UTA, the eldest son of actor Masahiro Motoki and a model himself, appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) on July 1st. He spoke about his own journey so far, what he learned from his father, and what his father, Motoki, is like on a daily basis.
At the suggestion of his grandmother, actress Kirin Kiki, he studied abroad at a prestigious school in Switzerland from junior high school. Although soccer is the dominant sport in Europe, he continued playing basketball, which he had been playing since elementary school. He says, "While everyone else was playing soccer, I would go to the basketball court by myself and practice on my own all the time." He reveals, "Ultimately, I had a dream of being able to play basketball in the Japanese professional league."
After that, he went to a sports school in Florida, USA. Tennis player Kei Nishikori and Russian basketball player Maria Sharapova also studied there. From there, he went to a university in California on a sports scholarship and dedicated himself to basketball for three years. It was during this time that someone suggested, "With that height (190 cm) and physique, why don't you try modeling?" He then auditioned in Paris and made his collection debut with two of Japan's leading brands. It's said that Motoki quietly came to watch him at the event.
Motoki told me very strictly that "basically, a willingness to learn is important in any job, and especially in the public eye, you need to be prepared to expose yourself, and in that process you find yourself, and you just need to always have a willingness to learn." He also said that he will be trying his hand at acting from now on.
According to his son, Motoki is "basically a calm person, and he doesn't talk much at home, but he doesn't really socialize much either, and I've never heard of him going out drinking with friends."
Mr. Motoki turned 60 at the end of last year, and on his actual 60th birthday, he had a meal with his family. His only long-time friend came and took pictures. UTA said of the occasion, "It was the first time I'd seen my father talking to someone his own age." Mr. Motoki was reportedly speaking frankly, saying things like, "This is nice, isn't it?" UTA added, "It was the first time we'd seen him like that, so the whole family burst out laughing. It was just so strange."
