, better known by the stage name , is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

 and film actor.

Background

Born in Tokyo, the son of kabuki actor Nakamura Shidō I, young Nakamura made his kabuki debut at the age of eight. He took the name Shidō the following year, following his father's retirement. Twenty-one years later, despite being a relative latecomer to the silver screen, the 30-year-old Kabuki actor was in his first film, Ping Pong

Ping Pong (film)

is a 2002 sports film directed by the Japanese filmmaker Fumihiko Sori. It is based on Taiyō Matsumoto's manga of the same name and is about the friendship between two high school table tennis players....

(2002

2002 in film

The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...

), in which he portrayed a skin-headed, demonically intense table-tennis champion nicknamed Dragon. His film debut won Nakamura a Best Newcomer award at the 2003

2003 in film

The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...

 Japanese Academy Awards

Japanese Academy Awards

The , often called the Japan Academy Awards or the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Nippon Academy-shō Association for excellence in Japanese film...

. Since then, Nakamura has starred in a string of high-profile movies as well as TV dramas.

International fame

Nakamura came to international attention in 2004

2004 in film

The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...

 after starring in the highly successful romance movie Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu (Be With You) with Yūko Takeuchi

Yuko Takeuchi

is a Japanese actress. She made her big break with NHK's television series Asuka and JT Green's commercial. She has gone on to star in many TV shows, movies, and commercials....

, the two stars playing a couple separated by death. The two married for a short time after filming was complete, from May 10, 2005 until they divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

d on February 29, 2008.

In the Hong Kong/China martial arts movie Fearless

Fearless (2006 film)

Fearless, known in Chinese as Huo Yuanjia and Jet Li's Fearless in the United Kingdom and the United States, is a 2006 film directed by Ronny Yu and starring Jet Li...

starring international kung fu star Jet Li

Jet Li

The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...

, and set in 1910s Imperial China

Late Imperial China

Late Imperial China refers to the period between the end of Mongol rule in 1368 and the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912 and includes the Ming and Qing Dynasties...

, Nakamura plays a Japanese sword expert who is Jet Li's final opponent. He also has a choice role in Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood

Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...

's Letters from Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima

is a 2006 war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, and starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the...

.

Nakamura is the voice of Yoshitaka Mine, President of the Hakuho Clan in Yakuza 3

Yakuza 3

Yakuza 3 is a PlayStation 3 video game, originally released in Japan as , the sequel to Yakuza 2 and the fourth installment in the Yakuza series. It is developed by Sega Japan's CS1 Team and published by Sega...

(released in Japan as .

Films

Year	English title	Original title	Role	Notes
2002	Ping Pong Ping Pong (film) is a 2002 sports film directed by the Japanese filmmaker Fumihiko Sori. It is based on Taiyō Matsumoto's manga of the same name and is about the friendship between two high school table tennis players....	ピンポン	Dragon
2003	Like Asura Like Asura is a 2003 Japanese film directed by Yoshimitsu Morita. At the 27st Japan Academy Prize it won three awards and received ten other nominations.- Awards and nominations :27th Japan Academy Prize.*Won: Best Director - Yoshimitsu Morita...	阿修羅のごとく	Shizuo Katsumata
	Iden & Tity	アイデン&ティティ	Johnny
2004	Be With You	いま、会いにゆきます	Takumi
	One Piece: Curse of the Sacred Sword	ONE PIECE 呪われた聖剣	Saga	Voice acting Voice acting Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
	Akasen	赤線	Izō
	My Lover Is a Sniper: The Movie	恋人はスナイパー 劇場版	Fan Huoqing
2005	Yamato Otoko-tachi no Yamato is a 2005 Japanese war film. It was directed by Junya Sato and is based on a book by Jun Henmi. With a framing story set in the present day, by flashbacks it tells the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato, concentrating on the ship's demise during Operation...	男たちの大和	Mamoru Uchida
	All About My Dog	いぬのえいが	Kentaro Yamada
	Neighbour No. 13	隣人１３号	No. 13
	One Stormy Night	あらしのよるに	Gabu	Voice acting
2006	Letters from Iwo Jima Letters from Iwo Jima is a 2006 war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, and starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the...	硫黄島からの手紙	Lieutenant Ito
	Fearless Fearless (2006 film) Fearless, known in Chinese as Huo Yuanjia and Jet Li's Fearless in the United Kingdom and the United States, is a 2006 film directed by Ronny Yu and starring Jet Li...	霍元甲	Anno Tanaka
	Death Note Death Note (film) is a series of two live-action Japanese films released in 2006 and based on the Death Note manga and anime series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The films primarily center on a university student who decides to rid the world of evil with the help of a supernatural notebook that kills anyone...	デスノート	Ryuk	Voice acting
	Honey and Clover	ハチミツとクローバー	Repairer
2007	GeGeGe no Kitaro	ゲゲゲの鬼太郎	Great Tengu Judge
	Cha Cha, The Heavenly Woman	茶々 天涯の貴妃	Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu  was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
2008 2008 in film This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...	Red Cliff	赤壁	Gan Xing
	Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior	劇場版ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド&パール ギラティナと氷空の花束 シェイミ	Zero	Voice acting
	L: Change the World L: Change the WorLd is a 2008 Japanese film that is a spin-off to the Death Note film series. Although the film is inspired by the manga Death Note that was written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, it follows an original storyline...	L Change the WorLD	Ryuk	Voice acting
	Ichi Ichi (2008 film) Ichi is a 2008 action film directed by Fumihiko Sori, starring Takao Osawa, Haruka Ayase, Shido Nakamura, and Yosuke Kubozuka. It was released by Warner Bros. Japan on October 25, 2008.-Plot:...	ICHI	Banki
2009	Silver Rain	銀色の雨	Shoji Iwai
	Untouchable Untouchable (TV series) -Details:*Title: アンタッチャブル*Title : Untouchable*Format: Renzoku*Genre: Mystery, comedy*Episodes: 9*Viewership rating: 8.2 *Broadcast network: TV Asahi*Broadcast period: 2009-Oct-16 to 2009-Dec-18*Air time: Friday 21:00...	アンタッチャブル	Kusuda Makoto	5th episode of this TV Series
2010	Leonie Leonie (film) Leonie is a 2010 film directed by Hisako Matsui and starring Emily Mortimer and Shido Nakamura. The film is based on the life of Léonie Gilmour, the American lover and editorial assistant of Japanese writer Yone Noguchi and mother of sculptor Isamu Noguchi and dancer Ailes Gilmour...	レオニー	Yone Noguchi Yone Noguchi Yone Noguchi, or Yonejirō Noguchi, born 野口 米次郎 / Noguchi Yonejirō , was an influential Japanese writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and literary criticism in both English and Japanese. He was the father of the sculptor Isamu Noguchi.-Early life:Noguchi was born in the town of Tsushima, near Nagoya...
2011	Ninja Kids!!! Ninja Kids!!! is a 2011 Japanese family-oriented comedy film directed by Takashi Miike. The film is live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime series Nintama Rantarō. The film stars Seishiro Kato as Rantaro who is sent to a ninja training school by his parents...	忍たま乱太郎	Rantaro's father
	Hard Romantic-er Hard Romantic-er is an upcoming 2011 Japanese film directed by Gu Su Yeon.-Cast:* Shota Matsuda* Kento Nagayama* Yoko Maki* Dai Watanabe* Shido Nakamura...	ハードロマンチッカー

TV series

• Mori no Asagao
  Mori no Asagao
  is a Japanese manga series by Mamora Gōda. It won the 11th Grand Prize for manga at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2007. It will be adapted into a live-action television drama in 2010.-Synopsis:...
  
   (TV Tokyo, 2010, ep1)
• Nikutai no Mon (TV Asahi, 2008)
• Kiri no Hi (NTV, 2008)
• Wachigaiya Itosato (TBS, 2007)
• Shinjitsu no Shuki BC-kyu Senpan Kato Tetsutaro: Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai (NTV, 2007)
• Ushi ni Negai wo: Love & Farm (Fuji TV, 2007)
• Sexy Voice and Robo (NTV, 2007, ep1 and 11)
• Ri Kouran (TV Tokyo, 2007)
• Tenka Souran (TV Tokyo, 2006)
• Akai Tsuki as Himuro Keisuke (TV Tokyo, 2004)
• Shinsengumi (NHK, 2004)
• HR (Fuji TV, 2003)
• Kisarazu Cat's Eye (TBS, 2002)
• Kasuga no Tsubone (NHK, 1989)

External links

• Nakamura Shido Kabuki actors profile(Japanese site)
• Shido Nakamura profile on HogaCentral
• jdorama entry