Akira Emoto
Personal details
  • Born:
    • Birthday: 1948-11-03
    • Born Place: Chūō, Tokyo, Japan
  • Also Known As:

    에모토 아키라, Акира Эмото, 柄本 明, آکیرا اموتو, Akira Emoto

Akira Emoto

Akira Emoto (柄本 明, born November 3, 1948) is a highly respected and prolific Japanese actor whose career has spanned over five decades, establishing him as one of the most recognizable and critically acclaimed figures in modern Japanese cinema. Emoto began his career in the mid-1970s and quickly made a name for himself as a character actor, known for his ability to portray a wide range of roles, from quirky and comedic to intense and dramatic. He has an immense filmography and is a decorated artist, most notably winning the Japanese Academy Award for Best Actor in 1999 for his leading role in Shohei Imamura's film Dr. Akagi (1998). He has also earned multiple other honors, including Best Supporting Actor at the Hochi Film Awards. His notable international credits include roles in films such as Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi (2003), Hirokazu Kore-eda's Shoplifters (2018), and the recent US-Japan co-production, Rental Family (2025). Emoto's family is also deeply involved in the arts; his late wife, Kazue Tsunogae, was an actress, and his two sons, Tasuku Emoto and Tokio Emoto, are both successful actors. In the 2025 film Rental Family, Emoto delivers a tender and acclaimed performance as Kikuo Hasegawa, a spirited, elderly former actor diagnosed with dementia. His character is one of the key clients of the rental family agency, with the protagonist, Phillip Vandarpleog (Brendan Fraser), being hired to pose as Kikuo's biographer and companion, a performance that reviewers have singled out for its depth and emotional resonance.

Person History