At the age of 11 Yamashita saw one of Hideaki’s drama’s on tv, and decided from then on his goal was to be on TV. Yamashita sent in applications to many talent agencies with great perseverance, but the first to give him an audition was Johnny & Associates.
The path Yamashita’s childhood took after this audition was certainly not the run of the mill path most children follow. Yamashita went to Horikoshi Gakuen’s performing arts course for high school, and attended classes with other famous Japanese celebrities. After graduating high school Yamashita did not directly go into pop stardom without a degree to back it up, but rather was accepted, attended and graduated from Meiji University’s School of Commerce, where he received a degree in Commerce.
His biggest break into stardom was with the Johnny’s Entertainment label, as a singer for the hit boyband NEWS in 2003. Eight years later, Yamashita left NEWS to pursue his successful solo career when he released his first single Daite Seniorita. Since then, Yamashita has also pursued his career in TV and movie roles such as his first widescreen debut in the Kurosagi film sequel Eiga: Kurosagi in 2008.
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