He gained attention as an actor in the 1983 TBS television drama Family Game (as Shigeyuki Numata). In 1997, he voiced Ashitaka in the anime movie Princess Mononoke, and voiced Leonardo DiCaprio's role Jack Dawson in the American film Titanic to raise his profile. He appeared in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984, and in 1987, portrayed the main character Shuna in The Journey of Shuna. In 2006, he taught acting as a lecturer at Tokyo Animation College. He became active around the stage, working with directors such as Yukio Ninagawa and Yoji Aoi. He appeared in the drama From the North Country.
