budget film by Hong Kong director John Woo. He has also played the romantic lead in Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers", and starred alongside Jet Li and Andy Lau in "The Warlords". He expressed excitement when he received news that he was going to have the opportunity to work with Director Zhang Yimou.
Kaneshiro has also become well known in the video game industry portraying the samurai warrior Samanosuke in Capcom's "Onimusha". In a June 2007 article on the film site Ain't It Cool News, it was revealed that Kaneshiro was going to be in the "Onimusha" film, reprising his role as Samanosuke and for a 2011 release, but that project was derailed. The producer Samuel Hadida had to delay the filming of "Onimusha", which has resulted in the film's Japanese cast working on other film projects during the delay, and being unavailable to start filming. These factors were enough that French director Christophe Gans will now direct an adaptation of Leo Perutz's novel "The Swedish Cavalier" first, taking over the reins from Gilles Mimouni. Satomi Ishihara and Tsuyoshi Ihara remain attached to the project.
In 2003, Kaneshiro was featured in the magazine "Time" and was coined as becoming the East Asian film industry's Johnny Depp. Moreover, Kaneshiro was interviewed by CNN in the TalkAsia segment in 2006.
Outside of the entertainment business, Kaneshiro has acted as a spokesperson and model for Emporio Armani (2008) as well as, Prada (1998), Lifecard credit card company, VAIO personal computer, Honda, Lipice lips moisturizer, SonyEricsson, Pocari Sweat soft drink, Morinaga chocolate, Volvic, GEOS (eikaiwa) (language school), Petronas oil company, Japan Asia Airways, Hyundai Motor Company, Toyota MarkX ZiO, Mitsubishi Galant, NTT docomo the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan, NTT Yellow Pages, Shiseido, Lycos, UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Kadokawa Shoten a well-known Japanese publisher based in Tokyo, Rice Burger, Roasted barley tea, One2Free (HK), and Kiwi cold drink, and the most recent Biotherm Homme since 2005.
2011 to present: Selective films.
In 2011, Kaneshiro appeared in the historical martial arts thriller "Wu" "Xia", directed by Peter Chan, making this the third collaboration between the two.
In 2016, Kaneshiro was cast in another Wong Kar Wai production, "See You Tomorrow" (2016), making it the third film starring opposite Tony Leung Chiu Wai.
In 2018, Kaneshiro completed filming on Juno Mak's "Sons of the Neon Night" with an all-star cast that includes Tony Leung Ka Fai, Louis Koo, and Sean Lau.
It was reported in 2020 that the release of this film would be postponed to 2021. The reasons given involved production issues, including budgeting and tensions between the director and cast. Kaneshiro will act as the spokesperson for the new Paradise 2M mobile multiplayer game launched in March, 2021.
Personal life.
Kaneshiro is a practicing Buddhist, having converted in 1997, and has said his mother is also a devout Buddhist. Throughout his career, Kaneshiro has been given titles such as "heartthrob," "dream guy," but he has maintained a steady sense of humility. He is known for trying to avoid the media spotlight. He has been quoted as saying "If one day I get married and have kids, I will probably be one of those men who really care for the family. I will eat at home every day, and help with the chores and take care of the children."
Awards and nominations.
Takeshi Kaneshiro is one of 10 recipients of the 2010 Green Planet Film Award for Ten Best International Actors of the Decade (Asia).