Takeshi Kaneshiro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Takeshi Kaneshiro
金城 武
Kaneshiro in 2011
Born	(1973-10-11) October 11, 1973 (age 51) Taipei, Taiwan
Citizenship	Japan
Occupation	Actor singer
Chinese name
Chinese	金城武
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jīnchéng Wǔ Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Gam1 Sing4 Mou5 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Kim Siâⁿ-bú
Japanese name
Kanji	金城 武
Kana	かねしろ たけし
Transcriptions Romanization Kaneshiro Takeshi
Musical career
Also known as	Aniki
Genres	Mandopop Cantopop
Instruments	Vocals guitar

Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城 武, Kaneshiro Takeshi, born October 11, 1973) is a famous actor and singer. He is Japanese but lives in Taiwan. He started his career as a pop singer, but then he became more focused on acting in movies.

Takeshi Kaneshiro has worked with many well-known directors in Asia. These include Wong Kar-wai, Peter Chan, Zhang Yimou, and John Woo. Their movies together have been very popular and well-liked by critics. He is also famous in video games. He was the model and voice for the samurai character Samanosuke Akechi in the Onimusha video game series.

Early Life and Languages

Takeshi Kaneshiro was born in Taipei, Taiwan. His mother is Taiwanese, and his father is from Okinawa, Japan. He is a Japanese citizen. His father was a businessman, and his mother was a homemaker. He has two older half-brothers.

He went to school in Taipei. He learned English at an international school called Taipei American School. While he was in high school, he started acting in TV commercials. He decided to leave school to become a full-time actor and singer.

Takeshi Kaneshiro can speak many languages. He is fluent in Mandarin, Hokkien, and Japanese. He also knows some Cantonese and English. Mandarin was the first language he spoke when he was growing up in Taiwan.

About His Name

The name Kaneshiro (金城) is a common family name from Okinawa. His first name is Takeshi (武). In Japanese media, his name is written as Kaneshiro Takeshi (金城 武).

His name can be written in Chinese characters, which are used in both Chinese and Japanese. This means he can choose to be seen as Japanese or Chinese when he works in China. He can do this by adding or removing a space between his last name and first name.

Career Highlights

Starting Out (1992-1999)

Takeshi Kaneshiro began his singing career in 1992. People called him "Aniki," which means 'older brother' in Japanese. His first album was Heartbreaking Night. He wrote many of his own songs in Mandarin and Cantonese.

The next year, he became very popular and started acting. He doesn't make new music albums anymore. But he has sung in some of his movies, like Perhaps Love (2005) and See You Tomorrow (2016).

His first movie was Executioners (1993). Then he worked with director Wong Kar-wai in Chungking Express (1994) and Fallen Angels (1995). These movies helped him become known for playing unique characters. He also starred in Japanese TV shows and movies, like God, Please Give Me More Time (1998) and Returner (2002).

Becoming a Star (2000-2010)

Kaneshiro (center) in 2007 promoting The Warlords, alongside director Peter Chan and co-star Andy Lau

Takeshi Kaneshiro has done a lot of work in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In 2005, he starred in Perhaps Love. This was the first modern musical movie made in China. He worked with director Peter Chan many times after this.

In 2008 and 2009, he was in Red Cliff, a big movie by director John Woo. He also played the main romantic role in Zhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers. He starred with Jet Li and Andy Lau in The Warlords. He was very excited to work with Director Zhang Yimou.

Takeshi Kaneshiro is also famous in the video game world. He played the samurai warrior Samanosuke in Capcom's Onimusha games. There were plans for an Onimusha movie where he would play Samanosuke again, but it was delayed.

In 2003, Time magazine called him the "Johnny Depp of the East Asian film industry." He was also interviewed by CNN in 2006.

Recent Films (2011-Present)

In 2011, Takeshi Kaneshiro appeared in the movie Dragon. It was a historical martial arts thriller directed by Peter Chan. The movie was shown at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2017, he won the Best Leading Actor award at the Golden Screen Awards. He won for his role in the romantic comedy This Is Not What I Expected. This movie was produced by Peter Chan.

Takeshi Kaneshiro became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2018. This is the group that gives out the Oscar awards. In the same year, he finished filming Sons of the Neon Night. This movie also stars Tony Leung Ka Fai and Louis Koo. The movie's release was postponed to 2021.

Personal Life

Takeshi Kaneshiro is a Buddhist. He became a Buddhist in 1997, and his mother is also a devout Buddhist. People have called him a "heartthrob" and "dream guy" throughout his career. But he has always stayed humble. He is also known for trying to stay out of the media spotlight.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Soundtrack appearances

Awards and Nominations

Takeshi Kaneshiro was one of 10 actors to receive the 2010 Green Planet Film Award. This award was for being one of the Ten Best International Actors of the Decade (Asia).

See also

In Spanish: Takeshi Kaneshiro para niños

• Takeshi Kaneshiro Tree