Junichi Okada
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| Junichi Okada 岡田 准一 |
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|---|---|
| Born | November 18, 1980 |
| Origin | Hirakata, Osaka, Japan |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations | Singer, actor |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Avex Trax (1995–present) |
| Associated acts | V6 |
Junichi Okada (岡田 准一 Okada Jun'ichi) (born November 18, 1980) is a member of Japanese boy band V6, which is under the management of Johnny & Associates. He joined Johnny & Associates at the age of 14.
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[edit] Music career
In the summer of 1995, he participated in Johnny's Pre-School, part of the NTV program Tensai, Takeshi no Genki ga Deru Terebi (天才・たけしの元気が出るテレビ!!). He passed the audition and joined Johnny & Associates at the age of 14. After being in Johnny's for only a short period of three months, he made his debut as the youngest member of the idol group V6. Unlike the rest of the members in the group, he did not have much experience as Johnny's Jr. The first time that he had been on a music program was only after the debut of V6. Their debut song was "Music For the People".
Okada can play the guitar, as well as the piano. His mother is a piano teacher. His voice is in the middle range, and hence his solos usually include slower ballads. Recently, he has been given longer solos in V6 songs, such as "Way of Life".[1] He also reveals that during V6's 2008 concert Vibes, he was directing most of the lightning, staging, and costumes.[2]
[edit] Acting career
[edit] Dramas
Besides known for being a V6 member, Okada is an accomplished actor with eleven movies, in which he plays the lead roles in eight of them, and sixteen dramas, in which he plays the lead roles in four of them. In a Shōnen Club Premium interview on May 7, 2009, he revealed that it was the Japanese drama Kisarazu Cat's Eye that caught viewers and directors' attention of his acting ability.[2] The success of the drama led to the making of two subsequent movies, Kisarazu Cat's Eye: Nihon Series and Kisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series. His other notable dramas include Tiger & Dragon, a comedy drama about rakugo, a form of Japanese comedy acted only by one person telling that story.[3] and SP (also known as Security Police), an action suspense drama about a team of security police bodyguards in charge of protecting important people in the government. With Shinichi Tsutsumi as his co-star, the drama drew in overall ratings of 15.35% despite its Saturday 11:00 p.m. (JST) time slot;[4] its special episode broadcast in 2008 also received a viewership rating of 21.5%.[5]
[edit] Movies
He made a big leap in his movie career with Tokyo Tower in 2005. In the movie he portrayed a young college student torn between his love for a lady twenty years his senior and the views society has on these kinds of relationship.[6] After that came Hana Yori no Naho' (花よりもなほ), known as Hana to Western movie audiences, directed by the renowned director Hirokazu Koreeda (Distance, After Life and Nobody Knows). In the movie, Okada portrayed Sōza, a samurai uninterested in killing his enemy and focused on what he could do today to be a better person instead. The movie earned him a nomination for the Blue Ribbon Awards, but he declined this nomination.[7] Nevertheless, he still got awarded the Ishihara Yujiro New Actor Award at Nikkan Sports Film Award for his role in Hana.[8] Recently, he has been involved in movies such as Kagehinata Ni Saku (陰日向に咲く Flowers in the Shadow), portraying a young man in debt because of pachinko,[9] and Otonari (おとなり), an unconventional love story between two neighbors who have never met each other and only follow the other person's life through the sounds they hear from the other side of the wall.[10]
[edit] Personal life
Okada is known for being reserved. He does not meet with many people within the agency.[11] In an interview on Shōnen Club Premium, Okada said that when he was little, whenever his name was called up to read something in class, he would feel like vomiting and purposely avoided school on those day. Within V6, he is also the most quiet person. He enjoys carpentry and has carved wooden bears for children.[12]
In August 2008, it was rumored that Okada and Tiger & Dragon co-star Yu Aoi are dating.[13]
In 2010, Okada had reported in a press conference that he is certified to teach Jeet Kune Do and Kali in Japan, the latter was used by him as his main martial art when the SP series was filmed.[14]
[edit] Filmography
| Dramas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | V no Honoo | Junichi Okada | |
| 1997 | D×D | Toranosuke Kihara | |
| 1998 | Pu-Pu-Pu Jump | Kazuya Omine | |
| 1999 | Shin Oretachi no Tabi | Shinroku Kumazawa | |
| Dear Friend | Yuuji Yamamuro | ||
| 2000 | Mona Lisa no Hohoemi | Takuro Okajima | |
| Oyaji Tadashi | Tadashi Kanzaki | ||
| 2001 | Chuushingura 1/47 | Chikara Oishi | |
| Hanran no Voyage | Kunpei Sakaue | ||
| 2002 | Renai Hensachi | Ryuji | |
| Kisarazu Cat's Eye | Kōhei Tabuchi (Bussan) | Lead role | |
| 2003 | Suekko Chōnan Ane Sannin | Ichiro Kashiwakura | |
| 2005 | Taika no Kaishin | Kamatari Nakatomino | Lead role |
| Fuyu no Undokai | Kikuo Kitazawa | Lead role | |
| Tiger & Dragon | Ryuji Yanaka (Kotatsu) | ||
| 2006 | Niji wo Kakeru Ōhi | Li Eun | |
| 2007 | SP | Kaoru Inoue | Lead role |
| Movies | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | Cosmic Rescue | ||
| Kisarazu Cats Eye: Nihon Series | Lead role | ||
| Hard Luck Hero | Takashi Asai | ||
| 2004 | Thunderbirds | Alan Tracy | Japanese dub |
| 2005 | Tokyo Tower | Toru Kojima | Lead role |
| Fly, Daddy, Fly | Soon-Shin Park | Lead role | |
| Hold Up Down | Koichi Sawamura | ||
| 2006 | Hana Yori mo Naho | Sōzaemon Aoki (Sōza) | Lead role |
| Kisarazu Cats Eye: World Series | Kōhei Tabuchi (Bussan) | Lead role | |
| Tales from Earthsea | Prince Arren | Lead role, voice | |
| 2008 | Kagehinata ni Saku | Maya | Lead role |
| 2009 | Otonari | Satoshi Nojima | Lead role |
| 2010 | SP The Motion Picture: Yabō-hen[15] | Kaoru Inoue | Lead role |
| 2011 | SP The Motion Picture: Kakumei-hen[15] | Kaoru Inoue | Lead role |
| From up on Poppy Hill | Shun Kazama[16] | Voice | |
| 2012 | Tenchi Meisatsu | Shunkai Shibukawa (Santetsu Yasui)[17] | Lead role |
[edit] Awards and nominations
| Year | Organization | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Television Drama Academy Awards | Best Actor | Kisarazu Cat's Eye | Nominated[18] |
| 2005 | Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix | Best Supporting Actor | Tiger & Dragon | Won[19] |
| 2006 | Nikkan Sports Film Awards | Ishihara Yujiro New Actor Award | Hana Yori mo Naho, Kisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series | Won[20] |
| 2008 | Television Drama Academy Awards | Best Actor | SP | Won[21] |
[edit] References
- ^ (Japanese) "way of life". Amazon.jp. http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000YY68M6. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ a b http://www.nhk.or.jp/shonen-p/archive_2009.html
- ^ http://www.jdorama.com/drama_938.htm
- ^ (Japanese) "SP drama ratings". Artv. http://artv.info/ar0710.html#sp. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ ""SP" special captures 21.5%". Tokyograph. 2008-04-07. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-2928. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ (Japanese) "東京タワー プレミアム・エディション". Amazon.jp. http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0003052WI/. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ "渡辺謙 ベルリンから駆けつける". Cinemahochi. 13 Feb 2007. http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/b_award/2006/.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0645411/awards
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1167845/
- ^ "Oto, Na, Ri (Otonari)". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=GNBD-7593. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ http://www.nhk.or.jp/shonen-p/archive_2008.html
- ^ (Japanese) Okada, Junichi (2008-01-27). Oshareism. Interview with Shinya Ueda.
- ^ "Junichi Okada, Yu Aoi reportedly dating". Tokyograph. 2008-08-29. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-3709. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ "V6 Okada Junichi now a martial arts instructor". Tokyo Hive. 2010-9-10. http://www.tokyohive.com/2010/09/v6-okada-junichi-now-a-martial-arts-instructor/. Retrieved 2012-1-15.
- ^ a b ""SP" movie split into two parts". Tokyograph. 2010-04-19. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-6027. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
- ^ Lin, Lawrence (14 May 2011). "Kokuriko-Zaka Kara voice cast". GhibliWiki. Nausicaa.net. http://www.nausicaa.net/wiki/Latest_News#Kokuriko-Zaka_Kara_Voice_Cast. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ "Okada Junichi, Miyazaki Aoi star in Takita Yojiro’s Tenchi Meisatsu". Tokyograph. 13 June 2011. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/okada-junichi-miyazaki-aoi-star-in-takita-yojiros-tenchi-meisatsu. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ (Japanese) "主演男優賞". Television Drama Academy Awards. 2002-04-05. http://blog.television.co.jp/drama/academy/2002/04/post_239.html. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ "Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix". Tokyograph. http://www.tokyograph.com/info/Nikkan_Sports_Drama_Grand_Prix. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ "Awards for Junichi Okada". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0645411/awards. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ (Japanese) "主演男優賞". Television Drama Academy Awards. 2008-04-24. http://blog.television.co.jp/drama/academy/2008/04/post_300.html. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
[edit] External links
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