Arata

Arata is noted 30-something Japanese male actor, most known for his many roles in Japanese cinema, particularly his first (and considered his most successful) film, titled Wandâfuru raifu (After Life). Arata was born in Tokyo, Japan, on September 15, 1974, and is now 32 years old, turning 33 this fall.

Arata got his acting debut in 1998, when he was already well into his 20s, with a memorable—and starring—role as the dead after-life counselor Takashi Mochizuki in the critically acclaimed Japanese film Wandâfuru raifu, which was released as After Life in North America and Afterlife in the U.K, even though the literal translation is technically “Wonderful Life.”

The premise of After Life was that when people die, they spend a week with counselors (who have also died) who help the deceased choose a memory (usually a favorite one), the only memory of their time on Earth that they can take with them for eternity. Arata played the main counselor (Takashi), and he co-starred with Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima, Takashi Naito, Kyoko Kagawa, Kei Tani, and many other Japanese actors and actresses.

After what is generally considered by many of his fans and critics as his breakthrough role on Wandâfuru raifu, Arata starred in Sheidî gurôvu (Shady Grove) in 1999 as Shingo Kono, and then appeared as Masaki in Hakata Movie: Chinchiromai in 2000.

In the early 2000s, Arata could be seen in mostly starring roles in films such as Distance (2001), in which he played Atsushi; Ping Pong (2002) as Smile; and Aoi kuruma (2004), in which he starred as Richio alongside noted Japanese actress Aoi Miyazaki, who played the leading female role of Konomi Saeki.

More recently, Arata can be seen in the films [[Gina K] and Mayonaka no Yaji-san Kita-san, both in 2005, as well as his latest projects, Purukogi (The Yakiniku Movie: Bulgogi), Yuheisha—terorisuto, and [[The Red Army, all three for release in 2007. He is currently filming The Red Army alongside Yugo Saso, Akiko Monou, Maki Sakai, Anri Ban, Erika Okuda, Kaoru Okunuki, Hassei Takano, and many others.