Hidetoshi Nishijima

is a Japanese actor and 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 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.

Life and career Early years 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.

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, Nishijima 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, Nishijima 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".

Nishijima has also appeared in films such as Akihiko Shiota's Canary and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Loft. 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. He also portrayed the role of Kotaro Minami in the reimaging of the 1987 Kamen Rider series Kamen Rider Black titled Kamen Rider Black Sun.

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

In 2019, Nishijima was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 42nd Japan Academy Film Prize for his performance in Samurai's Promise. He also 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, Nishijima 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 "Best Actors of 2021". The film also won him the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, and Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

Filmography

Film

Television

Dubbing roles Dumbo (2019), Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019), Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds)

Awards and nominations Year Association Category Nominated work Result 20009th Japan Film Professional AwardsBest ActorLicense to Live 200615th Japan Film Professional AwardsBest ActorKikyō, Sayonara Midori-chan, Ame Yori Setsunaku 20th Best ActorKikyō 200930th Yokohama Film FestivalBest Supporting ActorVacation, Tokyo Rendezvous and Over the Hilltop 201226th Takasaki Film FestivalBest ActorCut 201942nd Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Supporting ActorSamurai's Promise 202114th Asia Pacific Screen AwardsBest Performance by an ActorDrive My Car 42nd Boston Society of Film Critics AwardsBest Actor 34th Chicago Film Critics Association AwardsBest Actor 34th Nikkan Sports Film AwardBest Actor 202276th Mainichi Film AwardsBest Actor 35th Takasaki Film FestivalBest Actor 45th Japan Academy Film Prize Best Actor 56th National Society of Film Critics AwardsBest Actor 25th Online Film Critics Society AwardsBest Actor 20th San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actor 2023 16th Asian Film Awards Best Actor