Kanji Furutachi

Born in Sakai, Osaka, Furutachi traveled to New York in his twenties to study acting at the HB Studio under Uta Hagen. Returning to Japan, he joined the Seinendan theatre troupe run by Oriza Hirata and the Sample theatre troupe run by Shū Matsui. After appearing in many TV commercials, some of which earned him "nationwide popularity", he got significant roles in television dramas and films. He has frequently appeared in films directed by Seinendan member Kōji Fukada. For instance, Harmonium won the Jury Prize at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, with Furutachi gaining particular praise in reviews. It was announced in November 2017 he would be one of the main cast of the 2019 NHK Taiga drama Idaten. He had his first starring role in a TV drama with TV Tokyo's Kotaki Kyodai no Shikuhakku (2020), under the direction of Nobuhiro Yamashita.