Akira Terao facts for kids

Akira Terao (寺尾 聰, Terao Akira, born May 18, 1947) is a famous Japanese musician, singer, and actor. He is very special because he is the only male actor to have won two big awards: the Japan Record Award for music and the Japan Academy Award for acting. He won these awards for being the best in his field.

Early Life and Education

Akira Terao was born in Yokohama, Japan. His father was also a famous actor and film director named Jūkichi Uno. Akira went to schools like Wako Gakuen and Hosei University Daini Senior High School. He also graduated from a special school called Bunka Gakuin.

Career Highlights

Music Career

Akira Terao started his music journey in 1966. He was the bassist for a band called The Savage. Later, in 1970, he released his first solo album.

He is most famous for his 1981 hit song, Ruby no Yubiwa (ルビーの指環). This song was part of his album called Reflections (リフレクションズ). That album sold an amazing 1.6 million copies in Japan!

Acting Career

Akira Terao began acting in 1968. His first movie was The Sands of Kurobe, directed by Kei Kumai. He worked with the famous director Akira Kurosawa in two movies. In 1985, he was in Ran. Five years later, he appeared in Kurosawa's Dreams.

He has also worked with director Takashi Koizumi on films like After the Rain and The Professor's Beloved Equation. In TV shows, Terao acted with Kazunari Ninomiya in Yasashii Jikan. He also appeared in the drama Change in 2008. He won an award for best actor at the 47th Blue Ribbon Awards for his role in Half a Confession.

Personal Life

Akira Terao was married to Bunjaku Han from 1973 to 1974. His current wife is Mayumi Hoshino. He is often seen wearing sunglasses. People sometimes call him "hoppe" because he has two moles on one cheek. "Hoppe" means "cheek" in Japanese.

Filmography

Movies

• The Sands of Kurobe (1968)
• Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset (1976)
• Ran (1985) – Ichimonji Taro Takatora
• Rock yo shizukani nagareyo (1988)
• Dreams (1990) – "I"
• Madadayo (1993) - Sawamura
• After the Rain (1999) – Ihei Misawa
• Letters from the Mountains (2002) - Takao Ueda
• Casshern (2004) – Professor Kotaro Azuma
• Half a Confession (2004) – Soichiro Kaji
• Into the Sun (2005) – Matsuda
• The Professor's Beloved Equation (2006) - the professor
• The Hovering Blade (2009) – Shigeki Nagamine
• Fragments of the Last Will (2022) – old Ken'ichi Yamamoto
• Mom, Is That You?! (2023)
• The Imaginary (2023) – old dog (voice)
• Kaneko's Commissary (2025) – Hoshida
• Unforgettable (2025) – Tetta Mamiya
• Let's Meet at Angie's Bar (2025) – Kumasaka

Television Shows

• Kunitori Monogatari (1973) – Tokugawa Ieyasu
• Daitokai Series (1976–1979) – He was in only the 1st and 3rd seasons of the show.
• Seibu Keisatsu (1979) – Takeshi Matsuda, but prefers to be called 'Rikki' by his colleagues. His character is killed in the line of duty in the 123rd episode of Part I of the show.
• Taiyō ni Hoero! Part2 (1986)
• Gunshi Kanbei (2014) – Tokugawa Ieyasu
• Nobunaga Moyu (2016) – Konoe Sakihisa
• Kohaku (2017) – Toshio Arai
• Rikuoh (2017) – Haruyuki Iiyama
• Shiroi Kyotō (2019) – Professor Azuma

Discography

• Reflections (1981)
• Atmosphere (1983)
• Standard (1987)

Awards and Honors

• Medal with Purple Ribbon (2008)
• Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2018)

See also

In Spanish: Akira Terao para niños