Yuya Yagira (柳楽 優弥) is a Japanese actor. In 2004, he became the youngest winner of the Best Actor award in the history of the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of 12-year-old Akira in the highly acclaimed Nobody Knows.

Career

Yagira was 12 years old and not a professional actor, when filming began for Nobody Knows in 2002. He then immediately went on to television projects and other films. He co-starred with Eriko Sato in Akane Yamada's All to the Sea which was released in 2010 and co-starred with Kie Kitano in Taro Hyugaji's Under the Nagasaki Sky, released in 2013. In 2021, Yagira played young Takeshi Kitano in the biopic Asakusa Kid.

Personal life

Yagira was hospitalized on August 29, 2008 for a drug overdose, with early reports calling it a suicide attempt. Yagira later denied that he had been trying to kill himself, noting that he was the one who called an ambulance after he began feeling ill from taking the pills. According to his blog: ""The incident followed an argument with my family. In a fit of anger I took a larger than usual dosage of my prescription tranquilizers. As a result I felt ill and asked for an ambulance to be called."" On January 15, 2010, Yuya Yagira married TV personality Ellie Toyota at Tokyo's Meiji Shrine. They had registered their marriage on January 14. They have a child together.

Brand endorsements

In 2018, Yagira became the brand ambassador for Japanese men's grooming brand GATSBY. He starred in the TV Commercial "GATSBY Cop", together with popular Japanese actor Mackenyu Arata.

Filmography

Television

Film

Awards