Actor Ryo Kase was born on November 9, 1974, in Kanagawa Prefecture. He is the eldest son of Yutaka Kase, chairman of the general trading company Sojitz. He moved to the United States shortly after birth and spent his first seven years in Washington State. He enrolled at Chuo University's School of Commerce and decided to pursue acting after seeing a play in which a senior student appeared. His admiration for actor Tadanobu Asano led him to write a letter to his agency, and after dropping out of university, he joined the agency. He began working as Asano's assistant in 1998 and made his acting debut in the 2000 film "Gojou Reisenki." His 2007 film "I Haven't Done It," won numerous Japanese film awards, including the Japan Academy Prize and the Blue Ribbon Award. He has also appeared in international films, including "Letters from Iwo Jima" in 2006 and "Eternal Love" in 2011. He has co-starred with Erika Toda in the TV drama "SPEC" since 2010. It was made into a movie in 2012 and became a huge hit. The first part of the final installment, "SPEC: Finale," is currently in theaters, with the second part due to be released on the 29th.