Hiroyuki Watanabe

For the Japanese baseball player, see Hiroyuki Watanabe (baseball).
Hiroyuki Watanabe
渡辺 裕之
Born December 9, 1955
Ibaraki, Japan
Died May 3, 2022 (aged 66)
Kanagawa, Japan
Alma mater Takushoku University
Occupation Actor
Years active 1980–2022
Spouse
Hideko Hara
​
(m. 1994)​

Hiroyuki Watanabe (渡辺 裕之, Watanabe Hiroyuki, December 9, 1955 – May 3, 2022) was a Japanese actor. He primarily acted in dramas, of which a handful are tokusatsu series. One of his latest roles was as Taiga Saejima in the tokusatsu series GARO. He also played Kamen Rider Gaoh in the Kamen Rider Den-O movie, Kamen Rider Den-O: I'm Born!.

Life

Watanabe was born on December 9, 1955, in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. He graduated from Takushoku University, Faculty of Commerce. During his studies at the university, he learned German while working for the German airline company Lufthansa. Watanabe also spoke English.

Watanabe began his career in entertainment by appearing in a Coca-Cola television commercial in 1980.

He married actress Hideko Hara (原 日出子, Hara Hideko) in 1994.

Watanabe was found dead at his private gym in the basement of his home on May 3, 2022, and his death was announced by his management agency on May 5. The cause of death was reportedly suicide by hanging.

In a statement released through her agency, Hara said that during the self-isolation period forced by COVID-19, Watanabe began to express anxiety and was having trouble sleeping. He had just been diagnosed with dysautonomia and was beginning treatment around the time of his death.

Filmography

Films

Television

Japanese dubbing