# Masataka Kubota

Masataka Kubota (窪田 正孝, Kubota Masataka, born 6 August 1988) is a Japanese actor.

## History

Kubota was born in Kanagawa Prefecture. He is the youngest of three male brothers. He hoped to become a vehicle mechanic and enrolled in the mechanical department of Kanagawa Technical Senior High School. While Kubota was still in high school, his mother encouraged him to audition to enter the show business. After the audition, Kubota joined entertainment agency Stardust Promotion and became an actor.
In 2006, Kubota was debut starring Fuji Television's late-night television series Chekeraccho! in Tokyo. In the same year, he also made his film debut in Yuki Inomata's film Humoresque. But he often failed auditions until he was 19, and there were times when he thought about giving up acting. However, he was chosen again to be the lead actor in the television series K-tai Investigator 7 in 2008. He says his encounter with director Takashi Miike, who directed the series, was a turning point in his life.
Kubota was then gradually recognized for his acting ability and appeared in several popular Japanese national television series, including NHK Asadora and Taiga drama. In 2012, Kubota appeared in Taiga drama Taira no Kiyomori, he played Taira no Shigemori, the tragic heir to the lead role of Taira no Kiyomori. In 2014, he appeared Asadora Hanako to Anne, he became well known for playing the childhood friend of Hanako, the lead character. He then became a popular actor with appearances in popular television series Testimony of N written by Kanae Minato in 2014 and Death Note in 2015.
Kubota starred in Takashi Miike's 2019 film First Love. The film was selected for the Directors' Fortnight at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, and Kubota attended the festival with Miike.
In 2020, he was cast as the lead in the first half of the 2020 Asadora Yell. It was the first time since Massan, which aired in the second half of 2014, that a man was the main character in asadora.
In 2021, Kubota won Newcomer of the Year of Elan d'or Awards for his work as an actor the previous year. In 2022, he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 46th Japan Academy Film Prize for the film A Man.

## Personal life

Kubota and actress Asami Mizukawa's agency jointly announced that the two were engaged. They registered their marriage on 21 September 2019.

## Filmography
### Films

* Boku no Hatsukoi o Kimi ni Sasagu (2009)
* Kyōretsu! Mōretsu!! Kodai Shōjo Doguchan Matsuri Special Movie Edition (2010), Makoto Sugihara
* Gachiban Series (2010–2014), Yūto Kuronaga
* 13 Assassins (2010), Shōjirō Kokura
* We Can't Change the World. But, We Wanna Build a School in Cambodia. (2011), Masayuki Yano
* Hasami (2012), Yōhei Hayama
* Rurouni Kenshin (2012), Akira Kiyosato
* The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky (2012), Ryōta Fukuda
* Suzuki Sensei (2013), Yoshio Shirai
* Jellyfish Eyes (2013), Yoninshū Seiryū
* Goddotan Kiss Gaman Senshuken The Movie (2013), Michael
* Tobe Dakota (2013), Kenichi Kimura
* The Liar and His Lover (2013), Shinya Shinohara
* Dakishimetai: Shinjitsu no Monogatari (2014), Junpei
* Yamikin Ushijima-kun Part 2 (2014), Rei Kanzaki
* Naniwa Sendō (2014)
* Eiga ST Aka to Shiro no Sōsa File (2015), Yūji Kurosaki
* April Fools (2015), Matsuda
* Prophecy (2015), Yūichi Aoyama
* Romance (2015), Naoki
* 64: Part I (2016), Kōichirō Hiyoshi
* 64: Part II (2016), Kōichirō Hiyoshi
* Maniac Hero (2016), Makoto Toshida
* Mars (2016)
* Tokyo Ghoul (2017), Ken Kaneki
* The Last Cop (2017), Ryōta Mochizuki
* Thicker Than Water (2018), Kazunari
* Gintama 2 (2018), Bansai Kawakami
* Tokyo Ghoul S (2019), Ken Kaneki
* First Love (2019), Leo
* Diner (2019)
* Fancy (2020)
* Poupelle of Chimney Town (2020), Poupelle (voice)
* The Sunday Runoff (2022), Tanimura
* A Man (2022), Daisuke Taniguchi
* Radiation House: The Movie (2022), Iori Igarashi
* My Broken Mariko (2022), Makio
* Yudō (2023)
* Home Sweet Home (2023), Kenji
* One Last Bloom (2023), Toshio Nakanishi
* Masked Hearts (2023)
* Cloud (2024), Muraoka
* Last Mile (2024), Rokuro Kube
* The Real You (2024), AI voice
* Saint Young Men: The Movie (2024), Mara
* La Grande Maison Paris (2024), Toshihisa Yuasa
* Hero's Island (2025), Rei
* A Bad Summer (2025), Kanemoto

### Television

* Chekeraccho!! in Tokyo (Fuji TV, 2006), Takumi Aoba
* Jikuu Keisatsu Wecker Signa (Tokyo MX, 2007), Ēichi Karasuma
* Mop Girl Episode 7 (TV Asahi, 2007), Jun
* K-tai Investigator 7 (TV Tokyo, 2008–2009), Keita Amishima
* Naniwa no Hana: Ogata Kōan Jikenchō (NHK, 2009), Akira Ogata
* Mama wa Mukashi Papa Datta (WOWOW, 2009), Shinichirō Kayama(Miwako)
* The Ancient Dogoo Girl (MBS, 2009), Makoto Sugihara
* Xmas no Kiseki (Tōkai TV, 2009), Ken Hayashida
* Boku ga Celeb to Kekkon Shita Hōhō (NHK 1seg 2, 2010), Shinnosuke Sawada
* GeGeGe no Nyōbō (NHK, 2010), Kēichi Kurata
* Joker: Yurusarezaru Sōsakan Episode 4 (Fuji TV, 2010), Takahiro Shiina
* Koisuru Nihongo (NHK, 2011), Akira
* Misaki Number One!! Episode 3 (NTV, 2011), Nakatsu
* Honboshi: Shinri Tokusō Jikenbo Episode 4 (TV Asahi, 2011), Keita Minobe
* Karyū no Utage (NHK, 2011), Shō Fukuhara
* Aishiteru: Kaiyō (NTV, 2011)
* QP (NTV, 2011), Eiji
* Nazotoki wa Dinner no Atode Episode 4 (Fuji TV, 2011), Miura
* Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou (NTV, 2012), Hakamatsuka
* Legal High Episode 2 (Fuji TV, 2012), Jango Jango Higashi Kurume
* Taira no Kiyomori (NHK, 2012), Taira no Shigemori
* Sōmatō Kabushikigaisha Episode 1 (TBS, 2012), Takahiro Seki
* Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi Natsu no Tokubetsu-hen 2012 (Fuji TV, 2012), Kenta Yamada
* Perfect Blue Episode 1 (TBS, 2012), Takashi Inami
* Ōoku: Tanjō (Arikoto Iemitsu-hen) (TBS, 2012), Sutezō
* Saikō no Rikon (Fuji TV, 2013), Junnosuke Hatsushima
* ST Keishichō Kagaku Sōsahan (NTV, 2013), Yūji Kurosaki
* Summer Nude (Fuji TV, 2013), Hikaru Kirihata
* Limit (TV Tokyo, 2013), Wataru Igarashi
* Sabishii Karyūdo (Fuji TV, 2013), Masato Noro
* Keiji no Manazashi Episodes 10–11 (TBS, 2013), Shingo Yamanouchi
* Urero Mitaiken Shōjo Episode 5 (TV Tokyo, 2014), Shō Saionji
* Kamen Teacher (NTV, 2014), Atsushi Amakawa
* Hanako to Anne (NHK, 2014), Asaichi Kiba
* Asaichi no Yomesan (NHK BS Premium, 2014)
* ST Aka to Shiro no Sōsa File (NTV, 2014), Yūji Kurosaki
* Testimony of N (TBS, 2014), Shinji Naruse
* Algernon ni Hanataba o (TBS, 2015), Ryūichi Yanagawa
* The Last Cop (NTV, 2015), Ryōta Mochizuki
* Eien no Bokura: Sea Side Blue (NTV, 2015), Kōta Yamauchi
* Death Note (NTV, 2015), Light Yagami
* High&Low: The Story of S.W.O.R.D. (NTV, 2015), Smoky
* Mars (NTV, 2016), Kirishima Makio
* Rinshō Hanzai Gakusha Himura Hideo no Suiri (NTV, 2016), Arisu Arisugawa
* Hitoya no Toge (Wowow, 2017), Ryota
* Fugitive Boys (Fuji TV, 2017), Tobio
* Unnatural (TBS, 2018), Rokuro Kube
* Radiation House (Fuji TV, 2019–2021), Iori Igarashi
* Yell (NHK, 2020), Yūichi Koyama
* Modern Love Tokyo (Amazon Prime Video, 2022), Rin (voice)
* Hijikata's Smart Phone (NHK, 2021), Hijikata Toshizo
** Hijikata's Smart Phone: New Year SP (NHK, 2022)
* Non-REM Sleep Window 2022, Autumn "The Man from the Future" (NTV, 2022), Koji Suganuma
* Actor's Short Film 3 "Tiger's Cave" (Wowow, 2023), Leading role
* Outrageous (TBS, 2023), Okamoto, half awake, half sleeping
* A Classroom in Midair (NHK, 2024), Kanae Fujitake
* La Grande Maison Tokyo Special (TBS, 2024), Toshihisa Yuasa

## Awards
### 2012

* The 34th Yokohama Film Festival: Best Newcomer for Fugainai Boku wa Sora o Mita and Hasami
* The 27th Takasaki Film Festival: Best Supporting Actor for Fugainai Boku wa Sora o Mita

### 2014

* The 83rd The Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for N no Tame ni
* The 24th TV Life Annual Drama Awards: Best Supporting Actor and Best Newcomer for N no Tame ni and Hanako to Anne

### 2015

* The 86th The Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Actor for Death Note

### 2021

* The 45th Elan d'or Awards: Newcomer of the Year
* The 14th Tokyo Drama Awards: Best Actor for Yell

### 2023

* The 77th Mainichi Film Awards: Best Supporting Actor
* The 46th Japan Academy Film Prize: Best Supporting Actor