Japanese boy bands (yes, two),
Kobayashi regularly entertains
crowds of more than fifty thou-
sand people. He’s been singing
and dancing on global stages
since 2009, when he joined the
third generation of the nine-
teen-member Exile, which has
sold more than twenty million106
records in Japan alone. He also
belongs to J. Soul Brothers, a
group with more than ten mil-
lion in worldwide record sales.
“J-pop fans are like beasts,”
he says of performing for
screaming, sold-out stadiums
on annual tours. “But they
and the guys are my family. I
love them.”
Kobayashi, who’d acted
onstage for years in between
tours, decided in 2015 that
film should be his next move.
After a few gigs on Japanese
television and a fateful meet-
ing with Ridley Scott, he was
cast in a movie the director
was executive-producing:
Netflix’s The Earthquake
Bird, based on the same-
named noir novel about an
expatriate accused of mur-
der when her friend—one
third of a love triangle—dis-
appears. Kobayashi stars as
Teiji, a Tokyo photographer
who drives a wedge between
the women, played by Alicia
Vikander and Riley Keough.
The project marks his first
foray into American cinema,
and he’s eager to become a
familiar face—in fact, he as-
pires to bring his martial-arts
experience to action films and
the Marvel Universe.
“A lot of movies from
America have changed my life
and my views,” Kobayashi says.
He cites Leonardo DiCaprio,
Adam Driver, and Bradley Coo-
per as his inspirations, noting
how, despite reaching vaunted
status, they are “still strug-
gling” and evolving. His goal is
to launch a career as varied as
theirs—one that allows him to
sing and dance in a musical as
well as wield a sword.
“I need to act to save myself,
and to open my mind,”
Kobayashi says. “I’m not spe-
cial, though. I’m just the son
of my parents. But through
stories, we can connect.”
—Adrienne WestenfeldPREVIOUS PAGES,
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