Gen Hoshino

Acting

Gen Hoshino

Born 1981-01-28 · Saitama, Japan

Gen Hoshino (星野 源, Hoshino Gen, born January 28, 1981) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and writer. Hoshino's movie debut, Lee Sang-il's 69, was an adaptation of the Ryū Murakami novel of the same name. He previously acted in various television dramas and stage plays. In 2012, he debuted as a voice actor, voicing Buddha in the original video animation (OVA) adaptation of Hikaru Nakamura's manga Saint Young Men, and also provided a theme song called "Gag" for its 2013 theatrical version, where he reprised his role. In 2013, he played the lead character in Masahide Ichii's Blindly in Love (箱入り息子の恋, Hakoiri Musuko no Koi) alongside Kaho, and starred in the Sion Sono film Why Don't You Play in Hell?. In 2016, Hoshino starred in TBS's The Full-Time Wife Escapist. With Yui Aragaki as his co-star, he portrayed a salaryman named Hiramasa Tsuzaki. The drama achieved steadily rising ratings, with a real-time viewership peak rating of 20.8% on the final episode, and an overall rating of 14.5%. Hoshino's performance earned him several Best Supporting Actor awards. He also provided the theme song for the drama, titled "Koi". In 2017, Hoshino lent his voice to the main character of award-winning animated film Night Is Short, Walk On Girl. He also became the voice of the Father in Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai, which was released into theaters in Japan on July 20, 2018. Idaten, NHK's 2019 Taiga drama, chosen for the theme to encourage the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Hoshino portrayed Kazushige Hirasawa, who delivered the persuasive speech that helped determine the venue for the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games. On April 30, 2018, it was announced that Hoshino will star in Samurai Shifters, the film adaptation of Akihiro Dobashi's historical novel Hikkoshi Daimyo Sanzenri, set to premier on August 30, 2019. In the movie, he plays a bookworm samurai called Harunosuke Katagiri, who receives the mission to help a daimyo move. It will be Hoshino's first lead role in a live-action movie since Blindly in Love in 2013.

Acting credits

Last Mile poster
6.8

On the night before ‘Black Friday,’ which is the one of the busiest commerce days, a cardboard box, that is delivered from the world's largest shopping site, explodes. Soon after, a series of mysterious explosion cases occurs. The entire nation becomes terrorized by the shocking events. Funado Erena has just began to work as the center director for a large distribution warehouse that covers three-quarters of the Kanto area. Erena must gain control over this unprecedented situation with team manager Nashimoto Ko.

Last Mile

2024

Mirai poster
7.2

Four-year-old Kun struggles with jealousy after his newborn sister, Mirai, begins receiving most of his family’s attention. Retreating to the garden, he encounters Mirai as a teenager from the future and embarks on extraordinary journeys across his family’s past, gradually discovering new perspectives on love, belonging and what it means to become an older brother.

Mirai

2018

Night Is Short, Walk On Girl poster
7.4

As a group of university students go out for a night on the town, a sophomore known only as "The Girl with Black Hair" experiences a series of surreal encounters with the local nightlife – all the while unaware of the romantic longings of "Senpai", a senior student who has been creating increasingly fantastic and contrived reasons to run into her in an effort to win her heart.

Night Is Short, Walk On Girl

2017

Samurai Shifters poster
5.7

Shunnosuke Katagiri is a samurai and a bookworm. He receives a mission to help a daimyo move. With the assistance of Genemon Takamura and Oran, Shunnosuke Katagiri carries out his mission.

Samurai Shifters

2019

GROTESQQQUE poster
NR

Anthology film made up of 3 separate segments: Æliens, 4649Girl, and Nocturn: En Cette Nuit Grotesque.

GROTESQQQUE

2026

Saint☆Young Men poster
7.7

Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, the founders of Christianity and Buddhism, are living together as roommates in a Tokyo apartment while taking a vacation on Earth. The comedy often involves jokes about Christianity, Buddhism, and all things related, as well as the main characters' attempts to hide their identities and understand modern society in Japan.

Saint☆Young Men

2013

69 poster
6.5

Hoping to catch a girl's attention, high school students Ken and Adama cook up an ambitious plan. They plan a festival that combines film, theater, and rock music, and develop their project into a school road block. This plan however catches the attention of television stations and newspapers, and soon even the cops became involved in this teenage adventure.

69

2004

Why Don't You Play in Hell? poster
7.3

In Japan, gonzo filmmakers hatch a three-pronged plan to save an actress's career, end a yakuza war and make a hit movie.

Why Don't You Play in Hell?

2013

Brass Knuckle Boys poster
6.5

A record company office worker named Kanna discovers a punk rock band called Shonen Meriken Sakku 'Brass Knuckle Boys' through the internet and subsequently decides to represent them on behalf of her company. What Kanna did not know was that the Brass Knuckle Boys consists of all middle aged men.

Brass Knuckle Boys

2009

The Voice of Sin poster
7.3

Eiji Akutsu is a newspaper reporter. He is working on unsolved case that took place 30 years ago. The case involved a group of people extorting several companies for money. The group sent cassette tapes to the companies. Eiji Akutsu comes across a mysterious cassette tape. Meanwhile, Toshiya Sone lives in Kyoto and runs a tailor shop. He discovers a cassette tape among his late father's possessions. He plays the cassette tape and hears his voice from his childhood days.

The Voice of Sin

2020

Love & Peace poster
6.9

A man, who once dreamed of becoming a punk rocker, is working as a low salaryman at a musical instrument parts company. He's secretly in love with his colleague. One day, he finds a little turtle on the rooftop, naming it Pikadon.

Love & Peace

2015

The Full-Time Wife Escapist: New Year's Special poster
6.9

Mikuri and Hiramasa both work and share housework duties. They have peaceful days together. One day, Mikuri learns that she is pregnant. They decide to marry, but they soon face problems. Mikuri suffers from pregnancy sickness and Hiramasa decides to take a paternity leave before an important project is finished. The couple experience unfamiliar situations involving childbirth and rearing. They go through difficult times.

The Full-Time Wife Escapist: New Year's Special

2021

Slow Train poster
7.1

Set in Kamakura and Busan. The Shibuyas who live in Kamakura lost their grandmother and parents in an accident. On the 23rd anniversary of the death, Tsuko suddenly reveals her plan of moving to Busan to Yoko and Ushio, so the three siblings find themselves at the crossroads of their lives.

Slow Train

2025

Chieri and Cherry poster
5.5

Chieri is a sixth grade girl whose only friend is a stuffed toy named Cherry, which she found while hiding in the cellar during her father's funeral. Chieri and Cherry undertake a journey on the border between fantasy and reality.

Chieri and Cherry

2015

No Smoking poster
7.0

A documentary about Haruomi Hosono, a musician respected around the world and the music composer of Cannes Palme d'Or winner Shoplifters. The footage traces his encounter with music in early childhood to his days in bands Happy End and YMO to his solo activities. It also includes in-depth coverage from recent years of his first overseas performances in London, New York and Los Angeles. In London, he was joined by Yukihiro Takahashi, and when Ryuichi Sakamoto made a surprise appearance onstage, the YMO members were reunited for the first time in five years, a must-see spectacle captured on film. Written by Nikkatsu

No Smoking

2019

Hoshi of the Girls' Garden poster
7.5

Mr. Hoshi is the homeroom teacher of 2nd Year Class 4 at an average Girl’s School. He spends his days baffled by the puzzles his students doodle in their class diary, forced to take care of the dog someone brought to class, giving advice to a student who wants to be a manga artist, and occasionally going for drinks with his co-worker Mr. Kobayashi. The daily life of this awkward teacher is both endearing and amusing. Experience a hilarious slice-of-life story unlike anything you’ve seen before!

Hoshi of the Girls' Garden

2022

Blindly in Love poster
6.1

Kentaro is an unsocial 35-year-old who lives with his parents and has never dated a woman. When Kentaro’s parents set up an arranged marriage interview with a girl named Nahoko and her parents, he falls in love for the first time in his life. However, the pair soon run into unexpected obstacles. Nahoko is vision impaired and can’t seem to break free of her doting parents. Meanwhile, Kentaro has no idea how to deal with the surge of new emotions he’s feeling.

Blindly in Love

2013

Non-ko poster
6.3

Nobuko tried to be successful as an actress in Tokyo (stage name ‘Nonko’), but wasn’t popular. She married her manager and soon divorced. Now a once-divorced woman in her mid-30s, she returns home to the Shinto shrine that her family runs, to help out with domestic chores. Her father is always in a stubborn rage, her mother is always trying to calm things down. However, Nonko’s married sister, who already has a daughter, scathingly says of Nonko, “It’s all over for her.”

Non-ko

2008

The Day Kouhaku Was Born poster
NR

This drama focuses on the story of how NHK's famous New Year's Eve program "Kohaku Uta Gassen" came about in 1945, when the country was under General Headquarters.

The Day Kouhaku Was Born

2015

GEN HOSHINO STADIUM TOUR "POP VIRUS" poster
7.0

Singer-songwriter Gen Hoshino takes the stage at the sold out Tokyo Dome in his highly anticipated 2019 Pop Virus dome tour.

GEN HOSHINO STADIUM TOUR "POP VIRUS"

2019

Audrey's All Night Nippon in Tokyo Dome poster
NR

To celebrate their 15th year of hosting their weekly show on All Night Nippon, Audrey records live in front of a live audience at the Tokyo Dome, packed with special guest appearances!

Audrey's All Night Nippon in Tokyo Dome

2024

Gen Hoshino presents “Reassembly” poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Gen Hoshino presents “Reassembly”

2025

Gen Hoshino Concert Recollections 2015-2023 poster
8.3

From "Hitori Edge" to "Pop Virus" and beyond, this collection of live performances features highlights from a selection of Gen Hoshino's concert tours.

Gen Hoshino Concert Recollections 2015-2023

2023

Gen Hoshino presents MAD HOPE MAD MUSIC poster
NR

Celebrating the release of his sixth album, Gen Hoshino takes the stage on his sold-out Gen Hoshino presents MAD HOPE tour in this Netflix-only edit.

Gen Hoshino presents MAD HOPE MAD MUSIC

2026