Masao Kusakari
Born (1952-09-05) September 5, 1952
Yukuhashi, Fukuoka, Japan
Occupation(s)Actor, model
Years active1970–present
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
ChildrenKuran Kusakari
Mayū 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,[1] until NHK show "Family History" discovered[2] 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.[3] 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.[3]

He won popularity again through his role in Sanada Maru in 2016.[4][5] In 2017, Kusakari won Best Supporting Actor of 10th Tokyo Drama Awards for his role in Sanada Maru.[6] In 2019, Kusakari appeared in the Asadora Natsuzora and played an important role that has a great influence on leading character Natsu's life.[7][8][9]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Director Notes Ref.
1974 ESPY Jirō Miki Jun Fukuda
Okita Sōji Okita Sōji Masanobu Deme Lead role
Himiko Takehiko Masahiro Shinoda
1975 Gambare Wakadaishō Shōzo Umeno aka Wakadaishō Tsugunobu Kotani Lead role [10]
1976 Brother and Sister Inokichi Tadashi Imai
1978 Hi no Tori Yumihiko of Matsuro Kon Ichikawa
1979 G.I. Samurai Masakichi Kōsei Saitō
Byoinzaka no Kubikukuri no Ie Hinatsu Mokutaro Kon Ichikawa
1980 Virus Yoshizumi Kinji Fukasaku Lead role
1981 Eijanaika Itoman Shohei Imamura
1982 Yogoreta Eiyu Masao Kitano Haruki Kadokawa Laed role
1987 Horinonakano Playball Junichi Mizuta Norifumi Suzuki Lead role
1989 Yuwakusha Kazuhiko Sotomura Shunichi Nagasaki
1995 August in the Water Gakuryū Ishii
1999 Hakuchi Kogarashi Makoto Tezuka
2004 Ultraman: The Next Manjōme Kazuya Konaka
2013 Casting Blossoms to the Sky Nobuhiko Obayashi
2018 My Retirement, My Life Michitarō Sano Takeo Kikuchi Lead role
2019 Hit me Anyone One More Time Daigo Tsurumaru Kōki Mitani
2022 Dreaming of the Meridian Arc The Governor of Chiba / Tokugawa Ienari Kenji Nakanishi [11]
TBA Emergency Interrogation Room: The Final Masanao Gōhara Jōta Tsunehiro [12]

Television dramas

Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
1976 Kaze to Kumo to Niji to Kashima no Haruaki NHK Taiga drama
1981 Pro Hunter Shunsuke Ryuzaki NTV Lead role
1985 Sanada Taiheiki Sanada Yukimura NHK [13]
1994 Minami-kun no Koibito Chiyomi's father TV Asahi
Hana no Ran Hino Katsumitsu NHK Taiga drama
1996 Furuhata Ninzaburō Ken'ichirō Inui Fuji TV Episode 16
Iguana Girl Masanori Aoshima TV Asahi
1997 Mōri Motonari Katsura Hirozumi NHK Taiga drama
2002 Shopping Hero TV Asahi
2004 Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy TV Tokyo
2005 Yoshitsune Taira no Tomoyasu NHK Taiga drama
2008 Atsuhime Abe Masahiro NHK Taiga drama
2009 Atashinchi no Danshi Fuji TV
2010 Saka no Ue no Kumo Katō Tomosaburō NHK
2011 Gō Honda Masanobu NHK Taiga drama
2012 Priceless Hirose Fuji TV
2014 Emergency Interrogation Room Masanao Gōhara TV Asahi [12]
2016 Sanada Maru Sanada Masayuki NHK Taiga drama [13]
2017 Bakumatsu Gourmet Bushi Meshi! The Lord NHK
Doctor-X Season 5 Kagenobu Uchikanda TV Asahi
2018 Fūunji tachi Tanuma Okitsugu NHK
2019 Innocence, Fight Against False Charges Shin Kurokawa NTV Special appearance
Natsuzora Taiju Shibata NHK Asadora
2020 Operation Z Prime minister Ejima Wowow Lead role
Love Begins When the Money Ends Tomihiko Saruwatari TBS Miniseries
2021 A Man and His Cat Kanda Fuyuki TV Tokyo Lead role
2022 Chimudondon Gorō Ōsato NHK Asadora [14]

Dubbing

Year Title Role Notes
1997 My Best Friend's Wedding George Downes (Rupert Everett) 2000 NTV edition
2008 WALL-E Captain B. McCrea[15]
2017 Murder on the Orient Express Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh)[16]

Awards and prizes

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

References

  1. ↑ "Kusakari Masao". Kotobanku (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Masao Kusakari". Family History (in Japanese). NHK. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  3. 1 2 日本映画人名事典』男優篇 上巻、キネマ旬報社、1996 P.552
  4. ↑ "草刈正雄 還暦過ぎてファースト写真集のワケ根がネガティブな男なんです". AERA DOT. 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  5. ↑ "売れ行き順調！ 草刈正雄芸歴47年で初写真集「次は脱がなきゃ」". AERA DOT. 2017-11-24. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  6. ↑ "堺雅人&草刈正雄 真田丸 親子が「東京ドラマアウォード」でツーショット". マイナビニュース. 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  7. ↑ "「なつぞら」草刈正雄の名演にネット号泣「もう無理」「涙で字幕が」". スポニチ. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  8. ↑ "「なつぞら」草刈正雄の深イイ演技で再注目 NHK朝ドラ歴代"名脇役おじさん"11選". 文集オンライン. 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  9. ↑ "なつぞら 草刈正雄の演技＆セリフに心打たれる人続出". News ポストセブン. 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  10. ↑ "Gambare Wakadaishō". Kinenote. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  11. ↑ "志の輔の落語を実写化した「大河への道」に岸井ゆきの、橋爪功ら出演、全員1人2役". Natalie. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  12. 1 2 "劇場版「緊急取調室」に杉咲花、眞島秀和、草刈正雄、比嘉愛未らドラマキャスト集結". natalie. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  13. 1 2 "【真田丸】草刈正雄、「丹波さんが見ているような気がした」". Oricon. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  14. ↑ "草刈正雄:朝ドラで次女・麻有と親子役共演「ちむどんどん」最終週に登場". Mantan-web. 23 September 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  15. ↑ "ウォーリー". Disney. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  16. ↑ "オリエント急行殺人事件(2017)". Wowow. Retrieved November 22, 2021.


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