Kiichi Nakai

Summary

Kiichi Nakai (中井 貴一, Nakai Kiichi, born 18 September 1961) is a Japanese actor. His name was given by Yasujirō Ozu. His father, Keiji Sada, also a movie actor, died when Nakai was only two years old. Nakai started his acting career while he was still in university and was awarded the Rookie of the Year at the Japan Academy Awards in 1981.

Kiichi Nakai
Born (1961-09-18) September 18, 1961 (age 62)
Tokyo, Japan
OccupationActor
Years active1981–present

He won the Japan Academy Best Supporting Actor award in 1994 (for 47 Ronin) and Best Actor award in 2003 (for When the Last Sword Is Drawn). He also won the award for best supporting actor at the 19th Hochi Film Award for 47 Ronin.[1]

In 2003 he played a Japanese delegate to a Chinese emperor of the Tang dynasty in Warriors of Heaven and Earth. Though a few of his lines are in Japanese, most are in Mandarin.

His older sister, Kie Nakai, is also an actress.

Selected filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Director Notes Ref(s)
1981 The Imperial Navy Shūe Matsubayashi
1983 Tora-san Goes Religious? Yoji Yamada
1985 The Burmese Harp Mizushima Kon Ichikawa Lead role
1986 Final Take Yoji Yamada Lead role
1987 Princess from the Moon Minister of the Military Kon Ichikawa
1990 Tokyo Heaven Fumio Amemiya Shinji Sōmai
1992 Gekashitsu Bandō Tamasaburō V
1993 Moving Shinji Sōmai Lead role
1994 47 Ronin Kon Ichikawa
1995 Marks Yoichi Sai Lead role
1998 Begging for Love Hideyuki Hirayama
1999 Owls' Castle Masahiro Shinoda Lead role
2000 Tales of the Unusual Ōishi Kuranosuke Masayuki Suzuki Lead role
2001 All About Our House Himself Kōki Mitani
The Firefly Yasuo Furuhata
Darkness in the Light Kei Kumai Lead role
2002 Shura no Mure Hiroyuki Tsuji
2003 When the Last Sword Is Drawn Yoshimura Kanichiro Yōjirō Takita Lead role
The Yin Yang Master 2 Yōjirō Takita
Warriors of Heaven and Earth Emissary Lai Xi He Ping Chinese film
2005 Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles Kenichi Takada (voice) Zhang Yimou Chinese film
2006 Aegis Junji Sakamoto
2007 Hero Akihiko Takita Masayuki Suzuki
Dororo Kagemitsu Daigo Akihiko Shiota
2008 The Magic Hour Kōki Mitani
Samurai Gangsters Shimizu no Jirochō Masahiko Makino Lead role
2009 Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess Hiroshi Kataoka (voice) Hiroshi Nishitani
2010 Railways Hajime Tsutsui Yoshinari Nishikori Lead role
2011 A Ghost of a Chance Tōru Osano Kōki Mitani
The Warring States King of Qi Chen Jin Chinese film
Wild 7 Eiichirō Hasumi
2012 The Wings of the Kirin Takeaki Aoyagi Nobuhiro Doi
Tenchi: The Samurai Astronomer Tokugawa Mitsukuni Yōjirō Takita
2014 Zakurozaka no Adauchi Kingo Shimura Setsurō Wakamatsu Lead role
2015 Again Haruhiko Sumio Ōmori Lead role
2016 Good Morning Show Shingo Sumita Ryoichi Kimizuka Lead role
Ken san Narrator Yuichi Hibi Documentary film
Kōfuku no Alibi Takanori Jinnai Lead role
2017 Flower and Sword Oda Nobunaga Tetsuo Shinohara
Honnōji Hotel Narrator Masayuki Suzuki
2018 We Make Antiques! Norio Koike Masaharu Take Lead role [2]
2019 Hit me Anyone One More Time Prime Minister Keisuke Kuroda Kōki Mitani Lead role
Aircraft Carrier Ibuki Keiichi Nakano Setsurō Wakamatsu
2020 We Make Antiques! Kyoto Rendezvous Norio Koike Masaharu Take Lead role [2]
2022 Dreaming of the Meridian Arc Ikemoto / Takahashi Kageyasu Kenji Nakanishi Lead role [3]
2023 We Make Antiques! Osaka Dreams Norio Koike Masaharu Take Lead role [2]
2024 The Silence of the Sea Setsurō Wakamatsu [4]
Samurai Detective Onihei: Blood for Blood Kyōgoku Takahisa Tomohiko Yamashita [5]

Television edit

Year Title Role Network Notes Ref(s)
1983–1997 Apples and Oranges Yoshio Nakategawa TBS Lead role; 4 seasons [6]
1988 Takeda Shingen Takeda Shingen NHK Lead role, Taiga drama [7]
1995 Hachidai Shōgun Yoshimune Tokugawa Muneharu NHK Taiga drama
2001 Someday Like Storm NHK
2003 Musashi Yagyū Munenori NHK Taiga drama [7]
2005 Yoshitsune Minamoto no Yoritomo NHK Taiga drama [7]
2007 Barefoot Gen Daikichi Nakaoka Fuji Lead role; miniseries
2009 Smile Kazuma Ito TBS
2010 Japanese Americans Chokichi Hiramatsu TBS
2012 Priceless Kengo Moai Fuji TV
Taira no Kiyomori Taira no Tadamori NHK Taiga drama [8]
Second to Last Love Wahei Nagakura Fuji TV Lead role
2016 Kinpika Kenta Sakaguchi Wowow Lead role
2018 Musume no Kekkon Takahiko Kunieda TV Tokyo Lead role; TV movie
2021 The Grand Family Daisuke Manpyo Wowow Lead role [9]
2023 Taiga Drama ga Umareta Hi Narushima NHK TV movie [10]

Video games edit

Year Title Role Notes
2020 Yakuza: Like a Dragon Masumi Arakawa
2024 Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Masumi Arakawa

Japanese dubbing edit

Title Role
Despicable Me 2 Eduardo "El Macho" Pérez

Honours edit

References edit

  1. ^ 報知映画賞ヒストリー (in Japanese). Cinema Hochi. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "中井貴一×佐々木蔵之介「嘘八百」第3弾製作、秀吉にまつわるお宝めぐりだまし合い". Natalie. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  3. ^ "中井貴一×松山ケンイチ×北川景子で立川志の輔の創作落語「伊能忠敬物語-大河への道-」を映画化!". eiga.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  4. ^ "本木雅弘と小泉今日子が31年ぶり共演 倉本聰氏35年ぶり映画脚本手がけた「海の沈黙」で". Nikkan Sports. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  5. ^ ""新たな鬼平" 第一弾「鬼平犯科帳 本所・桜屋敷」が遂に完成! 松本幸四郎、市川染五郎、松平健が登場!". Kyodo News PR Wire. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  6. ^ "【インタビュー】中井貴一×時任三郎 50代になった"ふぞろいの林檎たち"がテレビの時代を語り合う". Cinema Cafe. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "中井貴一". NHK. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  8. ^ "平清盛の出演者・キャスト一覧". The Television. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  9. ^ "「欲望に、限りはない。」中井貴一扮する"万俵"がお披露目「華麗なる一族」ビジュアル". Cinema Cafe. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  10. ^ "中井貴一、生田斗真主演『大河ドラマが生まれた日』出演 父・佐田啓二さんを演じる中村七之助に"形見"預ける【コメントあり】". Oricon. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  11. ^ "紫綬褒章・俳優の中井貴一さん 幅広い演技「必死に一つのこと継続」". Sankei Shimbun. Retrieved 16 February 2024.

External links edit

  • Official profile (in Japanese)
  • Kiichi Nakai at IMDb