Kaneshiro Takeshi (Takeshi Kaneshiro)

Also known as: Wu Jin Cheng, かねしろたけし, Jin Cheng Wu

Date of birth: 11 October 1973 (53 years old)

Country: Japanese

Kaneshiro Takeshi is a Japanese-Taiwanese actor and singer. Kaneshiro's mother is Taiwanese and his father is Ryukyuan from Okinawa, Japan. He was born and raised in Taipei but holds Japanese citizenship as well. After graduating from Taipei Japanese Junior High School, he enrolled at English-based Taipei American School, which enabled him to converse in English. While he was studying there, he began doing television commercials and decided to quit school to pursue a singing and acting career. He is multilingual, fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien and Japanese, and to lesser degrees in English and Cantonese. In 1992, Kaneshiro made his singing debut, entering the business with the nickname Aniki, meaning 'older brother' in Japanese. His debut album was "Heartbreaking Night". Contracted to EMI, he wrote many of his own Mandarin and Cantonese songs. The following year, his popularity propelled him into acting and he no longer produces any commercial music. Kaneshiro's work, however, is more heavily concentrated in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.