A guest post by commenter Natasha:
Takeshi Kaneshiro (1973-), also known as Jin Cheng Wu and Gum Sing Mo, is a Taiwanese actor, singer, and model.
He was born in Taipei, Taiwan, the last of three sons of a businessman of mixed Japanese and Taiwanese descent and a homemaker of Taiwanese descent. His surname means “Gold City” in both Chinese and Japanese.
Growing up in Taipei, he attended Gaoxong Preparatory School, where he was teased for his multicultural heritage. He transferred to the Taipei American School, during which he began doing television commercials.
At 15 he was recruited as a pop singer and eventually landed a contract with EMI Music Group. In 1992 he left school and came out with his first album, “Heartbreaking Night”, sung in Mandarin Chinese. He writes many of his own songs.
Singing led to acting: he has appeared in over 40 films. In the West he is best known for starring in “House of the Flying Daggers” (2004), an action-romance that grossed $92 million worldwide.
In 2010 he won a Green Planet Film Award for Best International Actor of the Decade (Asia).
Would he ever come to Hollywood? He says:
… if the story’s good or the character’s interesting enough to make you want to collaborate on it, then I think I would take the opportunity. But I don’t think Asian people get very good roles in Hollywood. I’m not really aiming at moving into that area.
He is also a model and spokesperson. Early on he modelled for Prada, soon after becoming a spokesmodel for Sony Ericsson, Hyundai, Toyota, and Mitsubishi. He is the official spokesmodel of the Cap com video game Onimusha: Warlords. A character in the game is based on him: Samanosuke Akechi.
He was the face of Armani Underwear in the fall/winter 2008 and spring/summer 2010 campaigns, joining the likes of soccer players David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. He is the first Asian model to appear in an Armani campaign. Giorgio Armani said his inborn attractiveness and his charm, both on screen and off, made him the perfect choice for the campaign.
Armani is not the only one to praise his striking good looks. Time magazine hailed him the Asian film industry’s Johnny Depp – a remarkably handsome, quirky and versatile actor capable of capturing the hearts of audiences no matter his role.
At 5 foot 11 (1.79 m) with deep-set, dark brown eyes, thick, dark hair and finely chiseled bone structure, he is undeniably very attractive. On this blog he was voted the second most gorgeous East Asian man in the world.
Despite all his accolades, Kaneshiro is modest and stays out of the spotlight when not working.
He is a homebody who enjoys reading about philosophy and Buddhism. He is fluent in Mandarin, Japanese, Cantonese, Taiwanese, and English.
He says work keeps him too busy for dating, but he will be upfront with a woman if he is interested in her.
He currently lives in Japan.
See also:
Now that’s a man. 🙂
I’m (pleasantly) surprised this was posted already.
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What I’ve always loved about Takeshi is his beautiful eyes . It is like looking into a dark pool of chocolate. And his face! He looks so sweet to me.
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This is what I call a HANDSOME MAN. As a black girl I’ve always fancied and attracted to black and white men, but this man just push me to expand my horizons,lol…and If he asks me to marry him I’ll say YES!!! in a heartbeat(well, if he’s interest in black girls,lol): He reminds me of those handsome men in mangas anime which I use to fall in love when I was little,lol.
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Yeah, he’s a good looking man.
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Oceane, he does have that “Where have you been all my life?” effect on a person, right?
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Great post, Natasha!
And ladies, you are right. He has such beautiful eyes.
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Ohhhhhh…thank you, thank you, thank you…..
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He’s hot as hell!
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This man is beautiful!!!!!
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Leigh and Mira,
Yes, the eyes have it–they are so gorgeous!
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Loved him as the hero in “House of the Flying Daggers” (a great action/romance flick, btw). He was just so dreamy-looking, I couldn’t hardly take my eyes off him…
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Nice, very nice!
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“But I don’t think Asian people get very good roles in Hollywood. I’m not really aiming at moving into that area.”
Smart fella.
Shame, though; if Hollywood had the balls to make a film with an Asian lead, he’d be the perfect actor to carry the film, and help cross it over to an Asian audience.
This reminds me Abagond, I think we are due a poll of the hottest South Asian men and women. That’s something not often explored by Westerners, particularly regarding South Asian men.
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@ Nathasha W
oh yeah, he really does have that effect on a person, especially on us laidies…and those eyes!!! those eyes!!! will make you forget even your own name *sigh*
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“… if the story’s good or the character’s interesting enough to make you want to collaborate on it, then I think I would take the opportunity. But I don’t think Asian people get very good roles in Hollywood. I’m not really aiming at moving into that area.”
Such a shame Hollywood does not give a lot of role to Asian actors and actresses, hope it will change one day and will deserve to be recognize for their talents… and he seems to be a down to earth man.
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Eurasian Sensation,
“Shame, though; if Hollywood had the balls to make a film with an Asian lead, he’d be the perfect actor to carry the film, and help cross it over to an Asian audience.”
He was set to star in a movie partially produced by Paramount Pictures (Hollywood production company)and based on the video game Onimusha: Warlords. Filming began, but they had to cease production when Heath Ledger, who was supposed to play an integral character in the movie, suddenly died in 2008. The most current news states the movie might be ready for viewing in 2011, but no one knows for sure.
“This reminds me Abagond, I think we are due a poll of the hottest South Asian men and women. That’s something not often explored by Westerners, particularly regarding South Asian men.”
Agreed. But we need more individual posts on the remaining Gorgeous Men first (which I am working on).
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@leigh204 and Natasha W: You’re both so right! I feel the exact same way. He seems like such a sweet, sweet person. If I were a bit older and in Japan…
But seriously: seeing a post like this makes me wonder why Asian men seemed to be underappreciated by women of other races. I don’t know about other parts of America, but in New York and the Midwest, I’ve seen many, many, many good-looking Asian guys walking down the street.
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Vilia, I think the media purposely doesn’t show good-looking Asian men, and that affects women’s perceptions of them (And does the complete opposite for Asian women: gives a positively skewed perception of their appearances. No offense to any Asian women). But like you, I’ve lived and been to places where there are a large amount of Asians and there were just as many attractive Asian men as there were attractive men of other ethnicities.
As much as people like to believe their perceptions are unaffected by media, this is obviously not so. Similarly to other minorities, there aren’t as many Asians in North America and they aren’t evenly distributed throughout regions. So people mainly have media like ads, TV, and magazines from which to derive their impressions. If more Asian men were appearing in campaign ads looking like this: https://abagond.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/takeshi03.jpg , that would completely change opinions.
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I love asian men. I have never thought I would love them the way I do now. Before I was blinded by the way media portrayed them but now my views change. They have flaws and qualities likes every men in the world. I so want to see a movie where the asian man and the african woman are the lead characters. Guess a movie with Takeshi Kaneshiro or Kubozuka Yusuke with Geneviève Nnaji. Ok I keep dreaming I know But I love African history and African people courage, music, way of talking (like Ivorian people), variety, and spirit and I love Asian history and culture. I know every culture has its flaws but African and Asian cultures are very close.
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Grace, a movie of that sort would be excellent! I think Takeshi Kaneshiro and Genevieve Nnaji are two of the most beautiful celebrities.
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@ Eurasian Sensation
I like that he has found his audience and success OUTSIDE of Hollywood. I do believe Competition is much more fierce outside of Hollywood.
Charm I understand as sexual suggestion without the obviousness, but What is “inborn attractiveness” ? Is that like saying he is an all around wholesome person? Or just another way to say he is not a shallow celebrity with a pretty face?
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Such is the irony of these ladies’ admiration for this actor’s eyes when it was just a few posts ago that double eyelids were discussed.
That is hardly the reason for their liking, I am certain, but it is nevertheless one of his primary appeals in Asia. Thus, the Western influence continues.
Alas.
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Smerdyakov,
Takeshi has double eyelids? Really? Who knew? (Not that it would have changed my opinion on him anyway, since eyes aren’t one of my preferred features of men, but MMV.)
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asada,
I can’t be completely sure what Armani meant by that statement, but I read it as having a natural appeal.
—-
Smerdyakov,
Takeshi’s eyes are “slanted” although they can look wider in some photos because they are deeply set.
So I doubt that is what his appeal is all about. And John Cho is the most popular Asian actor in the U.S. according to many sources and there is nothing atypical about his eyes in relation to other Asians.
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Such is the irony of these ladies’ admiration for this actor’s eyes when it was just a few posts ago that double eyelids were discussed.
That is hardly the reason for their liking, I am certain, but it is nevertheless one of his primary appeals in Asia. Thus, the Western influence continues.
Well you don’t know all Asians, and you’re no Asian scholar, so you can’t say that for sure. And seeing as how Asians in the East have their own standard of beauty, which coincidentally emulates the Western ideal, you’re just projecting your culture onto another group of people with a different culture of their own — just like every other white person who thinks they’re the center of the world!! Gosh, white people are so racist!!
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The last picture of Takeshi posted above is from the film Red Cliff by John Woo, which I highly recommend. He is an awesome actor and played the role with great subtlety.
His decision to stay out of Hollywood is very smart and insightful, and just confirms how stupid the American film industry truly is. They claim to be all about marketing, but then won’t put the “Best International Actor of the Decade (Asia)” into a leading role? What else could that be except for racism?
He is totally gorgeous, but also seems like a very interesting person, which of course just makes him even more attractive. Yeah, I could listen to him recite the Diamond Sutra all night long… 🙂
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KeyserSoze,
Why do you assume that I am white? I am Asian. It is foolish to assume that I am racist, not to mention white. I remember a similar argument with Abagond on that anime characters post. I have personal experience in Asia, so I would like to think my arguments have merit. I also have experience with topics in terms of black people, but I doubt that it can match Abagond because he has a lifetime worth of it.
I don’t know all Asians. I am no Asian scholar. However, I am an Asian person who has lived in Asia.
The reason why ladies above drooled over the actor is because he is a handsome actor. No homo.
What you have failed to notice is that many actors and actresses in Asia will have certain characteristics in common. And double eyelid or eyes that appear large, not slanted, is often at the top of the list. That is part of Takeshi’s appeal in Asia. The industry itself is biased toward people who possess certain physical traits.
Natasha W,
My sentence says that it is one of main reasons why he is popular. In Asia. I already clarified my position on that reply. Ladies here find him attractive, and rightfully so, but one of many reasons why he is popular in Asia is because of his eyes. That was my stance.
If you look at your own second link, you can see that he has double eyelids. There is no doubt that her Taiwanese mother’s genes played a role. The list of famous Asian people with single eyelids is endless, so I won’t get to that. The eyelid does not indicate the person’s talent, but there is an ingrained bias within the industry that gives double eyelids and other physical traits an upper hand.
Progress is progress with John Cho and Daniel Dae Kim in the U.S., but there is a long way to go.
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Smerdyakov,
I don’t know for sure what his popularity in Taiwain and Japan is about, since I don’t live there. But from my research for this post, reading comments by people on various forums and blogs, reading interviews translated into English, etc, it is because he has talent, an interesting personality that comes through in his films, and yes of course, good looks. I didn’t see one reference to the roundness or lack of roundness of his eyes.
I also don’t see “double eyelids” on him, but I don’t claim to be an expert on Asian eyes and what constitutes double or single. I know that his eyes don’t look very different from the Asians I’ve known in the U.S. I haven’t been analyzing the shape of his eyes that deeply though; I’m more of a holistic gazer.
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*Taiwan
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I am going to assume that you are a Westerner. If he has the same fold as you in that picture, then he has double eyelids.
His popularity is Taiwan and Japan is because his parents are from both countries. His dad is Japanese and mom is Taiwanese. (His dad is technically from Okinawa, but I won’t get into that.) This sentence does not mean that it is the only reason he is popular in these countries.
No one here has said that Takeshi is a talentless piece of shit who gets by on his looks. I did not say that.
Once again, I do not appreciate it when people jump to conclusions based on what I did not say, choosing instead to fill that void with what they think I was implying. (I merely talk about his eyes, and people assume that I was writing him off solely based on his eyes and ignored his actual talent and personality.)
Takeshi is a freak of nature in a sense that he has such a wide range of appeal. He covers almost all of Asia in terms of popularity because he is culturally in touch with both Japan and China. This means that he is a versatile choice for historical dramas and films that depict history and myth as well as any modern setting due to his moderate fluency in Chinese. In short, he is a modest, bi-cultural handsome son of a bitch who challenges for the most desirable bachelor on Earth.
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@Natasha W:
Girl, I have seen double eyelids like Takeshi, but they’re mostly of Southeast Asian descent (Filipinos, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.) Btw, Takeshi has the crease seen here.
Single lids – Singer/actpr Rain
Note the difference.
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Leigh,
Interesting. Most Asian Americans I know have eyes more similar to Takeshi’s than to Rain’s, so I don’t think I have had enough exposure to Asians with single-lidded eyes to see them as an exclusively (or predominantly) “Asian” trait.
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Takeshi has incredible eyes! Very deep and soulful. Thanks, Natasha for a wonderful post!
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Concerning alleged hypocrisy, I said I’m not really supporting double eyelid surgeries (thought anybody’s free to do with he’s body whatever he wants). And yes, it would be sad to learn Takeshi had such a surgery. But as far as I know, he’s eyes are natural (right?)
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@ Smerdyakov:
I didn’t quite get what you meant by this:
If you look at your own second link, you can see that he has double eyelids. There is no doubt that her Taiwanese mother’s genes played a role.
What would Taiwanese genes have to do with double eyelids? Assuming that his mother is ethnically Chinese as almost all Taiwanese are, wouldn’t she be no more likely to have double eyelids than Takeshi’s Japanese father?
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Smerdyakov,
I don’t know what your issue is.
“No one here has said that Takeshi is a talentless piece of sh*t who gets by on his looks. I did not say that.”
“Once again, I do not appreciate it when people jump to conclusions based on what I did not say, choosing instead to fill that void with what they think I was implying.”
The second sentence is quite ironic in relation to the first because I never said that you said he was talentless. You’re being very defensive and I can’t quite understand why.
Nonetheless, I don’t know why this is relevant to the comments on this post. You initially remarked that it was ironic that the women here were remarking on Takeshi’s eyes given the previous post on double eyelid surgery because his eyes are one of his primary appeals in Asia. In case you hadn’t noticed, most people here aren’t from or in Asia. And didn’t notice that he had the vaunted “double eyelid.” So your comment is a little irrelevant and is veering off-topic.
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leigh,
I agree with Jasmin in that most of the Asians I’ve known have eyes more similar to Takeshi’s than Rain’s.
Also, whenever the subject of double eyelids comes up online (see many posts on this blog) and offline, some are quick to point out that many Asians have “double eyelids.” Now that this post is on, people are crying foul because Takeshi supposedly has double eyelids. But if many Asians have double eyelids, it shouldn’t matter right? Which is it?
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@Natasha @:
I also agree with you and Jasmin that the Asians I’ve known have similar eyes to Takeshi’s. Practically all my family members, and friends have the double eyelids. I’m the exception as I take after my own mother. We have the hidden folds or hooded lids.
No, it shouldn’t matter. The thing is, half the Asian population have the double eyelids. It always amazes me when I see Asian stars in the Western media because more often than not, you see the Asians with the single folds or “slanty” eyes…Sandra Oh…Lucy Liu.
I’m always
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Honestly, I really don’t understand all this fuss about Takeshi eyelids…single or double eyelids the man is drop dead gorgeous and not only he is good looking but he’s also wise, smart and down to earth, and that more than enough…anyway for me he looks all natural.
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Oceane, ITA.
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This man is gorgeous and further confirmed to me that I need to be checking for Asian men. I hate how the media tries to emasculate Asian men or make them all kung-fu masters -____- which is obviously not true hA! Anways, I need to learn Japanese or something…
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I like him
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You know, until I first watched a documentary about the Double Eyelid surgeries among Asians (on MTV, of all places) I never paid THAT much attention to the eyes of Asian people.
I’m laughing now, but I watched the documentary and went, “Wait…you guys don’t usually have that (the top eyelid fold)? O_O” I was a teenager then and, honestly, the presence/absence of that feature on my Asian friends’ faces went unnoticed by me. I didn’t care then, and I still don’t. 🙂
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If you haven’t seen House of Flying Daggers, I highly recommend it. It’s both romantic and tragic at the same time.
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[…] Takeshi Kaneshiro (1973- ) is a Taiwanes actor who is one-eighth Okinawan, thus his name name. He has appeared in […]
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