The Japanese actor Tomohisa Yamashita has forged a successful parallel career for himself as a pop singer but most of his celebrity status in Japan has been built on the strength of his numerous TV and film appearances. He began his entertainment career at the age of eleven after he was asked to audition for the well-known Japanese talent agency Johnny and the Associates. A series of minor TV roles followed and by his late teens Tomohisa was a familiar face to Japanese audiences. He made his recording debut at the age of 19 as member of idol group NEWS in 2004 and a couple of years later made his debut as a solo artist. During this period Tomohisa made his first major acting breakthrough when he landed the role of male lead in the film 'Kurosagi' (2008), a film based on the popular TV series of the same name. He resumed his recording career in 2011 with the release of his 'Supergood, Superbad' album and this was the start of a run of chart success which included three gold albums.
In recent years the artist has become associated with a number of TV series including 'Code Blue', which spawned a movie of the same name that became the highest-grossing Japanese cinema release in 2018.
