Takayuki Yamada
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Takayuki Yamada

Takayuki Yamada (born October 20, 1983) is a prominent Japanese actor, singer, and producer, known for his vast and diverse acting spectrum, which has earned him the nickname of "chameleon actor" in Japanese media. Born in Naha, Okinawa, he was raised in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, until the age of 15. He is the youngest of three siblings, with two older sisters, Kaori and Sayuki, who worked as models. Yamada was scouted by a talent agency at age 15 while shopping with his sisters in Harajuku and subsequently moved to Tokyo, making his acting debut in the 1999 TV drama Psychometrer Eiji 2. His career breakthrough came with leading roles in the popular TV dramas Water Boys in 2003 and Socrates in Love (Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu) in 2004, for which he received a Newcomer Award at the 2004 Elan d'or Awards. He achieved further recognition with his first movie lead role in the 2005 film Train Man: Densha Otoko. Yamada gained significant international popularity for his portrayal of Tamao Serizawa in the Crows Zero film series (2007, 2009) and for his lead role as Kaoru Ushijima in the long-running Ushijima the Loan Shark film and TV series (2010–2016). His filmography also includes critically acclaimed roles in films such as 13 Assassins (2010), The Samurai That Night (2012), and the titular role of Toru Muranishi in the Netflix series The Naked Director (2019-2021). Beyond acting, he has ventured into production with the live-action web series Saint Young Men and is the lead singer of the band The XXXXXX since 2018.

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