Biography
Dean Fujioka was born in Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Moving with his family, he grew up in Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture. Although Fujioka is multilingual (fluent in Japanese, English, Cantonese, Standard Mandarin, Indonesian) and made his debut in a Chinese fashion show, he has clarified in some interviews and variety shows that his parents and grandparents are all Japanese,[4] who used to work or live in foreign countries.[5][6] Raised in such a family, he grew determined to explore the world himself.[7] After graduating from Chiba Prefectural Funabashi High School, Fujioka majored in IT at a community college in Seattle, USA.[8] After graduating from college,[9][10][11] he traveled to different countries in Asia and came into contact with various ethnicities, cultures and languages.
Fujioka has a wide range of hobbies such as Chinese martial arts, kickboxing, chess, basketball, skiing and taking pictures, and also likes composition and lyrics.[12] Although he is allergic to gluten,[13] he enjoys eating and is particular about food.[12]
Since his childhood, Fujioka had been influenced by musical theory and instruments. He produced music, first in Indonesia,[2] but now mainly in Tokyo.[14] Besides writing, composing, and producing, he also works as a rap singer.[2] He can play a number of instruments, such as the guitar, the drums, and the piano. Fujioka also often shows off his beatboxing skills on TV shows.[15][16] He likes music such as songs by Yutaka Ozaki and the song "Sweet Memories" by Seiko Matsuda.[2] The song "Kessen wa Kinyōbi" of Japanese band Dreams Come True is the first single CD he bought by himself.[17]
Fujioka married Chinese Indonesian[18] Vanina Amalia Hidayat in 2012; they had fraternal twins in 2014.[19] In March 2017, Fujioka posted a picture of his third baby on Instagram.[20]
Career
Active overseas
Dean Fujioka started his career as a model in Hong Kong's fashion scene in 2004 for both local and international designer brands. He continued to appear in Hong Kong's leading fashion and lifestyle magazines. Simultaneously with his career in fashion, he also embarked on various advertising campaigns, appearing in TV and print commercials for both local and multinational clients in the Asia pacific region.[21]
In 2006, Fujioka started to pursue a career in acting. He moved his base from Hong Kong to Taipei and appeared in his first TV series Goku Dō High School with Bao Weimin, Bao Xiaobo, and Kingone Wang. His very first film August Story, starring Tian Yuan, Dean Fujioka, and Jan Cheung, caught public attention in the film festivals held in Hong Kong,[22] Japan,[23][24] and Taiwan.[25]
In 2007, Fujioka appeared as a talented pianist in the TV series Corner with Love with Barbie Shu and Show Lo. He also appeared in Summer's Tail, his first film in Taiwan, with Bryant Chang, Enno Cheng, and Hannah Lin. A year later, Fujioka appeared in the TV series Miss No Good with Rainie Yang and Will Pan, produced by Angie Chai. Afterwards, he suspended his career in acting and went to Jakarta, where he met DJ Sumo (Sumantri) and collaborated on his songs.
In 2011, Fujioka appeared in the feature film Seediq Bale, about the history of Taiwan under Japanese rule, and in the film The Road Less Traveled with Vanness Wu, Jimmy Hung, Eric Tu, and Chris Lung. He also joined Amuse, Inc. in that year. In 2012, Fujioka appeared in the film Black & White Episode I: The Dawn of Assault, which was based on the popular Taiwanese TV series directed by Tsai Yueh-Hsun.
In 2013, Fujioka appeared in the TV series Just You in Taiwan. Furthermore, he starred in his first self-directed film I am Ichihashi: Journal of a Murderer in Japan.[26] A year later, he appeared as a Chinese historical figure in his first Japanese TV movie Shooting Down – Three Pilots,[27] the dramatization of the lives of three fighter pilots from Japan, China, and the U.S.A. He also appeared as a noble samurai-like Japanese in the TV series The Pinkertons in North America.[28][29]
Getting his big break in Japan
In 2015, Fujioka starred as a private detective in his first Japanese TV series Detective versus Detectives.[30][31] He also impressed with his appearance as a Japanese historical figure in the Japanese morning drama series Here Comes Asa!.[32][33] In 2016, he not only appeared in the TV series Please Love the Useless Me[34][35] and IQ246: The Cases of a Royal Genius[36] but also starred in the web series Happy Marriage!?[37] and the TV movie The Noisy Street, The Silent Sea,[38] playing a variety of roles with distinctive personalities. Furthermore, Fujioka resumed his career in music and released his first album Cycle in March.[39] He also started a regular segment in a radio program.[40] In the same year, Fujioka released the download single "History Maker" which is used as the opening of the anime television series Yuri!!! on Ice.[41] Along with global popularity of the anime,[42] his name came to be known to people all over the world. According to the top trending Google Search queries by year in 2016, he was ranked 5th in the world in the category "Musicians".[43]
In 2017, Fujioka started an irregular appearance as an influencer in a news program, Saturday Station.[44] His song "Unchained Melody" is used as the ending of it and of Sunday Station.[45] He starred as an unfaithful man in the film Marriage[46] and released his first EP "Permanent Vacation" as its theme song.[47] Fujioka also starred in the TV series May I blackmail you? with Emi Takei,[48] and released his second EP "Let it snow!" as its theme song.[49] He appeared in the TV series Moribito II: Guardian of the Spirit[50] and Totto-chan!.[51] Furthermore, he appeared in the live action adaptation of the anime and manga Fullmetal Alchemist. In this film, he played the colonel Roy Mustang, one of the most popular characters in the story.[52]
In 2018, Fujioka held his first Japan tour entitled History In The Making 2018[53] and attracted 20,000 fans, including fans travelling to the concerts from overseas.[54] He starred in the TV series The Count of Monte-Cristo: Great Revenge.[55] His performance in this drama made Fujioka win the Best Leading Actor at the 12th Confidence Award Drama Prize.[56] Furthermore, he released the single "Echo" as its theme song. The song is inspired by the "Wave" genre which attracted the attention in the worldwide club music scene.[57] Its music video, in which he co-starred with Moga Mogami, received the Best Alternative Video at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan.[58]
Fujioka also appeared in the film Kids on the Slope[59] and Recall[60] and starred in the film The Man from the Sea, filmed in Jakarta.[61][62]
In January 2019, Fujioka starred in the TV movie Les Misérables: Owarinaki Tabiji with Arata Iura.[63] In the same month, he released his second album History In The Making.[64] In February, he made his debut as a DJ at a club event presented by Taku Takahashi, among other stars such as starRo, TJO, and YUC'e.[65][66] In March, he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor of the 42nd Japan Academy Prize for his performance in the film Recall.[67] From February to May, he held his first Asia tour, titled Born To Make History. The tour venues included Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia.[68][69] In September, he appeared as the Executive Secretary to the Prime Minister in the film Hit Me Anyone One More Time directed by Koki Mitani.[70][71] Meanwhile, he took part in the festival 908 FESTIVAL 2019 presented by KREVA.[72] From October onward, he starred in the Japanese TV series Sherlock: Untold Stories.[73] He also sang its theme song "Shelly" and opening song "Searching For The Ghost".[74][75] In November, in the omnibus film Angel Sign directed by manga artist Tsukasa Hojo, he co-starred with Nao Matsushita.[76][77] He also sang its theme song.[78] Meanwhile, by his remarks on a TV variety show,[79] he collaborated with the sweets cafe "taiwan ten cafe" originated in Taiwan. He supervised drinks with tapioca named "Dean Tapioca" and put them on sale for a limited time.[80] Around the same time, he presided over "Weibo Account Festival in Japan 2019" for the first time, and also received the Ambassador of Sino-Japanese Cultural Exchange.[81] In December, he released his third EP "Shelly".[82] This includes the song "Send It Away (feat. GONG)", which made him the first Japanese artist to be ranked in the charts 东方风云榜 (ERC Chinese Top Ten), also known as the Chinese version of Billboard. The song's highest ranking on the charts was No. 4.[83]
In February 2020, Fujioka assumed the post of an ambassador of "World Robot Summit 2020".[84] Meanwhile, he planned to hold his live tour from October 2020 to January 2021,[85] but cancelled it due to the spread of COVID‑19.[86] In August, he released the download single "Neo Dimension" on his birthday. There was a song "My Dimension"[87][88] that he wrote in 2008 and first released in 2013 as his self-introduction and the statement of his intentions. He evolved it into a completely new form song after 12 years.[86] In September, he released the download single "东京游 (Tokyo Trip)". On this song, he collaborated with 福克斯 (FOX) which is a rapper and co-starred with him in the variety show 潮流合伙人 (FOURTRY) within the China's video streaming service iQIYI last year. In October, he released the download single "Go The Distance". There are both Japanese and Chinese versions of the song, and the Chinese version became the campaign theme song for the mobile game Hidden World Records (Chinese: 隐世录; pinyin: Yǐn Shì Lù), created by China's largest game company NetEase. MVs of each version were made to commemorate this collaboration and he became an anime character in them.[89] Meanwhile, he appeared in the TV series Dangerous Venus.[90] In December, he held his first live stream concert entitled Plan B, which was distributed to the whole world.[91] Prior to the concert, he released the download single "Follow Me".[92]
Fujioka appeared in the TV series Reach Beyond the Blue Sky, which aired from February 2021, and it was his first appearance in the taiga drama. He played Godai Tomoatsu in the asadora Here Comes Asa!, which aired on the same TV station from 2015 to 2016, and he played the same role again.[93] In March, he released his single "Take Over".[94][95] In April, he published his picture book FamBam named after his fan club. Furthermore, he also launched the "DEAN FUJIOKA Picture Book Donation Journey #SavewithFamBam", a support project that began with his desire to "create a colorful future with children through picture books", and sought support for this project through crowdfunding until March 31, 2021. The money raised, together with a portion of the proceeds from the picture book, will be used to provide learning opportunities for children in Japan and Asia, in cooperation with the INGO Save the Children.[96] In June, he published his first photo book Z-Ero.[97] From July, he appeared in the TV series My Fair Prince.[98] Meanwhile, he held his live tour entitled Musical Transmute, from September to December.[99] In November, he became the first Japanese ambassador for the men's category of the fashion brand COACH.[100] In December, the animated film Hula Fulla Dance, his first challenge to a voice actor, was released.[101][102][103][104] In the same month, he released his third album Transmute.[105][106][107]
In January 2022, Fujioka starred in the film Pure Japanese. He also created and produced it.[108] In March, he appeared as Mori Arinori in the TV movie Tsuda Umeko: Osatsu ni Natta Ryūgakusei.[109] From April, he starred in the TV series Pandora's fruit Season 1.[110] He also sang its theme song "Apple".[111] Furthermore, in May and June, a two-part sequel to the 2017 live-action film Fullmetal Alchemist in which he appeared were released.[112] In June, the film The Hound of the Baskervilles: Sherlock the Movie, a sequel to the TV series in which he starred in 2019, was also released.[113][114][115] In July, he released his single "Apple".[116] This includes the song "Be Alive", which was released for distribution in June and became the theme song for Identity V Japan League.[117] From September, he starred in the TV series HOTEL -NEXT DOOR-.[118] Meanwhile, he co-developed a yokan with the confectionery manufacturing and sales company Taneya, which he marketed under the name "Dean Fuji Yokan".[119] The coffee sauce for the yokan is made from coffee from Gayo District, Aceh, Indonesia. A portion of the purchase price of the coffee will be used to support the activities of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme through The Orang Utan Regenwald GmbH. This project aims to protect the environment of the forests where endangered orangutans live and to enrich the lives of local producers.[120] In November, he took part in the charity event Act Against Anything VOL.2 "THE VARIETY 28" by Goro Kishitani and Yasufumi Terawaki.[121] In December, he appeared as a guest at the opening ceremony of the event Identity V Japan League Fall The Play Offs & X'mas Fan Meeting "Christmas Night ni Kane ga Naru".[122]
From January 2023, Fujioka appeared in the TV series Hoshi Furu Yoru ni.[123] In April, he appeared as Tengu / Sakamoto Ryōma in the Japanese morning drama series Ranman.[124][125] In June, he appeared as a guest artist at Fantasy on Ice, a Japanese touring ice show, in Niigata and Kobe, performing with top figure skaters such as Yuzuru Hanyu, Johnny Weir and Stéphane Lambiel.[126] In July, he released his first best-of album Stars of the Lid,[127][128] and two weeks before this he released the download single "Teleportation" from the album.[129] Meanwhile, he collaborated with the Taiwanese band Accusefive on the song "Hare no Hi / Qíng Tīan", which was released for distribution in July. He wrote new Japanese lyrics for "Finally (好不容易)", which was their smash hit as the ending song for the Netflix series Light the Night.[130] The day after the release, he made a surprise appearance at their live tour AROUND THE NEW WORLD held at Kaohsiung Arena in Taiwan, to sing the song for the first time.[131] In September, he held his first Nippon Budokan live entitled Stars of the Lid.[127][132] Also, he appeared in the TV series Ya Boy Kongming! from September. He played the role of Liu Bei and narrate the story, all in Chinese.[133][134]
In January 2024, Fujioka appeared in the TV movie Shōjiki Fudōsan Special. Subsequently, he is appearing in the TV series Shōjiki Fudōsan 2 airing from the same month.[135] In March, "TOY BOY feat. DEAN FUJIOKA", a song in which he participated as a guest, is going to be included in the first album HBZ of Japanese hip hop group HONEST BOYZ® led by EXILE NAOTO.[136][137] The song is scheduled for an advance distribution release in February.[138]
