Okada Junichi

Awards and nominations

Music career

In the summer of 1995, he participated inJohnny's Pre-School, part of the NTV programTensai, Takeshi no Genki ga Deru Terebi(天才・たけしの元気が出るテレビ!!^?). He passed the audition and joined Johnny & Associates at the age of 14. After being in Johnny's for only a short period of three months, he made his debut as the youngest member of the idol group V6. Unlike the rest of the members in the group, he did not have much experience as Johnny's Jr. The first time that he had been on a music program was only after the debut of V6. Their debut song was "Music For the People".

Okada can play the guitar, as well as the piano. His mother is a piano teacher. His voice is in the middle range, and hence his solos usually include slower ballads. Recently, he has been given longer solos in V6 songs, such as "Way of Life".He also reveals that during V6's 2008 concertVibes, he was directing most of the lightning, staging, and costumes.

Acting career

Dramas

Besides known for being a V6 member, Okada is an accomplished actor with eleven movies, in which he plays the lead roles in eight of them, and sixteen dramas , in which he plays the lead roles in four of them. In a Shōnen Club Premium interview on May 7, 2009, he revealed that it was the Japanese dramaKisarazu Cat's Eyethat caught viewers and directors' attention of his acting ability.The success of the drama led to the making of two subsequent movies,Kisarazu Cat's Eye: Nihon SeriesandKisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series. His other notable dramas includeTiger & Dragon, a comedy drama about rakugo , a form of Japanese comedy acted only by one person telling that story.andSP(also known asSecurity Police), an action suspense drama about a team of security police bodyguards in charge of protecting important people in the government. With Shinichi Tsutsumi as his co-star, the drama drew in overall ratings of 15.35% despite its Saturday 11:00 p.m. ( JST ) time slot;its special episode broadcast in 2008 also received a viewership rating of 21.5%.

Movies

He made a big leap in his movie career withTokyo Towerin 2005. In the movie he portrayed a young college student torn between his love for a lady twenty years his senior and the views society has on these kinds of relationship.After that cameHana Yori no Naho'(花よりもなほ^?), known asHanato Western movie audiences, directed by the renowned director Hirokazu Koreeda (Distance,After LifeandNobody Knows). In the movie, Okada portrayed Sōza, a samurai uninterested in killing his enemy and focused on what he could do today to be a better person instead. The movie earned him a nomination for the Blue Ribbon Awards , but Johnny & Associates asked him to decline this nomination.^{[citation needed]}Nevertheless, he still got awarded the Ishihara Yujiro New Actor Award at Nikkan Sports Film Award for his role inHana.Recently, he has been involved in movies such asKagehinata Ni Saku(陰日向に咲くFlowers in the Shadow^?), portraying a young man in debt because of pachinko , and Otonari(おとなり^?), an unconventional love story between two neighbors who have never met each other and only follow the other person's life through the sounds they hear from the other side of the wall.

Personal life

Okada is known for being reserved. He does not meet with many people within the agency.In an interview onShōnen Club Premium, Okada said that when he was little, whenever his name was called up to read something in class, he would feel like vomiting and purposely avoided school on those day. Within V6, he is also the most quiet person. He enjoys carpentry and has carved wooden bears for children.

In August 2008, it was rumored that Okada andTiger & Dragonco-star Yu Aoi are dating.

In the summer of 1995, he participated inJohnny's Pre-School, part of the NTV programTensai, Takeshi no Genki ga Deru Terebi(天才・たけしの元気が出るテレビ!!^?). He passed the audition and joined Johnny & Associates at the age of 14. After being in Johnny's for only a short period of three months, he made his debut as the youngest member of the idol group V6. Unlike the rest of the members in the group, he did not have much experience as Johnny's Jr. The first time that he had been on a music program was only after the debut of V6. Their debut song was "Music For the People".

Okada can play the guitar, as well as the piano. His mother is a piano teacher. His voice is in the middle range, and hence his solos usually include slower ballads. Recently, he has been given longer solos in V6 songs, such as "Way of Life".He also reveals that during V6's 2008 concertVibes, he was directing most of the lightning, staging, and costumes.

1. (Japanese)"way of life" . Amazon.jp. . Retrieved 2010-02-05.
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(Japanese)"SP drama ratings" . Artv. . Retrieved 2010-02-05. ""SP" special captures 21.5%" . Tokyograph. 2008-04-07. . Retrieved 2010-02-05. (Japanese)"東京タワー プレミアム・エディション" . Amazon.jp. . Retrieved 2010-02-05.
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"Oto, Na, Ri (Otonari)" . CD Japan. . Retrieved 2010-02-05.
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(Japanese)Okada, Junichi. Interview with Shinya Ueda.Oshareism.2008-01-27. "Junichi Okada, Yu Aoi reportedly dating" . Tokyograph. 2008-08-29. . Retrieved 2010-02-05. ""SP" movie split into two parts" . Tokyograph. 2010-04-19. . Retrieved 2010-04-20. (Japanese)"主演男優賞" . Television Drama Academy Awards. 2002-04-05. . Retrieved 2010-02-05. "Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix" . Tokyograph. . Retrieved 2010-02-05. "Awards for Junichi Okada" . IMDB. . Retrieved 2010-02-05. (Japanese)"主演男優賞" . Television Drama Academy Awards. 2008-04-24. . Retrieved 2010-02-05.