| Hiro Mizushima 水嶋 ヒロ |
|
|---|---|
| Born | Tomohiro Saitō (齋藤 智裕) 13 April 1984 Tokyo, Japan |
| Other names | Satoshi Saitō (齋藤 智)[1] |
| Occupation | Writer, actor, model |
| Years active | 2004–2010 (Acting, Modeling) 2010–Present (Writing) |
| Spouse | Ayaka (2009–present) |
| Website | |
| hiros-field.jp | |
Hiro Mizushima (水嶋 ヒロ Mizushima Hiro), (born Tomohiro Saitō (齋藤 智裕 Saitō Tomohiro)[1] on 13 April 1984) is a Japanese writer and former model and actor. He appeared in a number of Japanese TV dramas, such as Hanazakari no Kimitachi e and Zettai Kareshi, before giving up his acting career to become a writer. Also, he was well known as the main protagonist in the tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Kabuto.
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Mizushima was born in Tokyo on 13 April 1984. He has one older sister. When he was six years old, his family moved from Japan to Switzerland due to his father's job. He lived in Zurich, Switzerland for six years, where he became fluent in English and developed an interest in soccer. His family returned to Japan when he was twelve years old.
Mizushima went to the junior high school and the high school of Toin Gakuen and belonged to the soccer club of the school. When he was in the twelfth grade, he worked as a regular midfielder in The 81st All Japan High School Soccer Tournament. His team advanced to the semifinals, but, they were defeated by Kunimi High School that had Sōta Hirayama who played in the U-20 FIFA Youth Championship.
In April, 2003, Mizushima entered the Faculty of Environmental Information, Keio University. (He graduated in March 2008.)
In 2004, Mizushima began to work as a fashion model to earn money to study abroad while at college. Then he worked modelling in the fashion show for a while. However, he was spotted and recruited as a potential actor by the acting agency Ken-On and transferred from the modeling agency Gig Management Japan to Ken-On.
Mizushima first appeared on Japanese television in 2005, where he played Hiro Misawa, a minor character in the second season of Gokusen. In the same year, he found guest starring roles in Japanese dramas such as Ame to Yume no Ato ni and a small role in the TBS drama Brother Beat.
In 2006, Mizushima became a main character in the series Kamen Rider Kabuto and acted in the lead role in the film Kamen Rider Kabuto: God Speed Love. He also appeared in two other Japanese films that year.
Beginning in 2007, Mizushima began taking on bigger roles in more high-profile productions, such as the supporting role of the girl-crazy Minami Nanba in Hanazakari no Kimitachi e and the main role of Soshi Asamoto in Zettai Kareshi. Both dramas were among the most popular dramas of Japan at the time of their airing. Mizushima also provided the voice of Bruce Banner in the Japanese dub of The Incredible Hulk.
In September 2010, Mizushima left his talent agency, Ken-on, to pursue a writing career.[2] Several weeks later, on 31 October 2010, it was announced that Mizushima had won the 5th Poplar Publishing Grand Prize for Fiction and a cash prize of 20 million yen for his debut work, titled Kagerou, written under the pen name Satoshi Saitō (齋藤 智 Saitō Satoshi).[3] Mizushima revealed that he would decline the prize money.[4]
Mizushima is bilingual, being fluent in English and Japanese. He married Japanese pop singer Ayaka on 22 February 2009 after several months of dating.[5] Mizushima graduated from Keio University.[6]