Haruma Miura

Haruma Miura (三浦 春馬, Miura Haruma; April 5, 1990 – July 18, 2020) was a Japanese actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the television drama Agri (1997) and rose to popularity after starring in the film Koizora (2007), winning Newcomer of the Year at the 31st Japan Academy Prize. In the following years, Miura notably starred in the third season of Gokusen (2009), Bloody Monday (2009), Naoko (2009), Kimi ni Todoke (2010), Last Cinderella (2013), Boku no Ita Jikan (2013), The Eternal Zero (2013), Attack on Titan (2015), Gintama 2 (2018), and Two Weeks (2019). He also starred as Lola in the Japanese production of Kinky Boots (2016), winning Best New Actor and the Haruko Sugimura Award at the 24th Yomiuri Theater Awards. In addition to his acting career, Miura debuted as a singer in 2019 with the single "Fight for Your Heart."

Miura remained active in his acting career until his death in 2020. Following his death, his second single, "Night Diver" was released posthumously along with his other acting projects. He was posthumously awarded the Nikkan Sports Yujiro Ishihara Film Prize for Fan's Choice in Best Actor for his role in Godai: The Wunderkind.

Career

1997–2006: Early acting career

Miura made his acting debut in the television drama adaptation of the novel Agri when he was seven years old. He was enrolled at the Tsukuba branch of Actors Studio and was concurrently a member of the boy band Brash Brats with two other students. Following the closure of Actors Studio, the three signed to Amuse Inc. As Brash Brats went on indefinite hiatus in 2005, Miura continued his acting career. Early notable television projects that he appeared in include Ima, Ai ni Ikimasu, Unfair, Children, 14-sai no Haha, and Fight. He also appeared in the films Mori no Gakkō and Akihabara@Deep. His first starring role was Taiyō Sasaki in the 2006 film Catch a Wave.

2007–2010: Rise to popularity

In 2007, Miura starred in the film Koizora as Hiro, and he also appeared in the film Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge. Following the release of Koizora, Miura won Newcomer of the Year for his role in the film at the 31st Japan Academy Film Prize. In 2008, he was cast as Ryo Shiraishi in Binbō Danshi, Ren Kazama in the third season of Gokusen, and Fujimaru Takagi in the live-action television drama adaptation of Bloody Monday, as well as a guest appearance in a special episode of Galileo as a younger version of the main character, Manabu Yukawa. In addition, he appeared in the music video for "Umaku Ienai" by Yuzu. Miura later starred in the film Naoko and won the Sponichi Grand Prix Newcomer Award at the 63rd Mainichi Film Awards for his performance. In October 2008, he released his second photobook, Letters. By the end of 2008, Miura's rise in popularity led him to rank No. 3 on Oricon's annual list of "18-year-olds expected to be successful" in 2008. Oricon ranked him No. 1 in a list of "most anticipated actors for 2009." He also ranked No. 1 in a list of "actors of interest" in a survey published by the magazine Ori-Star.

In February 2009, Miura was one of seven recipients who won Newcomer of the Year at the 2009 Elan d'or Awards. In April 2009, he appeared in the film Crows Zero 2 as Tatsuya Bitō. In March 2009, he reprised his role in Gokusen: The Movie, which was later released in July 2009. From June 20, 2009, to July 26, 2009, Miura starred in his first stage production, Hoshi no Daichi ni Furu Namida. In September 2009, Miura was cast as Kotaro Mochizuki in Samurai Seventeen, which was later renamed Samurai High School; this was his first leading role in an NTV drama.

In January 2010, Miura reprised his role for the second season of Bloody Monday. His third photobook, Switch, was released on February 5, 2010. In the same month, Miura released an idol DVD with Takeru Satoh chronicling their trip to New York City, which was titled HT: NY no Chūshin, Nabe no Tsutsuku. The DVD sold 12,000 physical copies upon release, ranking No. 5 on Oricon's weekly DVD charts. In April 2010, he was cast as Shōta Kazehaya in the live-action adaptation of Kimi ni Todoke, which was later released on September 25, 2010. In September 2010, he made his runway debut modeling at the 2010 Kobe Collection Autumn/Winter Show. Later that year, he was cast in his first getsuku drama, Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta, as Shūji Kashiwagi, which was broadcast in January 2011.

2011–2015: Domestic and international success

In May 2011, Miura played Kensuke Sanada in the episode "Janken" of television mini-series Yo ni mo Kimyō na Monogatari in during the 2011 spring serialization. He appeared in the television drama Saigo no Bansan: Keiji Tōno Kazuyuki to 7-nin no Yōgisha as Eiji Miyata in the last 45 seconds of the final episode as a teaser to the television drama Hi wa Mata Noboru, which he starred in. Hi wa Mata Noboru was later broadcast in July 2011. In June 2011, Miura starred in the film Tokyo Park. On November 11, 2011, Miura and Satoh released a second part of their video diary, titled HT: Sekidō no Mashita de, Nabe no Tsutsuku, which was filmed in Malaysia. The DVD charted at #2 on the Oricon Weekly DVD Chart and sold 14,000 physical copies on its first week of release, making it the best-selling male idol DVD since Private of W-inds in 2002.

In 2012, Miura co-starred in the stage play Kaitō Seven as Wild Upper. He then played lead in episode 8 of the television mini-series Keigo Higashino Mysteries. From 2012 to 2013, he co-starred in the stage play Zipang Punk: Goemon Rock III as a guest performer, portraying Akechi Shinkuro. In 2013, Miura co-starred in Last Cinderella as Hiroto Saeki. Last Cinderella enjoyed high ratings throughout its broadcast, and the producers of the series partially attribute its success from the "playful" sex appeal of the characters, particularly the scene of Miura's character taking a shower. In the same year, Miura co-starred in the animated film Harlock: Space Pirate, providing the voice to Yama. He also co-starred in the film The Eternal Zero as Kentaro Saeki, and he was nominated as Best Supporting Actor at the 38th Japan Academy Prize for his performance.

In 2014, Miura starred in the television drama Boku no Ita Jikan as Takuto Sawada and Satsujin Hensanchi 70 as Keisuke Miyahara. On April 18, 2015, he released his fourth photobook, Fureru. In June 2014, he starred in the music video for "Bakemono" by Nico Touches the Walls. In July 2014, at the 51st Galaxy Award, Miura won the Individual Award for his performances on Last Cinderella and Boku no Ita Jikan. He also starred in the live-action film adaptation of Five Minutes to Tomorrow, a Japanese-Chinese co-production, and learned Mandarin Chinese for the film. In 2015, Miura portrayed Val Xavier in the Japanese stage production of Orpheus Descending. He also portrayed Eren Jaeger in the two-part live-action film adaptation of Attack on Titan, with both films releasing in 2015.

2016–2020: Music debut and final projects

In 2016, Miura co-starred in the live-action television drama adaptation of Never Let Me Go. Later, he was cast as Lola in the Japanese stage production of Kinky Boots. His performance was critically acclaimed, earning Best New Actor and the Haruko Sugimura Award at the 24th Yomiuri Theater Awards. He was cast as Ii Naochika in the taiga drama Naotora: The Lady Warlord, which was later broadcast in 2017. In January 2017, Miura was one of the recipients awarded at the 26th Japan Jewelry Best Dresser Award. In September 2017, he co-starred in the television drama Otona Koukou and also appeared in the music video for "Reportage" by Yu Takahashi, the theme song of the series.