Yuta Tamamori

Yuta Tamamori (玉森裕太) is a Japanese actor and singer who is a member of boy band Kis-My-Ft2 under Starto Entertainment. His nickname is Tama and Tama-chan. He is often described as the face of Kis-My-Ft2.

In addition to his boy band activities, he is mainly active as an actor. His recent major roles include the TV dramas La Grande Maison Tokyo and Oh My Boss! Love not included and the movies Parallel World Love Story and Shylock's Children.

He is also known for his dubbing voice work for Pixar film Elemental in 2023.

Early years
Tamamori was born in Tokyo in 1990. His parents were still young when he was born; his mother was 17 and his father was 20. Therefore, although they were not a wealthy family, he grew up in a close family.

When he was in the first year of junior high school, his mother, who was a fan of Tomohisa Yamashita, secretly sent Johnny & Associates a resume. He initially refused to go to the audition because he had promised to go fishing with a friend, but at the urging of his parents, he was forced into the car and taken to the audition site. At the audition, he was made to stand in the front row because he was so small. Shy as he was, he danced while crying, but this caught the attention of the judges and he passed the audition. On December 1, 2002, he joined Johnny & Associates. His peers who also auditioned included Yuya Tegoshi and Hikaru Yaotome (Hey! Say! JUMP). After entering the facility, he was active as a member of trainee's（it was called Johnny's Jr）group J.J. Express and A.B.C. Jr.

The boy band Kis-My-Ft2 was formed on July 26, 2005, and he was selected as its member. They debuted on August 10, 2011.

Experience as a Leading Actor
Along with his boy band activities with Kis-My-Ft2, he has also built a career as an actor.

In March 2009, he made his first drama appearance in the Nippon Television school drama Gokusen Graduation Special. In July, he made his first appearance in the film Gokusen: The Movie. Gokusen was a popular school drama at the time depicting the interaction between a female teacher and badboys at a school with a lot of problems, and the series had been running since 2002. Many young actors appeared in this drama, and it was considered a gateway to success for young actors. Tamamori also played the role of badboy.

In July 2011, in anticipation of Kis-My-Ft2's CD debut on August 10, 2011, the TBS Television (Japan) drama He is Beautiful started. This drama was a remake of the popular Korean drama You're Beautiful, in which Tamamori played the role of Ren Katsuragi, the leader of boy band A.N.JELL. There were four main characters in this drama. He starred in this drama along with Kis-My-Ft2 member Taisuke Fujigaya, fellow agent Hikaru Yaotome, and actress Miori Takimoto. The live performance scene in the final episode was actually filmed at Kis-My-Ft2's live performance at Yokohama Arena.

In 2013, he played his first starring role in a serial drama in the TV Asahi jidaigeki drama The Knife and the Sword on January and his first starring role in a prime-time drama in TBS Television (Japan) series Pintokona on July. In The Knife and the Sword he played a modern-day cook who travels back in time to Sengoku period to serve the legendary war lord Oda Nobunaga. The drama received high ratings in the late-night slot and was promoted to primetime in 2014, with a second series airing. In Pin to Kona, he played the role of the heir to the traditional Japanese art of kabuki.

In November 2015, he had his first starring role of movie in World of Delight, a film about meeting and falling in love with a handicapped woman. The film was number one at the weekend box office in its first week of release. It opened on 190 screens and drew about 91,700 people over the two days on Saturday and Sunday. The box-office revenue was approximately 124 million yen.

He also gained acting experience on stage, he was appeared in his agent Johnny & Associates' flagship production Dream Boy from its premiere in 2004, after playing the semi-leading role of a boxing champion in 2012, He played the lead role five times from 2013 to 2018.

As a talented actor
Tamamori has also developed his skills as a supporting actor. In 2017, He appeared in TBS Television (Japan) drama Reverse as a high school teacher Asami. He won the Best Supporting Actor award at the TV Station Drama Awards 2017. It is said that his acting skills improved after receiving strict guidance from director Ayuko Tsukahara of this drama.

In 2019, he appeared TBS Television (Japan) drama La Grande Maison Tokyo. The star of this drama was Takuya Kimura, the star of his agency. The director of this drama was Ayuko Tsukahara again. He played young chef Shohei Hirako who suffers from a secret from a past incident. His delicate emotional expressions were praised, and he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 103rd Television Drama Academy Awards and the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 29th TV Life Annual Drama Awards. La Grande Maison Tokyo was well received and recorded high viewer ratings. He also played in the romantic comedy spin-off drama Gura Gura Maison Tokyo as a leading role. The drama was distributed online on Paravi, but there were times when access was so concentrated that it was difficult to connect to the site.

In 2021, Tamamori appeared in the romantic drama Oh My Boss! Love not included as the heroine's lover. It's a drama about a woman working at a publishing company, about work and love. Tamamori was portrayed as a single-minded lover who thinks of the heroine, and there was a scene in which he dressed as a dog in the heroine's imagination as a "a lover who was as tender and obedient as a puppy". The drama was well received by viewers and recorded high ratings. The theme song "Luv Bias" by Kis-My-Ft2 was used effectively in the drama and won the "Drama Song Award".

In 2022 he starred in two consecutive seasons of TV Asahi drama Nice Flight! starting in July to September and Nippon TV drama Patient Chart Prayer starting in October to December. It was unusual to be selected for a series of leading roles in TV dramas more than 10 years after his debut. It is analyzed that this is due to the fact that his extensive acting experience and solid acting skills are highly acclaimed.

In August 2023, he played the role of Wade Ripple as a dubbing voice actor for the film Elemental. It was reported that he got this job after auditioning at the US headquarters of Pixar. In July, he visited Pixar Animation Studios and met with director Peter Sohn. The film drew more than 1.33 million viewers in the first 17 days of its release, ranking third in the weekend attendance rankings, and its box-office revenue surpassed 1.7 billion yen. Tamamori's performance was highly acclaimed, as was that of Haruna Kawaguchi, who starred in the film. In May 2024, Tamamori appeared as Pixar voice actor on the Niconico program "Disneycco Radio," where professional voice actor Junichi Suwabe commented, "I don't usually praise others, but I think he is a very good voice actor."

At the Variety Show
One of the variety shows in which Tamamori appeared was a hot topic in 2012. In June 2012, Tamamori appeared in ''Ikinari! Ougon Densetsu (いきなり!黄金伝説. )'', a popular variety show at the time. The show was famous for its physical projects, and at the time, none of the talent from Johnny & Associates had appeared on the show yet.

He appeared in the Celebrity Savings Battle: Living on 10,000 yen for a Month, the Strongest No. 1 Contender(芸能人節約バトル1ヶ月1万円生活 最強No.1決定戦). Fighting with him were comedian Shigeo Takahashi and gluttonous celebrity Gal Sone.

In this tough competition, he had to save 10,000 yen or less per month for food, including utilities, and compete against other contestants. He was living with his family at the time and had little cooking experience. To save money, he bought a lot of onions from a farmer (in fact, he bought 28.6lb:13kg 79 onions) Onions are called "Tamanegi" in Japanese and were his choice of ingredient after his name, Tamamori. The onions placed here and there in the room and refrigerator were impressive. and ate them. And he made his own noodles from flour, and went into the sea to catch fish while shivering in the cold. He won this battle with flying colors, performing physical feats that one would not expect from an idol.

As a Model
Tamamori is known for his fair-skinned. He often appears on the cover of fashion magazines alone, sometimes selling out. In March 2022, he became the ambassador for Lancôme's lotion Clarifique, which is rare for a man. In December same year, he won the "Most Beautiful Person" grand prize at Kodansha's VOCE Best Cosmetics Awards 2022. He has been also known to have been a fan of Cartier (jeweler) accessories since shortly after his debut, and has been invited to Cartier events in recent years.

In June 2024 he attended AMIRI Menswear Spring/Summer 2025 collection at Paris Fashion Week.

Friendship with Toshiya Miyata
Tamamori is said to be very shy and he himself has said he has few close friends, But Tamamori has always been close in private with Toshiya Miyata, a member of Kis-My-Ft2 since their days as trainees. Their close friendship is referred to by fans as "Miyatama" or "Tanmamīya".

The relationship between Tamamori and Toshiya Miyata dates back to their days as trainees, when they started working together in the trainee group A.B.C-Jr. before Kis-My-Ft2 was formed. Tamamori was still in junior high school at the time. Both Tamamori and Miyata have spoken many times on TV and radio about those days. They were not very honor trainees, and always scolded in dance lessons by their choreographer, who was famous for his strictness. On their way home from lessons, they often complained to each other and consoled each other, and eventually a friendship was born and they became best friends.

They often work together. Miyata continued to co-star in Dream Boy, Johnny & Associates stage production series in which Tamamori starred five times. They have also appeared together as lovers in the online drama Be Love and both were chosen as regular members of a YouTube game distribution program.

Tamamori mentions Miyata at every opportunity. He once said, with reserve, "I consider Miyata my best friend," and once said, "Miyata is always smiling, kind, and a healing presence for me." Such Miyata sometimes seems to be a source of emotional support for Tamamori. In the second half of 2022, when Tamamori was extremely busy starring in two consecutive dramas, he felt the limits of his physical strength. Tamamori later said on the radio, "At that time, it was Miyata who kept a light on my exhausted heart." Miyata continued to encourage Tamamori by watching the dramas in which Tamamori appeared and continually telling him how he felt about them. Miyata said of his relationship with Tamamori, "Originally, we were not in a prominent position at all, but at some point, only Tamamori became successful and started taking the center position. I was sometimes frustrated with myself, but I was never strangely jealous of Tamamori's success. I love him and think he is a genius at entertaining people. We have been together since we were teens, and even now that we are adults, we are still friends who joke around like kids. I think we will continue to work together for a long time to come."

Hobby
Tamamori has loved fishing since he was a child. Through his hobby of bass fishing, he is close friends with West's Takahiro Hamada who is same agent and comedian Asei who was co-starred in the drama Oh My Boss! Love not included.

He loves animals, and he had raised a flying squirrel as a pet in the past. He also likes plants and currently grows houseplants in his room, naming them Albizia julibrissin "Nemuta" and Ficus elastica (black rubber plant) as "Gomu".

Tamamori is a big fan of Anne-Marie; on the August 29, 2019 broadcast of their variety show “Kis-My-Busaiku!" in which Anne-Marie made an appearance as a surprise project. He knew nothing about it and at first tried to run away in surprise, but when he heard her sing a verse of his favorite song Perfect right in front of him, he was very moved.

Dubbing

 * Gods of Egypt (film) - Bek
 * Elemental - Wade Ripple

Model

 * Cartier (jeweler) - Friends of maison (November 23, 2021)
 * Lancôme - Ambassador "Mr. Clarifique" Clarifique Dual Essence (March 1, 2022)
 * AMIRI - attending the Amiri Menswear Spring/Summer 2025 fashion show in Paris Fashion Week - (June 20, 2024)

Events

 * Lancôme - Clarifique Dual Essence Lotion 1st Anniversary Press Conference (February 8, 2021)
 * Cartier (jeweler) - Sixieme sens par Cartier high jewelry event in Kyoto, Japan (April 7, 2022)
 * Cartier (jeweler) - Panthère de Cartier pop up (September 2, 2022 - September 19, 2022 at Omotesando, Tokyo, Japan)
 * Bottega Veneta - Bottega Veneta and Photographer Alec Soth's Photo Exhibition Tokyo Playtime (March 28, 2024)- Attended the opening reception with Taisuke Fujigaya
 * Dolce & Gabbana - "From The Heart to the Hands: Dolce & Gabbana" exhibition opening event in Milan, Italy. (April 6, 2024)

Commercial

 * Nature Lab Co., Ltd. - "LAVONS" (September 2014 -) - liquid fabric conditioner etc.
 * Line (software) - "Line Poko Poko(LINE ポコポコ)" - (September 2016- with Toshiya Miyata)
 * Unicharm - flooring wiper "Wave" (October 2019 - 2021)

SNS and YouTube

 * Official Instagram was opened on January 10, 2023.
 * After School Gaming Life - (The title was changed from "Johnny's Gaming Room" Oct. 2023 ) - (December 16, 2021 - ) - Tamamori was chosen as one of the main host member with Toshiya Miyata and Daiki Arioka.

Discography

 * For Yuta Tamamori's discography as a member of Kis-My-Ft2, see Kis-My-Ft2.