# Masao Kusakari

Masao Kusakari (草刈 正雄, Kusakari Masao, born September 5, 1952 in Yukuhashi, Fukuoka) is a Japanese actor and model.

## Biography

Masao Kusakari was born in Fukuoka Prefecture to a Japanese mother Sueko from Yukuhashi, and an American father Robert H. Tolar from Tar Heel, North Carolina, a USAF mailman who was deployed to Tsuiki Base during Korean War. Masao was told by Sueko (who died in 2010) that Robert had died in the Korean War, and he believed so, until NHK show "Family History" discovered that Robert had left Japan to move back to the US before Masao was born, then deployed to West Germany for several years as a military personnel, and later settled back in North Carolina where he died in 2013. After Masao was born, Sueko left her hometown of Yukuhashi, where there were strong prejudices against children with mixed races, then settled in Kokura (Current Kitakyushu) where she worked for multiple jobs to raise Masao. Masao also started working as early as elementary school age as a newspaper delivery boy. He started his career as a fashion model in Fukuoka when he was a high school student. Considered stunningly good looking, Masao was scouted at age 17 by a model agency in Tokyo, where his debut into the public eye began when he became a model for Shiseido Cosmetics in the early 1970's. He joined Toho in 1974 and began his career as a screen actor. He won his first major award at the Elan d'or Awards in 1975, and a year later, appeared in Kaze to Kumo to Niji to, a dream of his since early childhood to star in a taiga drama. From then to the early 1980's, Kusakari was one of the most popular actors in Japan.
He won popularity again through his role in Sanada Maru in 2016. In 2017, Kusakari won Best Supporting Actor of 10th Tokyo Drama Awards for his role in Sanada Maru. In 2019, Kusakari appeared in the Asadora Natsuzora and played an important role that has a great influence on leading character Natsu's life.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | ESPY | Jirō Miki | |
| 1974 | Okita Sōji | Okita Sōji | Lead role |
| 1974 | Himiko | Takehiko | |
| 1975 | Gambare Wakadaishō | Shōzo Umeno aka Wakadaishō | Lead role |
| 1976 | Brother and Sister | Inokichi | |
| 1978 | Hi no Tori | Yumihiko of Matsuro | |
| 1979 | G.I. Samurai | Masakichi | |
| 1979 | Byoinzaka no Kubikukuri no Ie | Hinatsu Mokutaro | |
| 1980 | Virus | Yoshizumi | Lead role |
| 1981 | Eijanaika | Itoman | |
| 1982 | Yogoreta Eiyu | Akio Kitano | Lead role |
| 1987 | Horinonakano Playball | Junichi Mizuta | Lead role |
| 1989 | Yuwakusha | Kazuhiko Sotomura | |
| 1995 | August in the Water | | |
| 1999 | Hakuchi | Kogarashi | |
| 2004 | Ultraman: The Next | Manjōme | |
| 2013 | Casting Blossoms to the Sky | | |
| 2018 | My Retirement, My Life | Michitarō Sano | Lead role |
| 2019 | Hit me Anyone One More Time | Daigo Tsurumaru | |
| 2022 | Dreaming of the Meridian Arc | The Governor of Chiba / Tokugawa Ienari | |
| 2024 | Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General | King Zhaoxiang of Qin | |
| TBA | Emergency Interrogation Room: The Final | Masanao Gōhara | |

### Television dramas

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | Kaze to Kumo to Niji to | Kashima no Haruaki | Taiga drama |
| 1981 | Pro Hunter | Shunsuke Ryuzaki | Lead role |
| 1985 | Sanada Taiheiki | Sanada Yukimura | |
| 1994 | Minami-kun no Koibito | Chiyomi's father | |
| 1994 | Hana no Ran | Hino Katsumitsu | Taiga drama |
| 1996 | Furuhata Ninzaburō | Ken'ichirō Inui | Episode 16 |
| 1996 | Iguana Girl | Masanori Aoshima | |
| 1997 | Mōri Motonari | Katsura Hirozumi | Taiga drama |
| 2002 | Shopping Hero | | |
| 2004 | Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy | | |
| 2005 | Yoshitsune | Taira no Tomoyasu | Taiga drama |
| 2008 | Atsuhime | Abe Masahiro | Taiga drama |
| 2009 | Atashinchi no Danshi | | |
| 2010 | Clouds Over the Hill | Katō Tomosaburō | |
| 2011 | Gō | Honda Masanobu | Taiga drama |
| 2012 | Priceless | Hirose | |
| 2014 | Emergency Interrogation Room | Masanao Gōhara | |
| 2016 | Sanada Maru | Sanada Masayuki | Taiga drama |
| 2017 | Bakumatsu Gourmet Bushi Meshi! | The Lord | |
| 2017 | Doctor-X Season 5 | Kagenobu Uchikanda | |
| 2018 | Fūunji tachi | Tanuma Okitsugu | Television film |
| 2019 | Innocence, Fight Against False Charges | Shin Kurokawa | Special appearance |
| 2019 | Natsuzora | Taiju Shibata | Asadora |
| 2020 | Operation Z | Prime minister Ejima | Lead role |
| 2020 | Love Begins When the Money Ends | Tomihiko Saruwatari | Miniseries |
| 2021 | A Man and His Cat | Kanda Fuyuki | Lead role |
| 2022 | Chimudondon | Gorō Ōsato | Asadora |

### Dubbing

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | My Best Friend's Wedding | George Downes (Rupert Everett) | 2000 NTV edition |
| 2008 | WALL-E | Captain B. McCrea | |
| 2017 | Murder on the Orient Express | Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) | |

## Awards and prizes

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
| 1975 | Elan d'or Awards | Newcomer of the Year | Himself | Won | |
| 2017 | 10th Tokyo Drama Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Sanada Maru | Won | |