Ken Yasuda (actor)

Ken Yasuda (安田 顕) is a Japanese actor, television personality and seiyu. Born in Muroran, Hokkaido, he is a member of Team Nacs. He is a graduate of Hokkaido Muroran Sakae High School and Hokkai Gakuen University. Fumio Yasuda is his older brother.

Biography
At Hokkai Gakuen University, Yasuda joined the theater club and the theatrical company OOPARTS (led by its president Takayuki Suzui). In 1996, following graduation, Yasuda and theater club friends Hiroyuki Morisaki, Shigeyuki Totsugi, Yo Oizumi, and Takuma Oto'o created TEAM NACS. The team was disbanded after their first performance.

After graduating from university, Yasuda began working as a medical office worker. He stopped after 10 months because he wanted to concentrate on activities in the performing arts. After leaving the medical office, he worked part-time in Hokkaido, taking on jobs such as helping at a hotel breakfast buffet. Even during his part-time work, he continued to focus on his career in entertainment.

In 1997, Morisaki reunited TEAM NACS and Yasuda joined the group once more. Since 1998, he has appeared semi-regularly as a suit actor for the mascot character "on-chan" in "How Do You Like Wednesday?".

TEAM NACS held its first stage performance in May 2004, in Tokyo. In 2006, Yasuda made his first appearance in the national online drama series "Jirocho Seoi Fuji" (NHK). Since then, he has also appeared in serial dramas and movies of the Tokyo flagship station, and has also held starring roles in TV series.

Filmography
Bold is starring.

TV dramas

 * Sikoku R-14 (2001, HTB)
 * Natsu no Yakusoku (2002, HTB)
 * Jirocho Seoi Huji (2005, NHK)
 * Taiga drama Kōmyō ga Tsuji (2006, NHK)
 * The Pride of the Temp (2007, NTV)
 * Hotaru no Hikari (2007–2010, NTV)
 * Edison no Haha (2008, TBS)
 * Lost Time Life (2008, Fuji TV)
 * average (2008, Fuji TV)
 * Asadora (NHK)
 * Hitomi (2008)
 * Natsuzora (2019)
 * Sensei wa Erai (2008, NTV)
 * Oyakoko Play (2008, MBS)
 * The Naminori Restaurant (2008, NTV)
 * Kaettekuruka!? 33hunntantei (2008, NTV)
 * Call Center no Koibito (2009, ABC/EX)
 * Hataraku Gonn! (2009, NTV)
 * Shōkōjo Seira (2009, TBS)
 * Mieruhi (2009, HTB)
 * TAXMAN (2010, MX/TVK)
 * SPEC (2011, TBS)
 * THE MUSIC SHOW (2011, NTV)
 * Kaze wo Atsumete (2011, NHK)
 * Team Batista (2011–2014, KTV)
 * Yūsha Yoshihiko to Maō no Shiro (2011, TX)
 * Tsukaharatoden (2011, NHK)
 * Dirty Mama! (2012, NTV)
 * Soup Corry (2012, HBC/TBS)
 * Beautiful Rain (2012, Fuji TV)
 * THE QUIZ (2012, NTV)
 * Going My Home (2012, KTV)
 * All Esper Dayo! (2013, TX)
 * All Esper Dayo! SP (2015, TX)
 * Mondai no Aru Restaurant (2015, Fuji TV)
 * Shitamachi roketto (2015–2018, TBS)
 * Jūhan Shuttai! (2016, TBS)
 * Tsumi no Senso (2017, KTV)
 * Chisana Kyojin (2017, TBS)
 * Channel wa Sonomama! (2019, HTB)
 * Zekkyo (2019, Wowow)
 * Hakui no Senshi
 * If Talking Paid (2019, NTV)
 * Kiroi Renga (2020, NHK)
 * Aribai Kuzushi Uketamawimasu (2020, EX)
 * Food Lore "Life in a Box" (2020, HBO)
 * America ni Makenakatta Otoko (2020, TX)
 * Good Luck! Team Nacs (2021, Wowow)
 * Kiyoshiko (2021, NHK)
 * Dragon Sakura (2021, TBS)
 * Love with a Case (2022, NTV), Masumi Morizono
 * Sexy Tanaka-san (2023, NTV)
 * Ōoku (2024, Fuji TV), Tanuma Okitsugu

Film

 * Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)
 * Man-hole (2001)
 * Pakodatejinn (2002)
 * River (2003)
 * Gin no Engels (2004)
 * Into the Sun (2005)
 * Ame no Machi (2006)
 * Presents: Sea Urchin Rice Cracker (2006)
 * GeGeGe no Kitarō (2007)
 * Tatoe Sekaiga Owattemo (2007)
 * Mayu -Kokoro no Hoshi- (2007)
 * TEAM NACS FILMS "N43°" (2009) – Also in charge of director and screenplay
 * Chasing My Girl (2009)
 * Giniro no Ame (2009)
 * Hotaru no Hikari (2012)
 * Rakugo Eiga (2013)
 * Hentai Kamen (2013)
 * SPEC: Close Zen no Hen (2013)
 * SPEC: Close Kou no Hen (2013)
 * Black Butler (2014)
 * Jossy's (2014)
 * My Hawaiian Discovery (2014)
 * Ogawamachi Serenaade (2014)
 * Again (2015)
 * Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen (2015)
 * Flying Colors (2015)
 * Shinjuku Swan (2015)
 * All Esper Dayo! (2015)
 * Haiyu kameokatakuji (2016)
 * Hentai Kamen: Abnormal Crisis (2016)
 * Ninkyō yarō (2016)
 * Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow (2016)
 * Closest Love to Heaven (2017)
 * Reminiscence (2017)
 * Gintama (2017)
 * Hunohan (2018)
 * Sakura Guardian in the North (2018) – Hisashi Sugimoto
 * When I Get Home, My Wife Always Pretends to Be Dead. (2018) – Jun Kagami
 * Come On Irene (2018)
 * The Fable (2019) – Ebihara
 * The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill (2021) – Ebihara
 * Haha o nakushita toki, boku wa ikotsu o tabetai to omotta. (2019) – Satoshi Miyagawa
 * Urakage (2020)
 * Hotel Royal (2020) – Daikichi Tanaka
 * Struggling Man (2021) – Haruo Izawa
 * Good Luck! Team Nacs: Movie Version (2021) – Himself
 * Ring Wandering (2022)
 * Tombi: Father and Son (2022) – Shōun
 * Fragments of the Last Will (2022) – Hara
 * In Love and Deep Water (2023) – Michihiko Kuruma
 * Shin Kamen Rider (2023)
 * Kuchinai Sakura (2024) – Toshiyuki Togashi

Variety Shows

 * How Do You Like Wednesday? (1996–2002, HTB)
 * Hanatare NACS (2003–, HTB)

Voice acting roles

 * Spirited Away (2001) – Radish Spirit
 * The Cat Returns (2002) – Additional Voices
 * Howl's Moving Castle (2004) – Soldier
 * When Marnie Was There (2014) – Toichi
 * DC Superheroes vs. Eagle Talon (2017) – Joker
 * Dragon Quest: Your Story (2019) – Pusan
 * The Bad Guys (2022) – Snake

Video games

 * Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (2007) - Sammy Thunder
 * Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020) - Yu Nanba
 * Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (2024) - Yu Nanba