Gen Hoshino

Gen Hoshino (星野 源, Hoshino Gen), born on January 28, 1981, is a multifaceted Japanese artist renowned for his work as a singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and writer.

Hoshino made his film debut in 2009 with Lee Sang-il's adaptation of Ryū Murakami's novel, 69. Prior to this, he had appeared in various television dramas and stage productions. He expanded his repertoire in 2012 by stepping into voice acting, voicing the character of Buddha in the OVA adaptation of Hikaru Nakamura's manga, Saint Young Men, and contributing the theme song "Gag" for its subsequent theatrical release in 2013.

In 2013, he starred in the romantic film Blindly in Love (Hakoiri Musuko no Koi) alongside Kaho and took on a role in Sion Sono’s film Why Don't You Play in Hell?. His performance in the 2016 TBS drama The Full-Time Wife Escapist, where he played salaryman Hiramasa Tsuzaki opposite Yui Aragaki, garnered critical acclaim, achieving peak viewership ratings of 20.8% and earning him multiple Best Supporting Actor awards. Hoshino also performed the drama's theme song, "Koi."

In animation, he voiced the lead in the acclaimed film Night Is Short, Walk On Girl and portrayed the Father in Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai, released in July 2018. He was featured in the 2019 NHK Taiga drama Idaten, where he depicted Kazushige Hirasawa, a character pivotal to Japan's Olympic history.

Hoshino's upcoming role in Samurai Shifters, based on Akihiro Dobashi's historical novel, marks his return to lead roles in live-action films, set to premiere on August 30, 2019.