Actor Shota Sometani was born on September 3, 1992, in Tokyo.
He made his film debut in 2001 at the age of 9 in the film "STACY." He continued his career as a child actor and, in 2009, starred in his first feature film, playing the lead role of Hibari in "Pandora's Box." In 2011, he starred in director Sion Sono's "Himizu," winning the Best Newcomer Award at the 68th Venice International Film Festival alongside Fumi Nikaido. He was the first Japanese actor to win the award. In 2013, he won the Best Newcomer Actor award at the 36th Japan Academy Awards for both that film and "Lesson of the Evil."
Since his critically acclaimed performance in "Himizu," his filmography has rapidly increased, with 11 films released last year and 12 this year. His upcoming appearances include Koki Mitani's "Kiyosu Conference" in November and Takashi Yamazaki's "Eternal Zero" in December.

It was also recently announced that he will be teaming up with director Sion Sono to produce a short film as part of "Venezia70-Future Reloaded," a commemorative project for the 70th Venice International Film Festival this year.