Takuya Kimura

Okay, here's the thing about Takuya Kimura: the man has been sitting on the "coolest guy in Japan" throne for over thirty years and somehow nobody's managed to knock him off. I find that genuinely absurd, in the best way. He could've coasted on the SMAP idol fame and the hair flip forever, but instead he kept proving he can actually act, Kuryu in HERO, the obsessive chef in Grand Maison Tokyo, even Howl's voice in that Ghibli film. Different person every time. And then you find out he surfs, fishes, paints, does kendo, shoots photos, and you just want to ask the universe why one guy got all of it. "Kimutaku can only be Kimutaku" really is the whole review. Pure, undiluted, one-of-a-kind.

Takuya Kimura is a Japanese actor, singer, and television personality, widely known by his nickname "Kimutaku." He rose to national fame as a member of SMAP, one of Japan's most successful boy bands, which debuted on CD in 1991 and disbanded in 2016. As an actor he headlined numerous hit dramas including Long Vacation (1996) and HERO (2001), both of which drew ratings exceeding 30 percent. He has also worked as a voice actor, notably voicing Howl in Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle (2004).

Name (English)

Takuya Kimura

Name (Japanese)

木村拓哉

Reading

きむら たくや

Born

November 13, 1972 (age 53)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Rat

Origin

Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan

Blood type

O

Height

176 cm

Agency

STARTO ENTERTAINMENT

Agency history

Johnny & Associates (1987–2023)

Active years

1987–present

Occupation

Actor / Singer / Talent / Voice Actor

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Chiba Municipal Isobe Daiichi Junior High School

High school

Chiba Prefectural Komabashi High School (1st year) → Tokyo Metropolitan Yoyogi High School, part-time course (transferred in 2nd year)

University

Did not attend university

Debut

Joined Johnny & Associates in 1987; began activities as SMAP in 1988; CD debut as SMAP in 1991

Awards & achievements

• 1996 Television Academy Drama Award – Best Leading Actor (Long Vacation)
• 2001 Television Academy Drama Award – Best Leading Actor (HERO)
• 2005 Television Academy Drama Award – Best Leading Actor (Engine)
• 2015 Television Academy Drama Award – Best Leading Actor (HERO Season 2)
• 2017 27th Japan Movie Critics Award – Best Leading Actor (Blade of the Immortal)
• 2019 Television Academy Drama Award – Best Leading Actor (Grand Maison Tokyo)

Timeline

1. 1987Joined Johnny & Associates
2. 1988Formed SMAP and began group activities
3. 1991SMAP CD debut with "Can't Stop!! -LOVING-"
4. 1996Starred in drama Long Vacation; ratings exceeded 30%
5. 2000Married singer Shizuka Kudo
6. 2001Starred in drama HERO; average ratings of 30.6%
7. 2004Voiced Howl in Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle
8. 2016SMAP disbanded
9. 2017Starred in film Blade of the Immortal
10. 2019Starred in drama Grand Maison Tokyo

Spouse

Shizuka Kudo (married December 5, 2000)

Children

First daughter Cocomi (born 2001), second daughter Kōki, (born 2003)

Parents

Private

Siblings

Private

Hobbies

• Surfing
• Fishing
• Darts
• Photography
• Watching anime

Specialties

• Painting
• Kendo

Motto

Private

• Official sitehttps://starto.jp/s/p/artist/35
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/takuya.kimura_tak/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%A8%E6%9D%91%E6%8B%93%E5%93%89

Tags

• From Tokyo
• STARTO ENTERTAINMENT
• Former SMAP
• Actor
• Singer
• Kimutaku
• Drama HERO
• Long Vacation

Last updated

2026-06-02

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