Yuya Yagira won the prestigious Best Actor Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, at just 14 years old. But the awards and attentions also gave him pressures at a very young age. He admitted that he turned into quite a dark, rebellious teen and declined many potential jobs as an actor. But now, he’s back again in the movie industry with many things to offer, and of course, more humble persona. Last February, he just won the Best Actor Award at the 38th Yokohama Film Festival for Destruction Babies (2016). Let’s find more interesting facts about him!
He could eat 8 times a day. There was a period when the Tokyo born actor ate 8 times a day and gained about 20 kgs. “As the result, nobody recognized me on the street and when I did part time job,” he said. To lose weight, Yagira did some diet by eating banana and many vegetables, and trained his body at the gym.
He fell in love at first sight. Yagira married his wife, actress and model Ellie Toyota in 2010 when he was just 19 years old. She was his senpai (senior) in high school, and Yagira admitted on TV show Oshareism, that it was a love at the first sight. “I asked a friend to help me getting her contact number,” he said shyly. The couple welcomed their daughter in October 2010.
He did a baito (part-time job) experience in a car dealer. In 2009, when the job offers were declining, Yagira decided to do other job to make end meets. His first part time job was to wash cars in a car dealers. “I worked there for about 10 months, and I think I had washed about 3,500 cars,” he said. He also worked as a customer service in a restaurant.
He’s actually a hitomishiri (shy, nervous) kind of person. Even though he often praised for his cool looks and strong eyes, Yagira is actually quite shy. “I love watching variety shows at home. But to appear on one, it’s really nerve-wracking”. Many of his fans commented that the gap between his looks and his shy personality is really cute anyway, and they hope that he’ll appear more on variety/talk shows.
He’s a family man. When he didn’t do any job as an actor, reality hits him hard. He realized that as a husband and father, he needs to work. “It’s my responsibility. I only realized lately that the world is not so sweet. If only I noticed it a bit earlier, then maybe it didn’t have to be that way,” he added.
Check out his CM and follow his official twitter account below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N_ltDhF84E
「第38回ヨコハマ映画祭」「第90回キネマ旬報ベスト・テン」
たくさんの花束、ありがとうございます。
全てのファンの方々に感謝いっぱいの想いです。
これからも、共に。
宜しくお願い致します！ pic.twitter.com/KzC70Ap5fP— 【公式】柳楽優弥 STAFF (@ichigoichie_yy) February 5, 2017
image credit: stardust.co.jp
