Ryo Yoshizawa

is a Japanese actor. His breakthrough roles include Sogo Okita in the Gintama live-action films, King Ei Sei/Hyou in Kingdom series, and Manjiro "Mikey" Sano in Tokyo Revengers. He is known for his expressive eyes and natural acting style. He is also known for his role in tokusatsu, as Ryusei Sakuta/Kamen Rider Meteor in Kamen Rider Fourze. In 2025 he starred as Kikuo Tachibana in Japan's highest-grossing domestic live-action movie ever, Kokuho which won him numerous acting awards including Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Early life Yoshizawa was born on February 1, 1994 in Tokyo, Japan. Yoshizawa holds second dan in kendo, which he has been practicing for over nine years. He is known for being introverted and preferred to stay indoors since childhood. His mother describes his personality as "Easily misunderstood, quiet but passionate". On the other hand, his brothers said whenever at home he is someone who is just there, silently grinning while playing with his phone or reading manga.

Career

2009–2015: Career beginnings and initial setbacks Yoshizawa began his acting career after winning the "Right-on" award at Amuse National Audition 2009 The Push! Man held by talent agency Amuse. He competed against 31,514 other applicants. Yoshizawa's mother was the one who encouraged him to join the audition. He was motivated because of the 1 million yen prize money but then felt disappointed when he only got a special award without monetary reward. A month after the audition announcement ceremony, he was contacted by a manager and agreed to sign with Amuse.

In the beginning of 2011, Yoshizawa made his television drama debut in Sign with other Amuse actors like Dori Sakurada and Takuya Uehara. In the second half of that year, he starred in NHK youth drama Kingyo Club. He went on to portray Ryusei Sakuta in Kamen Rider Fourze,

Four years into his acting career, after doing many supporting roles he got an opportunity to be leading actor through audition in 2013 TBS mixed production of serial drama and stage play Bussen, which told a story about monk protégé Shosuke Tamura's comedic misadventure in a buddhist school. Contrary to Yoshizawa's expectation of his long awaited lead role, Bussen got low ratings during its broadcast. Furthermore, the stage play barely brought audience it could not fill even half the theatre seats. Disappointed by the result, Yoshizawa who until that point felt that being an actor was just a part-time job he could quit anytime, started to rethink the weight of being in the spotlight. He said that experience of not being able to fill the theatre sparked his fire to keep acting and take the job more seriously.

2016–2020: Rising popularity and breakthrough In 2017, he portrayed the role of Shinsengumi 1st Division Captain Okita Sougo in the 2017 live-action film of the popular manga series Gintama, and reprised the role in the sequel, Gintama 2, in 2018. In 2018 alone, he actively participated in acting, appearing in 8 movies, 2 dramas, and 1 play. Among them, River's Edge, a film of the same name based on Kyoko Okazaki's manga, was submitted to the Panorama section of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival, and Yoshizawa appeared at an international film festival for the first time with director Isao Yukisada and actress Fumi Nikaido. In addition, for this work, he won the Best New Actor Award at the 10th Tama Film Festival, the Best New Actor Award at the 40th Yokohama Film Festival, and the Best New Actor Award at the 42nd Japan Academy Awards.

In NHK's 100th serial morning drama, Natsuzora which aired from April 2019, Yoshizawa played the role of Yamada Tenyo, a character based on the real-life painter Kanda Nissho, a childhood friend of the protagonist Natsu. He was selected through an audition of over 2,500 people. Since the airing of the 23rd week, in which his character Tenyo last appears, 'Tenyo-kun' has appeared in real-time trends on Twitter, to the point where people are suffering from 'Tenyo-kun aftereffects'. Around the same time, the film Kingdom was released. Produced on a large-scale budget for a Japanese film, Yoshizawa was cast in the prominent supporting role of Ei Sei, second only to the protagonist in importance. Producer Shinzo Matsuhashi defended the casting against concerns over Yoshizawa's limited public recognition, reportedly stating, "He is certain to become a star within three years." Matsuhashi's support ultimately secured the casting. The film went on to become a major commercial success, grossing more than 5.7 billion yen at the Japanese box office. His performance in Natsuzora and movie Kingdom earned him the 2020 Elan d'or Awards for Rookie of the Year.

In September 2019, it was announced that Yoshizawa had been chosen to portray Shibusawa Eiichi, the lead character of NHK's 60th taiga drama, Reach Beyond the Blue Sky which is scheduled to air from February until December 2021. Yoshizawa is the first Heisei-born actor to play the lead role in a taiga drama, he was selected through an offer from NHK and it was said that there were many recommendations from the production team who worked with him on Natsuzora.

Yoshizawa also attempted voice acting for the first time, performing two roles in his first attempt at Super Peace Busters' new work, Her Blue Sky. With this work, Yoshizawa attended the Sitges Film Festival, where the work was submitted, along with director Tatsuyuki Nagai and actress Riho Yoshioka. He also voiced original character, Rody Soul, for third movie version of the animation series My Hero Academia, which was released on August 6, 2021.

2021–present: Acclaim in television and film From October 2022, Yoshizawa took on his first lead role in Getsuku (Golden Time) drama, PICU: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, playing the role of Takeshiro Shikota. It is also his first doctor character since his debut and the average viewer rating of the drama was 8.5%. He reprised his role for the special drama and spin-off of PICU: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, which aired in April 2024.

Yoshizawa alongside actress Aoi Miyazaki starred in a Netflix mystery & romance comedy movie, In Love and Deep Water, that premiered in November 2023 which Yuji Sakamoto was the screenwriter.

Yoshizawa stars in Lee Sang-il's 2025 film Kokuho . He plays Kikuo Tachibana, a yakuza's son who performs as a woman in kabuki. The film is based on the novel by Shuichi Yoshida and tells the story of two men from different backgrounds who become rivals in kabuki, one a yakuza's son and the other a kabuki heir, in postwar Japan. Kokuho has been officially selected for the 57th Directors' Fortnight at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.

Following Natsuzora, Yoshizawa was announced to join another morning drama, The Ghost Writer's Wife, as Yuichi Nishikori, an English teacher who will have a major impact on the lives of the heroines Toki Matsuno (Akari Takaishi) and Heaven (Tommy Bastow). His second morning drama is scheduled to air in the second half of 2025.

Personal life Yoshizawa was questioned by the police after an incident on December 30, 2024 where he had drunkenly entered a neighbor's unlocked apartment without permission, mistaking the unit as his own, to use their restroom. As a result, Asahi Beer dropped their endorsement deal with him and Shochiku delayed Babanba Banban Vampire movie initially set to release on February 14, 2025. On the other hand, Iris Ohyama announced that it would continue its commercials contract with him thanks to longstanding mutual trust, earning praise online. Yoshizawa and his neighbor reached settlement outside of court and he has since moved out from the apartment building.

Filmography

TV series

Year Title Role Other notes 2011 Sign Yūki Nagi Kingyo Club Shō Yanahashi 2011–12 Kamen Rider Fourze Ryūsei Sakuta/Kamen Rider Meteor Hell Teacher Nube Katsuya Kimura 2015 Heat Kohei Matsuyama Ichiro Iemochi Tokugawa Episode 1 Lady Girls Ryosuke Maekawa 2016 Please Love Me Junta Sano Episode 1 Criminologist Himura and Mystery Writer Arisugawa Eisuke Hata Episode 2 The Single Teacher Miss Hayako Hayato Kitsuregawa Episodes 4-7 Budokan Daichi Mizushima Cold Case Junichi Kudo Episode 1 2017 Tomodachi Game Yūichi Katagiri Lead role Inside Mari Isao Komori Gintama: Mitsuba Hen Sogo Okita Shimokitazawa Die Hard Kidnapper Episode 1 Love and Hong Kong Kenta Yamada Lead role; miniseries 2018 Survival Wedding Yuichi Kashiwagi Gintama of the Unusual Sogo Okita Episode 1 Giver: Revenge's Giver Giba Lead role 2019 Natsuzora: Natsu's Sky Ten'yō Yamada Asadora 2020 Hanzawa Naoki 2: Episode 0 Kei Kōsaka Lead role; TV movie Hanzawa Naoki 2 Kei Kōsaka Episode 3; cameo 2021 Reach Beyond the Blue Sky Shibusawa Eiichi Lead role; Taiga drama 2022 PICU Takeshirō Shikota Lead role 2025–26 The Ghost Writer's Wife Yūichi Nishikōri Asadora

Films

Year Title Role Other notes 2011 Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max Ryūsei Sakuta/Kamen Rider Meteor Credited as "Mysterious student" 2012 Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen Ryūsei Sakuta/Kamen Rider Meteor Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Wizard & Fourze: Movie War Ultimatum Ryūsei Sakuta/Kamen Rider Meteor Daily Lives of High School Boys Hidenori Tabata 2014 Blue Spring Ride Aya Kominato 2016 Wolf Girl and Black Prince Yū Kusakabe Dangerous Cops: Final 5 Days Kazunori Kawasumi Tomodachi Game: The Movie – Final Yūichi Katagiri Lead role That Girl's Captives of Love Yori Suzuki Lead role Evil and the Mask Ryōsuke Itō Marmalade Boy Yū Matsuura Lead role Reon Tōru Ichijō The Cat in Their Arms Cat Yoshio Lead role Bleach Uryū Ishida Gintama 2 Sogo Okita Sakura Hajime Hasegawa Blue, Painful, Fragile Kaede Tabata Lead role Awake Eiichi Lead role 2021 Tokyo Revengers Manjiro "Mikey" Sano 2022 Kingdom 2: Far and Away Ei Sei Black Night Parade Miharu Hino Lead role 2023 Familia Manabu In Love and Deep Water Suguru Ubukata Lead role Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween Part 1 Manjiro "Mikey" Sano Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween Part 2 Manjiro "Mikey" Sano Kingdom 3: The Flame of Destiny Ei Sei Family Makoto Lead role 2024 Living in Two Worlds Dai Igarashi Lead role Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General Ei Sei 2025 Kokuho Kikuo Tachibana Lead role Babanba Banban Vampire Mori Ranmaru Lead role 2026 Kingdom 5: The Clash of Souls Ei Sei

Stage Year Title Role Other notes 2010 Black Pearl Rum Stage play 2013 Bussen Shosuke Tamura Stage play 2015 Tokyo Head Jeffry Kashiwa Stage play 2016 Raiō no Terasu Keo-Fa Stage play 2017 Hyakki Opera Rashomon Takehiro Stage play 2020 The Producers Leo Bloom Musical 2022 Mercury Fur Elliot Stage play 2026 Dear Evan Hansen Evan Hansen Musical

Voice work Year Title Role Other notes 2019 Her Blue Sky Shinnosuke Kanamuro/Shinno Anime movie 2021 My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission Rody Soul Anime movie 2022 Tokyo National Museum 150th Anniversary Special Exhibition: "National Treasure: Everything About the Tokyo National Museum" Navigator Audio guide 2025 My Hero Academia: Final Season Rody Soul Television anime 2026 Shin Gekijōban Keroro Gunsō: Fukkatsu Shite Sokkō Chikyū Metsubō no Kiki de Arimasu! Sogo Okita Anime movie

Others

Year Title Role Notes 2010-2011 Disney 365 MC 2012-2013 Honoo-no Taiiku-kai TV Kendo club member 2014-2017 Koin Toss Panelist Season 1-6 2016 Good Night Prince Story teller Season 1 2019-present Futto Word 10 Crab-obsessed actor Obsessed celebrity segment 2020 Zip! Friday personality News program 71st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen Judge

Awards and nominations