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Yūji Oda (織田 裕二, Oda Yūji?) is a Japanese actor and singer. Yuji Oda was born on 13 December 1967 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. He was born to an upper-middle-class family and attended the private academy of Touin Gakkuen. Originally he had a promising career in sports, but had to give it up after a knee injury. He decided to enter drama school, University of Pittsburgh, instead. He dropped out of Pittsburgh University later, but continued his dreams of acting. Debut In the late 1980's he released two record singles that marked the beginning of his career, though they didn't sell well. In 1989 he appeared in the television drama Mama Haha Boogie, from which point he started to gain popularity as an actor, bringing attention to his singing aspirations. In 1991 he appeared in Tokyo Love Story and was finally written up as a star. Oda became a leading man in Japan and has always been pegged as the all around good guy. He plays the good or sympathetic character in dramas and movies. His most famous role is probably that of Aoshima, a police detective in the drama and movie series Odoru Daisousasen / Bayside Shakedown & Bayside Shakedown 2: Save the Rainbow Bridge. Trivia * Yuji Oda famously switched his endorsement allegiances in 1999 from telephone company NTT DoCoMo to its rival, IDO. * Yuji Oda's hobbies include playing pool, diving, and racing cars. * As an athletic enthusiast, Yuji Oda has been casting the biennual IAAF World Championships in Athletics for Japanese TV since 1997. He also performed the official song of the event 'All My Treasures' at the opening ceremony of 2007 World Championships in Athletics, which hold in Osaka, Japan in August, 2007. Awards * 1991 Blue Ribbon Awards most popular actor * 1999 Blue Ribbon Awards Best Actor for Bayside Shakedown * 2003 Japanese Academy Awards best actor for T.R.Y. * Hochi Film Award for best actor Filmography * Shônan bakusôzoku (1987) * Shôgun Iemitsu no ranshin - Gekitotsu (1989) * Mama Haha Bugi (1989) * Tokyo Love Story (1991) * Shushoku sensen ijonashi (1991) * It's a Wonderful Life (1992) * Okane ga nai! (1994) * Sotsugyo ryoko: Nihon kara kimashita (1994) * Last Friend (1995) * Mahiru no tsuki (1996) * Odoru daisosasen (1997) * Whiteout (2000) * Rocket Boy (2001) * Midnight Rain (2002) * T.R.Y. (2003) * ('Odoru daisosasen 2)Bayside Shakedown 2: Save the Rainbow Bridge (2003) * Kencho no hoshi (2006) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.