Masato Hagiwara

is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and professional mahjong player.

Biography Early life and education When Hagiwara was three years old, his parents divorced and he was taken in by his father. However, his father died when he was in the fourth grade, and was then raised by his paternal grandparents in Chigasaki until he was 15 years old. As a result, he spent most of his younger life without his mother.

After graduating from Chigasaki Shiritsu Umeda Junior High School, Hagiwara moved to Tokyo. He enrolled in the part-time program at Tokyo Metropolitan Toyama High School, but dropped out after only one week.

Career Hagiwara co-starred in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure with Kōji Yakusho and appeared in Hou Hsiao-hsien's Café Lumière. He was supposed to perform in the play "Shinjō Afururu Keihakusa 2001" at Theatre Cocoon in January 2001, but was forced to cancel his performance in December 2000 due to a sensorineural hearing loss that left him temporarily deaf.

He also had a starring role as a vocalist and saxophonist in a jazz band in Junji Sakamoto's Out of This World. After having saxophone lessons with others, he practiced by himself in a karaoke box until his lips were swollen. The second prominent time as a vocalist was in 2007 for the cover of a song by The Blue Hearts, Mirai wa Bokura no Te no Naka, which was used as an opening theme for the anime TV series Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor.

In 2018, he became a Riichi Mahjong professional affiliated with the Japan Professional Mahjong League. In the same year he was drafted by the Team RAIDEN professional Mahjong team for the participation of the team Riichi Mahjong tournament M-League.

Personal life In November 1995, Hagiwara married actress Emi Wakui, with whom he co-starred in the TV drama Natsuko no Sake. They had a son in October 1999 and divorced in July 2003, with Wakui taking custody of the son.

Filmography

Film

Television

Animated television series

Animated films

Dubbing Live-action

Animation Year Title Role Notes 1999G-SaviourMark Curran

Music videos Year Song Artist Notes 2005SakuraKetsumeishi

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work(s) Result 19936th Nikkan Sports Film AwardsBest NewcomerA Class to Remember and Many Happy Returns 199418th Elan d'or AwardsNewcomer of the YearHimself 15th Yokohama Film FestivalBest Supporting ActorA Class to Remember, Many Happy Returns and All Under the Moon 17th Japan Academy Film PrizeNewcomer of the Year 199638th Blue Ribbon AwardsBest Supporting ActorMarks 19th Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Supporting Actor 199821st Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Supporting ActorCure