Masatoshi Nagase

I have a real soft spot for Masatoshi Nagase, because he's one of those actors who can hold a frame doing almost nothing, just leaning into a cool, lived-in quiet that most people would kill for. The Miyazaki kid who ended up cracking American art-house with Jarmusch and then folding so naturally into Naomi Kawase's hushed, tender films, that range is honestly absurd, and the racks of awards he piled up almost feel like an afterthought next to the vibe. What gets me most, though, is that he picks up a camera himself and shoots photographs, like acting alone couldn't hold all the stuff he needed to express. He's never the loud guy in the room, but the second he walks into a scene the whole air tightens up. That sort of understated, smoldering presence is exactly my type of leading man.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Masatoshi Nagase is a Japanese actor and photographer born on July 15, 1966, in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture. He gained early recognition with a Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Elan d'Or Newcomer Award, both in 1992. Known for his understated screen presence, he has worked with a wide range of directors across Japanese and international cinema. He is also active as a photographer alongside his acting career.

Name (English)

Masatoshi Nagase

Name (Japanese)

永瀬正敏

Reading

ながせ まさとし

Born

July 15, 1966 (age 60)

Origin

Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan

Height

172cm

Occupation

Actor / Photographer / Film Actor

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Cancer / Horse

Blood type

B

Active years

1983 -

Awards & achievements

• 1992 — Elan d'Or Award, Newcomer Award
• 1992 — Blue Ribbon Award, Best Supporting Actor
• Unknown year — Mainichi Film Awards, Best Actor

Spouse

Kyōko Koizumi

Works summary

Appearances

227 (1983–2026)

By year (titles with a known year)

1983: 3, 1984: 6, 1985: 3, 1986: 6, 1987: 9, 1988: 7, 1989: 5, 1990: 5, 1991: 10, 1992: 5, 1993: 5, 1994: 4, 1995: 4, 1996: 7, 1997: 2, 1998: 2, 1999: 5, 2000: 6, 2001: 9, 2002: 6, 2003: 3, 2004: 2, 2005: 4, 2006: 4, 2007: 2, 2008: 3, 2009: 1, 2010: 1, 2011: 2, 2012: 2, 2013: 7, 2014: 4, 2015: 4, 2016: 7, 2017: 4, 2018: 6, 2019: 10, 2020: 7, 2021: 5, 2022: 7, 2023: 6, 2024: 4, 2025: 3, 2026: 2, year unknown: 18

Debut work

P. P. Rider

Filmography / notable works

• Official sitehttp://www.rocket-punch.co.jp
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/masatoshi_nagase_official/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B8%E7%80%AC%E6%AD%A3%E6%95%8F
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2422834

Tags

• From Miyazaki Prefecture
• Actor
• Photographer
• Film Actor

Last updated

November 2, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. Works and profile fields sourced from Wikipedia reflect content as of 2026-08-26. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.