Career
Arai made his screen debut in Isao Yukisada's GO in 2001 when he was 19 years old. His next film role was the emotionally disturbed senior high school student Aoki in Toshiaki Toyoda's Blue Spring, which won him the Best New Actor award at the 17th Takasaki Film Festival. His Blue Spring performance and promo interviews had attracted the attention of critically acclaimed Japanese director Yôichi Sai, also a Zainichi Korean. They publicly agreed to do a film together some day, which came to be Blood and Bones two years later.
In a Josei Seven interview, Arai had stated that, in spite of his earlier critically acclaimed films, he regarded the satirical crime film The Matsugane Potshot Affair (2006) as his true breakthrough. His role had allowed him to exhibit a wider range of his acting abilities including comic timing. After the film's release, he was offered comedic roles he had wanted but couldn't get, including Korede iinoda!! Eiga★Akatsuka Fujio and Slapstick Brothers.
In 2011, Arai co-stars as Detective Kazuhiko Soga in an one-off TV crime thriller Douki with co-stars Ryuhei Matsuda as Detective Ryota Udagawa and Chiaki Kuriyama as Michiru Soga.
The June 2012 issue of Switch, a Japanese arts and media magazine, features a special segment on top ten manga that teaches love and passion, chosen by Japanese actors, artists and musicians including Arai, who chose Bakuman while explaining: '"You should up your girl power by learning how to behave like a heroine."'
Arai's currently represented by ANORE INC., a talent agency founded in 1996 by actor Tadanobu Asano, Asano's father Yukihisa Sato and Asano's musician brother Kujun Sato.
Read more about this topic: Hirofumi Arai
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