2004–2005: Career beginnings

Yamada began his career as an entertainer after entering Johnny & Associates at the age of ten. His mother, who was a fan of KinKi Kids, sent an application for an audition which recruited trainees for future male idols. The audition took place during the summer of 2004 and was aired in a segment of a Japanese television program, Ya-Ya-yah. Yamada made his first television appearance in August.

He began working as a backup dancer for Tackey & Tsubasa, NEWS, Kanjani8, and KAT-TUN and appeared regularly on Shounen Club from autumn 2004.

2006–2007: Tantei Gakuen Q and Hey! Say! JUMP

Following his success as a dancer, he began acting. In 2006, he made his acting debut in a two-hour television live action drama, Tantei Gakuen Q SP, as Ryu Amakusa.

In April 2007, he was selected to be a member of a temporary group, Hey! Say! 7.^[6] The group made their CD debut on August 1, 2007, with a number-one single "Hey! Say!".^[6] The band was created by Johnny Kitagawa and it was stated at the time that it would be active for six months until September 2007.

From July 2007, a three-month series of Tantei Gakuen Q was launched and Yamada reprised his role as Ryu Amakusa. The series became a hit, and Yamada rose to prominence.

In September 2007, Hey! Say! 7 expanded. Johnny & Associates announced that the new group, Hey! Say! JUMP, would be launched. Yamada was selected as one of the ten (now eight) members. He debuted on November 14, 2007, with a number one single "Ultra Music Power".^[7]

2008–2009: Early acting and NYC Boys

In 2008, Yamada furthered his acting career. From January to March 2008, he appeared in the three-month long television drama series One-Pound Gospel, with Kazuya Kamenashi.^[8][9][10] On April 12, he played a main role in a two-hour drama episode, Sensei wa Erai, as Hayato Gunjou.^[11][12]

On June 14, he played the main role in Furuhata Chuugakusei, the sequel to Furuhata Ninzaburo, a Japanese drama series aired since 1994.^[13][14] From October to December 2008, he played the main role, Toichi Takasugi, in a three-month long television drama series, Scrap Teacher, along with Daiki Arioka, Yuto Nakajima and Yuri Chinen.^[15]

In June 2009, it was announced that Yamada would be working as the lead singer of temporary group, NYC Boys.^[16] The band debuted with a number one single, "NYC". On December 31, 2009, the band appeared on Kohaku Uta Gassen.^[17]

In the summer of 2009, Yamada returned to acting, appearing in Niini no koto o Wasurenaide, a two-hour television drama episode aired as a segment of an annual television show, 24 Hour Television.^[18][19][20]

On October 3, 2009, he played the main role in Hidarime Tantei Eye SP.^[21]

2010–2012: NYC, The Smurfs, Perfect Son and Johnny's World

From January 2010, Hidarime Tantei EYE became a three-month long television series and Yamada once again played the main role.^[22] His bandmate Yuma Nakayama guest starred in the first two episodes. Hey! Say! JUMP's sixth single "Hitomi no Screen" was used as the theme song for the series.

In March 2010, it was announced that Yamada and two other leading members of NYC boys would form a new group called NYC, leaving behind the remaining four members.^[23] NYC released a number one single "Yuuki 100%" on April 7, 2010.^[23] From this point on, Yamada began performing as a singer of two groups, Hey! Say! JUMP and NYC.

In September 2011, he played the voice of Clumsy in the Japanese-dubbed version of the film The Smurfs.^[24] Hey! Say! JUMP's ninth single, "Magic Power", was used as the theme song for the film.

In 2012, Yamada returned to acting for the first time in two years. He played the main role in Yamada Akiyoshi Monogatari, which was aired on January 2.^[25] It was his first time to star in a period drama. From January to March, he starred in a 3-month long television series, Perfect Son, with actress Kyōka Suzuki.^[26] Hey! Say! JUMP's 9th single "SUPER DELICATE" was used as the theme song for the series.

From November 2012 to January 2013, he played the lead role in a musical, Johnny's World. For the musical, Yamada performed tight-rope walking every day for three months in each show.^[27]

2013–2014: "Mystery Virgin" and Kindaichi Case Files

On January 9, 2013, he made his solo debut with a number one single, "Mystery Virgin".^[28] The fact that Yamada was in his teens at the time when the single reached number one helped him set several new records in the Japanese music industry. The single debuted at number one in its debut week on the Oricon chart, making him the first teenage male artist in thirty-three years to have a number one debut single as well as being one of the only two artists in history to achieve this milestone.^[29]

On January 12, 2013, he starred in a two-hour television special for, Kinda'ichi Shōnen no Jikenbo titled Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo Hong Kong Kowloon Zaihou Satsujin Jiken (The Hong Kong Kowloon Treasure Murder Case).^[30][31] He played the main role as Hajime Kindaichi. The show was created to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Japanese broadcasting company, NTV.^[32] Yamada's Mystery Virgin was used as the theme song for the show.

It was later revealed that Shin Kibayashi, writer of the Kindaichi series and Tantei Gakuen Q had envisioned creating a new Kindaichi series with Yamada as Hajime Kindaichi for almost five years. They met on set while filming Tantei Gakuen Q in 2006 and 2007. After filming the show, Kibayashi asked Yamada in person if he could play the role of Kindaichi in the future, for Yamada was only 14 years old at the time, too young to play the role of a high school student.^[33]

In early 2014, Ryosuke Yamada reprised his role as Kindaichi and starred in another special titled Kindaichi Shonen no Jiken bo Gokumonjuku Satsujin Jiken (The Prison School Murder Case).^[34]

After the specials, Ryosuke was then approached to continue starring as Kindaichi for a new serial drama for the Kindaichi series. The new series will be titled Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo N (neo) and started airing in July 2014.^[35]

2015: Film debut and 24 Hour Television

In March 2015, Yamada made his movie debut as the hero, Shiota Nagisa, in the live-action movie adaptation of the popular manga, Assassination Classroom. The film was successful, topping Japan's box office during opening week.

In August 2015, Hey! Say! JUMP was chosen as the TV personality of NTV's annual 24 Hour Television, which was a program to raise awareness for all the people that are going through hard times, alongside another Johnny's group, V6. Yamada portrayed the hero, Ryohei Sasaki, in the 24 Hour Television drama special called Okaasan, Ore Wa Daijoubu, along with other Johnny's members Takahisa Masuda and Yoshihiko Inohara as cast members. He portrayed a high school student who's passionate about soccer, but suffers from a brain tumor. For the role, Yamada lost 6 kg within a week. In 2022, he was chosen as host personality again, together with the other members of the YouTube channel Jyaninochannel.^[36]

Yamada was cast in another film released November 9 called Grasshopper along with Toma Ikuta. The movie ranked number two on its opening week. Yamada received positive reviews for his role as a knife-wielding assassin, including from his veteran co-stars, Toma Ikuta, Tadanobu Asano, and Jun Murakami.^[37]

2016–present: Established actor

In 2016, Yamada won Newcomer of the Year in the 39th Japan Academy Prize for his portrayal of Nagisa Shiota in Assassination Classroom. He earned Rookie Actor of the Year in the Japan Movie Critics Awards for his role as Semi in Grasshopper.^[38]

On May 24, 2016, it was announced that Yamada would star as Edward Elric in the live-action film Fullmetal Alchemist based on the manga and anime of the same name.^[39] The film released December 2017 to mixed reviews.^[40] It was followed by two sequels released in 2022: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Revenge of Scar and Fullmetal Alchemist: The Final Alchemy, in which Yamada starred alongside Dean Fujioka and Mackenyu.^[41] They were released on 20 May and 24 June 2022 respectively.^[42][43] The films became available as a trilogy on Netflix on 20 August and 24 September respectively.^[44][45]

Yamada was cast as the lead in Fuji TV's getsu 9 (prime-time slot) fall drama, Cain and Abel. It aired in October 2016. It marked Yamada's first drama with a romantic love angle; he was also the first Heisei from Johnny's to star in a getsu 9. The story is adapted from the Bible's Old Testament, and was a remake of the American film, East of Eden starring James Dean. Yamada plays a salaryman who falls in love with his brother's girlfriend and is hungry for the affection of his father.^[46] For his role, Yamada was the youngest person to be nominated as Best Leading Actor in the Autumn TV Drama Academy Award 2016.^[47]

On December 2, 2016, Yamada was cast as a lead in Miracles of the Namiya General Store based on the best-selling novel of the same name by award-winning writer, Higashino Keigo. It tells the story of two people living in different eras (1980 and 2012) connected by a letter, a story depicting human bonds and miracles. Yamada portrayed a delinquent who stumbles upon a mysterious store that leads to events that change his life. The movie was directed by Ryuichi Hiroki; filming was expected to start January 2017 and slated for an autumn 2017 release.^[48]

Yamada's performance in Miracles of the Namiya General Store received generally positive reviews. Co-star Nishida Toshiyuki praised his performance, calling him the Japanese version of James Dean, and wrote a special letter for him appreciating his acting. The movie was nominated for six different categories at the 41st Japan Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.^[49]

Both Miracles of the Namiya General Store and Fullmetal Alchemist debuted at number 1 at the Japanese box office for opening weekend. Yamada's performances earned him the Newcomer Actor Award at the 91st Kinema Junpo Awards, making him the second Johnny's talent to achieve the award after Ikuta Toma.^[50]

In the winter of 2018, Yamada was cast as the lead to the NTV Saturday 10pm drama Momikeshite Fuyu, a family comedy about three elite siblings: a doctor, a lawyer, and a police officer who struggles to cover up scandals related to their family. Yamada plays the youngest child, a police officer who graduates from the University of Tokyo and struggles to be accepted by his family under the shadows of his older siblings. The series premiered January 13, 2018, with a rating of 13.3%.^[51]

Singles

Music videos

Credits

DVD

Dramas

Film

Shows

YouTube and SNS

A new Johnny's YouTube channel called ジャにのちゃんねる (Janinochaneru), led by Arashi's Kazunari Ninomiya, was opened on April 25, 2021.^[90][91] Yamada was revealed as the fourth member to participate, on April 28. He was revealed in the channel's 4th official video following 3 others announcing the other Johnny's members that would be a part of the new channel.^[92]

On 15 September 2023, Yamada started his own gaming channel, LEOの遊び場 (Leo's Playground). On this channel, Yamada mainly streams gameplay of first-person shooter games, featuring other Japanese streamers and VTubers. That same day, he opened a corresponding Twitter account, in which he publishes (mainly) the links to the YouTube videos.^[93]

On 18 August 2023, Yamada opened an Instagram account, posting casual photos. Later that day, he streamed live, announcing the release of a pair of photobooks to celebrate his upcoming 30th birthday and 10th anniversary of his solo debut.^[94]

Commercials

• Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.
  • Clear Asahi beer (April 2023) As part of Jyaninochannel^[95]
  • Asahi Soft Drinks "Mitsuya Cider" (2021-) With Arashi members Masaki Aiba and Sho Sakurai^[96] and Snow Man members Ryohei Abe and Ren Meguro ^[97] in a series of commercials.
• Bael Co., Ltd. "Blue Lock Blaze Battle" (2023)^[98][99]
• Baskin-Robbins Thirty-One ice cream (2020- )^{[100][101][102]}

Pre-debut