- Masahiro Nakai
-
Masahiro Nakai
中居 正広Born August 18, 1972 Origin Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan Genres Pop Occupations Singer, actor, host Years active 1987–present Labels Victor Entertainment Associated acts SMAP Masahiro Nakai (中居 正広 Nakai Masahiro) (born August 18, 1972) is a singer, actor and host for music events and variety shows such as the long-running music show Utaban. He is the leader of the Japanese idol group SMAP.[1]
Contents
Early life
Nakai was born in Kugenuma, Fujisawa, Kanagawa as the youngest of three brothers. He is a big fan of baseball.[2] As a child, he wanted to be a professional baseball player.
Career
Music
In 1987, Nakai entered the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates at the age of 14. He is the second person after Noriyuki Higashiyama that was allowed to skip auditions and directly enter the agency as a trainee, thus becoming known as one of the elite in Johnny's.[3]
Fans have expressed that "Nakai’s inability to sing is somewhat of a national joke today in Japan".[4] Regardless of the his lack of ability, Nakai has found eventual major success with SMAP as the group went on to become one of the most successful boy bands in J-pop history.[5]
Acting
In 2007, Nakai was given his first movie role in nearly five years, portraying a humble barber wrongfully sentenced to death as a war criminal in the movie Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai (私は貝になりたい I Want to Be a Shellfish).[6][7]
In 2009, Nakai was given his first lead role in a drama that aired on Fuji TV's Monday 9:00 p.m. (JST) time slot in nearly eleven years.[8]
Hosting
Variety shows
In addition to co-hosting Utaban with Tunnels member Takaaki Ishibashi, he serves as a co-host on The! Sekai Gyōten News (ザ・世界仰天ニュース The World's Surprising News), in which he shows a display of black comedy. As the leader of SMAP, Nakai has the greatest TV exposure of the SMAP members insofar as variety shows go.[citation needed]
In 2003, partly due to his involvement in very popular variety shows, Nakai was identified as the highest tax payer of any entertainer in Japan by the Japanese National Tax Bureau.[9]
Music events
As of 2009, Nakai has co-hosted NHK's annual Kōhaku Uta Gassen six times. No other celebrity has hosted Kōhaku as many times as Nakai.[10]
Other ventures
Caster
Since 2006, Nakai has been the main newscaster for the Olympics coverage on TBS.[11]
Supporter
In 2007, Senichi Hoshino chose Nakai as the official "support captain" for Japan's Olympic baseball team.[2]
Filmography
Drama Year Title Role Notes 1988 Abunai Shōnen III Masahiro Nakai 1991 Gakkō e Ikō! 1992 Ude ni oboe ari Yûnosuke Shibuya TV series 1995 Aji Ichimonme Satoru Ihashi Kagayaku Toki no Naka de TV series Kagayake! Rintaro 1996 Aji Ichimonme 2 Satoru Ihashi Naniwa Kinyudo Tatsuyuki Haibara Lead role Dareka ga Dareka ni Koishiteru Television special Shōri no Megami Lead role Naniwa Kinyudo 2 Tatsuyuki Haibara Lead role 1997 Aji Ichimonme SP Satoru Ihashi Lead role, Television special Boku ga Boku de Aru Tame ni Hayato Naruse Television special Ii Hito Guest appearance Saigo no Koi Toru Natsume Lead role 1998 Aji Ichimonme SP Satoru Ihashi Lead role, Television special Naniwa Kinyudo 3 Tatsuyuki Haibara Lead role Brothers Shinjin Fujiwara Lead role 1999 Good News Lead role Naniwa Kinyudo 4 Tatsuyuki Haibara Lead role 2000 Densetsu no Kyoshi Kazami Lead role Naniwa Kinyudo 5 Tatsuyuki Haibara Lead role 2001 Yonimo Kimyona Monogatari: Otona Juken Lead role, one part of the SMAP Special Edition Shiroi Kage Yosuke Naoe Lead role 2003 Shiroi Kage Special Yosuke Naoe Lead role, television special 2004 Suna no Utsuwa Eiryo Waga Lead role Tora to lion to gonin no otoko Nakai Masahiro Co-starring 2005 Naniwa Kinyudo 6 Tatsuyuki Haibara Lead role 2009 Konkatsu! Kuniyuki Amamiya Lead role 2010 SMAP Ganbarimasu!! 2010 - 10 Hours Super Nakai Masahiro Lead role, one part of the SMAP Special Edition 2011 Aji Ichimonme SP Satoru Ihashi Lead role, television special Film Year Title Role Notes 1993 Private Lessons 2 1994 Shoot Toshihiko Tanaka 1994 2nd cinema Jack Chan Kin , "something strange? Part2" Corporate son Co-starring 2002 Mohō Han Itikawa Hiroshi Lead role 2008 Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai Toyomatsu Shimizu Lead role 2010 Ototo Guest appearance Awards and nominations
Year Organization Award Work Result 1995 4th Television Drama Academy Awards Best Actor Aji Ichimonme Won[12] Best Newcomer Won[12] 1997 14th Television Drama Academy Awards Best Actor Saigo no Koi Won[12] 2003 7th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix Best Actor Suna no Utsuwa Won[13] 2004 40th Television Drama Academy Awards Best Actor Won[12] 2008 21st Nikkan Sports Film Awards Best Actor Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai Won[14] 2009 TV Navi Spring 2009 Drama Awards Best Actor Konkatsu! Won[12] References
- ^ "SMAP". Japan-Zone. http://www.japan-zone.com/modern/smap.shtml. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ^ a b "Nakai designated 'support captain' for Olympic baseball team". Tokyograph. 2007-03-21. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-725. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ^ "POP! Goes the MatsuJun (or Lessons Learned from a Japanese Idol)". Asia Pacific Arts; University of California in Los Angeles. 2008-05-02. http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/080502/article.asp?parentID=91652. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ Darling-Wolf, Fabienne (2004). "SMAP, sex and masculinity: Constructing the perfect female fantasy in Japanese popular music". Popular Music and Society 27 (3): 358.
- ^ Lewis, Leo (2009-04-23). "Naked romp shames SMAP boy band star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and puts media in spin". London: The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6152338.ece. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Masahiro Nakai chosen for 'Shellfish' remake". Tokyograph. 2007-05-22. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-1075. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ^ Schilling, Mark (2008-11-21). "Making a case for a 'war criminal'". The Japan Times. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20081121a3.html. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ^ "Nakai, Ueto co-star in Fuji TV's next Monday night drama". Tokyograph. 2009-02-17. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-4429. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "The Boy Bachelor". The Japan Times. 2003-05-25. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fd20030525cs.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Nakama, Nakai to host Kohaku again". Tokyograph. 2009-11-04. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-5443. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Nakai chosen as Olympics caster, SMAP sings theme". Tokyograph. 2008-07-22. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-3550. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ a b c d e "Drama Academy Awards". Tokyograph. http://www.tokyograph.com/info/Drama_Academy_Awards. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix". Tokyograph. http://www.tokyograph.com/info/Nikkan_Sports_Drama_Grand_Prix. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "21st Nikkan Sports Film Awards". Tokyograph. 2008-12-04. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-4129. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
External links
Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix Best Actor Takuya Kimura (1998) · Tsuyoshi Domoto (1999) · Takuya Kimura (2000) · Takuya Kimura (2001) · Hideaki Takizawa (2002) · Takuya Kimura (2003) · Masahiro Nakai (2004) · Hideaki Takizawa (2005) · Tomohisa Yamashita (2006) · Kazunari Ninomiya (2007) · Jin Akanishi (2008) · Satoshi Ohno (2009) · Kazuya Kamenashi (2010)
Categories:- 1972 births
- Living people
- SMAP members
- Japanese idols
- People from Fujisawa
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