Inside life of Yakuza series Kiryu actor from modelling competition to Detective Pikachu role

The first few episodes of new Amazon Prime series Like a Dragon: Yakuza have finally been released, introducing some lesser known faces playing familiar roles

Based on the beloved video game series published by Sega, and developed by RGG Studio, the series will see a new version of many iconic characters including Kazuma Kiryu and his journey through Japan's shady underbelly.

While created in Japan, the franchise has since gained immense popularity all over the , with several sequel's and spin-offs released since the original Yakuza game in 2005.

However fans in the west may be unfamiliar with many of the cast taking on the leading roles in Amazon's new series.

One of those, is Ryoma Takeuchi. But who is the actor? Where might you have seen or heard him before? What about his personal life? Here, we look at the Yakuza star's life so far from finding his break to what he has said about his latest role.

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Who is Ryoma Takeuchi?

Ryoma Takeuchi was born April, 26 1993 in Machida, Tokyo and is the eldest of three with a younger sister and brother.

His birth name is actually Ryo but he opted for the stage name of Ryoma.

An avid footballer from the age of five, he was part of the Tokyo Verdy setup, a club in the top Japanese division, when he was younger.

While he attended college on a sports scholarship thanks to his proficiency with the game, its reported an injury dented his chances of ultimately pursuing it as a career.

In April 2013, at the age of 20, Takeuchi took part in the Mina Kare Grand Prix, a highly competitive modelling audition for the female magazine Mina.

He was crowned the winner out of 2,457 contestants and the victory helped spur him onto an acting career.

What were his previous roles?

So far, Takeuchi has appeared in mostly Japanese films and television series.

One of his biggest breakout roles was as Shinnosuke Tomari otherwise known as Kamen Rider in a number of films and series of the Kamen Rider franchise.

Kamen Rider is a live-action superhero franchise popular in Japan.

There is still a credit on Takeuchi's list that western audiences will be more familiar with as the star had two roles in the 2019 hit Detective Pikachu.

While on screen he appears briefly as an unnamed Male Pokemon Trainer, for the Japanese dubbed version of the film, he provided the voice for the lead part of Tim Goodman, played by Justice Smith.

Now Takeuchi appears in his biggest role yet, as Kazuma Kiryu in Amazon's Like a Dragon: Yakuza series.

What does he say about playing Kazuma Kiryu?

Like A Dragon: Yakuza could prove to be the most challenging and rewarding role for Takeuchi.

He reportedly went through rigorous training to be able to pull off the action scenes and also created a carefully controlled diet for himself.

After all, more eyes will be on him with the popularity of the original game series expanding outside of Japan over the last 20 years.

Speaking to IGN Japan, the actor shared his surprise at being cast in the role of Kiryu, who is much adored by the game's fans.

He said: “I was surprised to be offered this role. I knew about the game series and had played the first game at my uncle’s home. It’s a real challenge to play a character from an existing work, and I considered very carefully whether I was suited to portray Kiryu, and whether it was right for me.

"From the beginning, I knew I would have to give it everything I have, or I’d never pull it off. Rather than me becoming Kiryu, I had to create Kiryu from scratch — that’s when he and I began to link together and become one.

”I have great respect for the feelings of the fans. But when I play a character, I have to express them in my own way, so I can’t pay attention to the preconceptions of others. I researched the games for myself, to identify Kiryu’s qualities and embody them in my own way.

"Of course, I hope the fans will be happy with my portrayal — but I can say with confidence that I’ve done my best to play Kiryu. There’s no point in trying to surpass the original game; rather I wanted to show respect to the games while making something new as an artist.”

Like a Dragon: Yakuza episodes 1-3 are available to stream on Amazon Prime now with the final episodes available on October 31