Actor
Born in 1973 in Yokohama. He began his career in “Swimming Upstream”, directed by Joji Matsuoka "Swimming Upstream". After making several more films he made his breakthrough in the main role of Shinji Aoyama’s criminal drama "The Helpless" (1996). He is numbered among Japan’s most popular stars. Film-lovers know Asano, first and foremost, thanks to Takashi Miike's "Ichi the Killer", Katsuhito Ishii's "Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl", "Zatoichi" by Takeshi Kitano and "Taboo" by Nagisa Oshima.
Selected filmography (actor):
1996 — "Picnic"
1999 — "Taboo"
2001 — "Distance"
2001 — "Kaza-hana"
2002 — "Woman of Water"
2003 — "Zatoichi"
2007 — "Mongol. Part One"