Masato Sakai

Okay, here's the thing about Masato Sakai that I can't get over: he spends most of a scene wearing this soft, almost apologetic little smile, and then the switch flips and suddenly he's snarling "倍返しだ!" with bloodshot eyes, and you genuinely can't believe it's the same face. That gap is borderline cheating. You can feel the stage actor in him too, every line landing like it was rehearsed down to the fingertips, which is why he melts so cleanly into anyone from a Sengoku warlord in Sanada Maru to a cornered salaryman in Hanzawa Naoki. And then off-screen he's apparently just a sweet middle-aged guy beaming at sumo and cracking up at comedy. I love the control, the contrast, the sheer range. I'll watch basically anything he headlines.

Masato Sakai is a Japanese actor born on October 14, 1973, in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, who grew up in Miyazaki City. He began his career in 1992 through the theater company Tokyo Orange, which emerged from the drama research club at Waseda University. He gained wide recognition in the 2004 NHK historical drama Shinsengumi! and became one of Japan's most prominent actors with the 2013 TBS drama Hanzawa Naoki, which achieved an average rating of 42.2% in the Kanto region. His film work has earned him multiple awards including the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2008 and several Japan Academy Prize nominations.

Name (English)

Masato Sakai

Name (Japanese)

堺雅人

Reading

さかいまさと

Born

October 14, 1973 (age 52)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Ox

Origin

Tarumi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan (raised in Miyazaki City, Miyazaki)

Blood type

O

Height

172 cm

Agency

Tent Co., Ltd.

Agency history

Tanabe Agency (until end of 2022)

Active years

1992–present

Occupation

Actor

Elementary school

Miyazaki Municipal Kunitomi Elementary School

Junior high

Junior High School Attached to the Faculty of Education, University of Miyazaki

High school

Miyazaki Prefectural Miyazaki Minami High School

University

Waseda University, School of Letters, Arts and Sciences I — Chinese Literature (withdrew in third year)

Debut

1992 — joined the founding of theater company Tokyo Orange, rooted in the Waseda University drama research club, and began work as a stage actor

Awards & achievements

• 2008 51st Blue Ribbon Award — Best Supporting Actor (Climbers' High, After School)
• 2009 32nd Japan Academy Prize — Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Climbers' High)
• 2009 17th Hashida Award
• 2010 33rd Japan Academy Prize — Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (General Rouge's Triumph)
• 2011 31st Yokohama Film Festival — Best Actor Award
• 2013 U-Can New Words and Buzzwords Grand Prize — "Baigaeshi" (shared with the TBS Hanzawa Naoki team)
• 2013 36th Japan Academy Prize — Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Key of Life)

Timeline

1. 1992Joined the founding of theater company Tokyo Orange, rooted in the Waseda University drama research club
2. 2004Gained widespread recognition playing Keisuke Yamanami in the NHK historical drama Shinsengumi!
3. 2008Won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor for Climbers' High and After School
4. 2010Starred as the lead in the film Golden Slumber
5. 2012Starred as the lead in the Fuji TV drama Legal High
6. 2013Starred in the TBS drama Hanzawa Naoki; the show averaged 42.2% ratings in the Kanto region and his catchphrase 'Baigaeshi da!' won the Buzzword of the Year award
7. 2013Married actress Maho Nonami
8. 2016Starred as Nobushige Sanada (Yukimura) in the NHK historical drama Sanada Maru
9. 2020Returned as the lead in the Hanzawa Naoki sequel; the finale achieved a 32.7% rating
10. 2023Joined Tent Co., Ltd., a company he founded after leaving Tanabe Agency

Spouse

Maho Nonami (married April 2013)

Children

Two children (first son born August 2015, first daughter born December 2018; names private)

Hobbies

• Reading (historical novels, often with maps)
• Watching sumo wrestling (devoted sumo fan)
• Watching comedy (fan of the comedy trio Tokyo 03)

Specialties

• Stage acting
• Facial expression performance

Motto

Private

• Official sitehttps://sakai-masato.com/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A0%BA%E9%9B%85%E4%BA%BA

Tags

• Actor
• From Miyazaki
• Waseda University
• Hanzawa Naoki
• Sanada Maru
• Tent
• Sumo fan

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.