Takeshi Kaneshiro

Takeshi Kaneshiro is a very religious man. He has remained a devout Buddhist since 1997, on his mother’s insistence.

He happens to carry a nihilist approach toward life and is known to delve into philosophical questions during his interviews. When asked about how he would like to be remembered, in one of his interviews, he seemed annoyed at the question and responded very coldly, stating that he did not care about it.

There has been no confirmed information on his relationship status. He is said to have stated that he would be the best husband and father when the time comes.

Takeshi was born to a Taiwanese mother and a Japanese father, on October 11, 1974. He grew up in Taipei, Taiwan. He holds a Japanese citizenship since birth. He belonged to an affluent business family and his parents gave him everything he desired as a kid. He soon became addicted to cinema and spent countless hours watching national and international films.

The Hong Kong film industry was finding its footing at that time, and most films Takeshi came to love as a kid were from the industry. He would often run away with his elder brothers to watch movies, as their parents did not allow them to watch too many movies.

An active teenager, he started exploring music as he grew up, and all his early teenage years were solely dedicated to singing and learning to play the guitar.

He attended the ‘Taipei Japanese Junior High School,’ and then enrolled at the ‘Taipei American School,’ where he was introduced to Hollywood and the English language for the first time. Soon, he became quite fluent in English.

While in high school, he started auditioning and soon started receiving offers to star in TV commercials. He did not quite finish his education and started acting instead, in order to gain a foothold in the industry.

Takeshi released his first album, titled ‘Heartbreaking Nights, in 1992. Although the album was in Japanese, a few songs were in Cantonese and Mandarin to appeal to Chinese listeners too. The album was a major success and brought Takeshi in the limelight. He started receiving offers to star in many Hong Kong films, and in the very next year, Takeshi made his acting debut.

He made his film debut with the 1993 film ‘Heroic Trio 2: Executioners’ and followed it up with major roles in films such as ‘Mermaid Got Married’ and ‘The Wrath of Silence.’ These two projects got him noticed by celebrated director Wong Kar-wai, who then came in touch with Takeshi and without a formal audition, offered him a role in his film ‘Chungking Express.’

The film was about three lonely people in Hong Kong and how they eventually find their way to happiness. The film was released in 1994 and became a major hit. Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino watched the film in a film festival and immediately offered to release it in the US. The film was moderately successful in the US too.

The next year, Takeshi starred in the sequel to ‘Chungking Express,’ titled ‘Fallen Angels,’ and the film repeated the success story of its first instalment. Takeshi was riding high on success, and needed to tread carefully, as he was being deluged with film roles.

Takeshi then starred in films such as ‘School Days,’ ‘Trouble Maker,’ and ‘Lost and Found.’ He was appearing in about half a dozen films in a year at one point in time.