Tet Wada
Tet Wada | |
---|---|
Born |
Tokyo, Japan | January 20, 1973
Nationality | Japanese |
Occupation | Actor |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
Website | TET WADA Official Web Site |
Tet Wada (born January 20, 1973) is an actor active in Asia, Europe and North America. Wada was born in Tokyo and is currently represented by CAJ.
Early life
Wada was born in Minato-ku, Tokyo. He moved to the United States without his family at the age of 18 and obtained a degree in international marketing from Baruch College in New York City.
Career
After graduating, Wada worked in a marketing role at Donna Karan New York's headquarters. While he was a student, Wada worked as a researcher and house model for leather designer Anton, whose celebrity clients include Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, Sting and Alicia Keys. New York-based modeling agency Q Models saw Wada and signed him on as its first Asian model. Wada was initially not interested in modeling and continued to work at Donna Karan, but his strong Asian features and cool persona shot him to modeling fame, and Wada resigned from his marketing job. Wada became the first Japanese male model to be featured in Vogue Paris. He was cast with top model Daria Werbowy in a widely talked about photograph of the two kissing. Wada solidified his reputation as a leading Asian fashion artist and collaborated with world famous photographers including Michael Thompson, Terry Richardson, Markus Klinko and Greg Lotus. Wada also acted in numerous TV shows and movies in the U.S. and a film he had a leading role in screened at the 2012 New York Asian Film Festival. Starting in 2012, Wada formally shifted his career focus to Asia. After shooting a film in Japan, he spent 6 months in Taiwan as a main cast member of the television series Chocolat. (Chocolat is scheduled to air in Japan, Taiwan and other Asian countries in 2013.) Wada has appeared in multiple advertisement campaigns for global brands including SONY, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, SK-II, L'Oreal, Subaru, Evian, Bacardi, KOOL Cigarettes, Uniqlo, and GAP. He was booked by Uniqlo at the onset of the brand’s expansion into the U.S. and European markets and appeared in its campaigns for four years. He is now appearing in ads for Asian brands and is modeling for the Diane Shampoo Series in 2013- co-starring with Yuriko Yoshitaka.
Personal life
- He is fluent in Japanese, English and Spanish and has started learning Chinese after being cast in Chocolat.
- He is often mistaken for being of mixed race due to living overseas for long and because of his toned physique from working out, but he is 100% Japanese. He values living in different countries and learning about the culture and meeting their people.
- He says many people tell him they were initially intimidated but unexpectedly find him funny after meeting him. He notes that he was constantly asked to glare into the camera for fashion shots, so people who have seen his photos often have a preconceived notion that he is mean.
- He is big on correspondence and always sends a hand-written note to close friends and family members on their birthdays. He also updates his blogs frequently.
- He was always interested in English and motorcycles since he was little, and watched English TV programs in earnest. According to his blog, he decided to move to the United States when he was in elementary school after watching the American movie Smokey and the Bandit II.
- During elementary school, he mastered riding a miniature Yamaha Motocross. He still rides his vintage U.S.-manufactured Honda that he rode in New York that he arranged to send back to Japan. He has said, “A motorcycle is a man’s life partner to pursue his dreams.”
- He is friends with New York-based exotic skin and leather artist Anton, and studied fashion by going to his studio every day. It was Anton who convinced Wada to model for the first time.
- He worships Bruce Lee’s way of life. He has pursued multiple martial art forms including Aikido and Kung Fu. He has followed a workout regimen for over 15 years, reaching a point of doing over 1200 push-ups a day.
Filmography
- 2005 Winter Butterfly
- 2006 One Night with You
- 2008 Dungeon
- 2008 Tenure of Edmond Fontier
- 2010 Sex and the City II
- 2010 Wall Street II
- 2011 Into the New World
- 2012 Premium Rush
- 2014 Fuja
- 2015 S Last Policeman-Recovery of Our Future
Television
- 2008 BLOODY MONDAY (Japan)
- 2010 Royal Plains (USA)
- 2011 Lights Out (USA)
- 2014 Chocolat (Taiwan & 15 different Asian countries)
Radio
- Rocky's Music Salad (Jan 21, 2012)Shibuya FM
- Sounds of Story Asada Jiro Library (Sep 13, 2014) J−Wave
- ON THE PLANET (2015.4- monday) Radio personality Japan FM Network (Japan)
Modeling
Television Commercials
- UNIQLO (Japan, Korea)
- SUBARU Legacy (USA)
- Evian Mineral water (Worldwide)
- Moist Diane series (Japan)
- Laundrin (Japan)
- Eruca (Japan)
Print Advertisements
- L'Oreal (USA, Canada, Europe)
- SK-II (Worldwide)
- SONY Cybershot (USA)
- UNIQLO (Japan、Korean、USA、England)
- GAP (Japan、USA、Europe)
- PUMA (Germany)
- NOKIA (USA)
- MOTOROLA RAZR V3 (USA)
- Bacardi Rum (USA)
- KOOL Cigarettes (USA)
- KANE Cigarettes (Spain)
- BABY PHAT by Kimora Lee Simmons (USA)
- HOUSE OF DEREON by Beyonce (USA)
- BAVERIA Beer (Netherlands)
Editorial
- VOGUE (France、USA)
Becomes the first Japanese male model to be featured in French Vogue. Madonna was on the cover of the issue. He was photographed kissing Canadian supermodel Daria Werbowy (photographer: Terry Richardson).
- GQ (USA, Taiwan)
- i-D (United Kingdom)
- TRACE (New York)
- SURFACE (New York)
- ROLLING STONE (1000th Special Collectors Issue)
- GLAMOUR (United Kingdom)
- FLAIR (Italia)
- COMPLOT (Venezuela)
- AUGUST MEN (Singapore)
- Tarzan (Japan)
- SUPER TOKYO by Leslie Kee etc.
Runway
- Imitation of Christ (New York)
- Matrix L'Oreal (New York)
- Y R B (New York)
- Romain Kapadia (New York)
- Anton (New York)
- Dr. Martens (New York)
- Pierrot (New York)
- Yoko Devereaux (New York)
- Elisa Jimenez (New York) etc.
Management
Wada moved to the United States in 1991 and relocated to New York City in 1997. He moved back to Japan in 2012. He was represented by Q Models (New York & Los Angeles) from 2001-2011 and is currently represented by CAJ (2012–present).
External links
- Tet Wada official website
- Tet Wada Blog (Japanese)
- CAJ
- Tet Wada at the Internet Movie Database