Ryohei Suzuki's Fitness & Beauty Secrets | Workouts, Skincare, Diet & Wellness

Japanese actor Ryohei Suzuki is known for his remarkable physical transformations, powerful screen presence, and dedication to bringing every character to life. From dramatic weight changes to demanding action sequences, his commitment to acting has fascinated audiences for years. Yet behind his muscular image is a man who loves sweets, occasionally struggles to find the motivation to go to the gym, and has become increasingly interested in skincare, haircare, nutrition, and sleep as he navigates his 40s.

Born on March 29, 1983, in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, Suzuki graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and made his acting debut in 2006. He gained widespread recognition through the NHK television drama Hanako to Anne and went on to portray historical figure Saigo Takamori in the 2018 NHK historical drama Segodon. His notable television projects include TOKYO MER: Mobile Emergency Room, Elpis: Hope or Disaster, and Gekokujo Kyuji, also known as 下剋上球児. His films include My Love Story!!, Last of the Wolves, Egoist, Netflix's City Hunter, and Hanamanma. In 2026, he starred in the television drama Reboot, marking his 20th year as an actor.

Beyond acting, Suzuki holds Grade 1 certification in Japan's EIKEN English proficiency test and the highest level of the World Heritage Examination. He is passionate about travel, history, nature, languages, and even physics. While his professional life involves meticulous research and physical preparation, his everyday interests reveal a surprisingly down-to-earth personality. He enjoys keeping his home tidy, appreciates interior design, and fondly remembers the homemade custard pudding his father prepared during his childhood.

Drawing on Suzuki's own interviews and official blog posts, this article explores his fitness routines, dramatic body transformations, diet, protein and supplement habits, skincare, haircare, sleep, family life, travel experiences, and even an unexpected connection to New Zealand. Along the way, we discover the thoughtful, curious, and occasionally humorous man behind some of Japan's most memorable screen performances.

Ryohei Suzuki's Workouts and Body Transformations: The Stories Behind His Dramatic Weight Changes

From Hentai Kamen to The Emperor's Cook and My Love Story!!

One of the most distinctive aspects of Ryohei Suzuki's acting career is his willingness to transform his physique to suit the characters he portrays.

For the 2013 film HK: Hentai Kamen, a live-action adaptation of an eccentric superhero manga, Suzuki developed a muscular physique, gaining approximately 15 kilograms through training before slimming down for filming. The role required more than an impressive build. Every pose, movement, and muscle definition contributed to translating the larger-than-life comic character onto the screen.

In 2015, he took on an entirely different challenge for the television drama The Emperor's Cook, known in Japan as Tenno no Ryoriban. Suzuki portrayed Shutaro Akiyama, the seriously ill older brother of the story's protagonist. To convey the character's physical condition, he lost approximately 20 kilograms.

Shortly afterward, however, he faced the opposite challenge.

For the film My Love Story!!, based on the popular manga Ore Monogatari!!, Suzuki played Takeo Goda, an exceptionally large, strong-looking high school student with a remarkably kind and innocent heart.

In an October 2015 interview with Cinema Today, Suzuki revealed that he had gained approximately 30 kilograms in just 40 days to prepare for the role.

During this period, he consumed large quantities of carbohydrate-rich foods, including bread, while continuing strength training. Since Takeo also participates in judo, Suzuki needed to develop not only a larger frame but also the physical presence and strength appropriate for the character.

Suzuki openly acknowledged the physical strain and difficulty involved in this demanding preparation. His approach was part of a highly unusual professional transformation designed for a particular film character.

What makes the story especially fascinating is that gaining weight was only one part of his preparation.

Suzuki studied the original manga repeatedly, paying close attention to Takeo's expressions, including the face he makes while running at full speed and his reaction when tasting a macaron prepared by the heroine. He also practiced judo before filming to ensure that the character's movements felt convincing.

He wanted fans of the original manga to recognize Takeo immediately when they saw him on screen. That sense of responsibility drove his attention to the smallest details.

For Suzuki, physical training is an important foundation of character development. How a character walks, laughs, reacts, and interacts with others matters just as much as the shape of the actor's body.

From Nearly 100 Kilograms in Segodon to a Leaner Physique in City Hunter

For the 2018 NHK historical drama Segodon, Suzuki gained weight to reach approximately 100 kilograms while portraying Saigo Takamori, one of the most influential figures in modern Japanese history.

In a 2024 interview with VOGUE JAPAN, he explained that changing his body also influenced how he naturally stood, moved, and experienced a character's personality.

During Segodon, his larger body seemed to encourage broader, more relaxed movements, helping him connect with Saigo's generous and commanding personality.

For Netflix's 2024 adaptation of City Hunter, however, Suzuki needed an entirely different physique.

His character, Ryo Saeba, is a skilled private investigator and action hero who moves effortlessly through Tokyo's Shinjuku district. Suzuki had loved the original manga since childhood and had long dreamed of playing the character.

Rather than building the imposing physique of a professional fighter, he wanted a leaner silhouette that suited tailored clothing, everyday outfits, and fluid action sequences.

Surprisingly, one of his biggest concerns was the shape of his face.

Film cameras often capture close-ups and side profiles, so the appearance of his cheeks and jawline mattered alongside his chest, shoulders, and arms. He wanted to look convincingly like Ryo Saeba from every angle.

His preparation considered clothing, overall silhouette, movement, and how the character would appear on screen. After years of dramatic body transformations, Suzuki had come to value a character's visual authenticity even more than numerical measurements such as weight or body fat percentage.

His dedication extended far beyond the gym.

One particularly demanding action sequence required him to handle and disassemble a prop gun without looking down. He practiced the movement repeatedly so that it would appear natural while he delivered dialogue and responded to the action around him.

In a 2024 interview with Japanese beauty magazine BITEKI, he recalled how challenging this particular sequence had been.

His long-standing admiration for City Hunter inspired a commitment to even the smallest movements of his hands and fingers.

Through his evolving approach to physical preparation, Suzuki has moved beyond simply changing body size. His craft now encompasses facial contours, posture, costume, and the subtle details that make a fictional character feel real.

Fitness in His 40s: Finding a New Balance Between Training and Sleep

After years of transforming his physique for different roles, Suzuki began noticing changes in how his body responded to training as he entered his 40s.

In his 2024 VOGUE JAPAN interview, he discussed how managing his weight had become more challenging and how he had started reconsidering the balance between workouts and sleep.

When he was younger, he could finish filming late in the evening, head to the gym, and return to the set the following morning. He sometimes maintained this routine several times a week.

As he grew older, however, he realized that the same schedule could leave him feeling less prepared to perform at his best the next day.

He began paying closer attention to how he allocated time for training, recovery, and rest. For an actor whose work may involve long shooting days and demanding physical scenes, being ready to perform is just as important as maintaining a particular appearance.

Training remains a meaningful part of his life.

In BITEKI in 2024, Suzuki described exercise as valuable personal time, allowing him to face challenges, test himself, and develop confidence through the experience.

His dedication even follows him on location.

In a 2025 MAQUIA interview, Suzuki recalled joining a gym in Kyoto while filming the movie Hanamanma. He enjoyed keeping up his workouts away from home and even seemed quietly pleased with himself for staying active during his travels.

He has also spoken about how experience has changed his approach to action performances. Although he recognizes that his physical condition differs from his younger years, he has developed a clearer understanding of how to make movement look compelling on screen.

From dramatic weight changes early in his career to a more considered balance of fitness, recovery, and performance in his 40s, Suzuki's approach reflects the experience he has accumulated over two decades of acting.

Ryohei Suzuki's Diet and Nutrition: Breakfast, Protein, Supplements and His Love of Sweets

Bananas, Nuts and Protein for Breakfast: His Chicken Recipes and Eating Habits

Given Suzuki's remarkable physical transformations, it is natural to wonder what he actually eats.

In an April 2024 interview with BITEKI, he revealed that his breakfast included bananas, nuts, and protein supplements as he reconsidered his eating habits and physical condition in his 40s.

Bananas provide carbohydrates and other nutrients, while nuts contain fats, dietary fibre, and a variety of nutrients depending on the type. Protein powders and drinks offer a convenient way to add protein to the diet.

For Suzuki, these foods formed part of his personal approach to nutrition at that time.

His older official blog posts provide a more detailed glimpse into the meals he prepared during demanding training periods.

In a 2014 question-and-answer post with fans, he described preparing chicken breast in a tataki-style dish and cooking it with canned tomatoes in a pressure cooker.

Chicken breast is a familiar source of dietary protein, and Suzuki experimented with different preparation methods and seasonings. He also admitted, with characteristic humour, that eating the same ingredient repeatedly could become rather boring.

During earlier weight-loss preparations, he mentioned foods such as brown rice, bananas, steamed vegetables, and chicken breast, while also paying attention to meal timing.

Interestingly, his normal appetite can be quite different from the impression created by his film roles.

In a 2024 MAQUIA interview, Suzuki described himself as a relatively light eater who sometimes becomes so absorbed in work that he forgets about meals.

It is a surprising contrast: the actor who once ate enormous quantities to prepare for a film role can also become completely absorbed in his work and lose track of mealtimes.

Protein supplements have nevertheless remained familiar to him because of his long experience with physically demanding roles.

In the same 2024 MAQUIA interview, Suzuki said that drinking protein had become a habit. He also mentioned sometimes taking L-glutamine supplements when strength training and occasionally using vitamin supplements.

L-glutamine is an amino acid found naturally in the body and is also used as an ingredient in dietary supplements. Vitamins play different nutritional roles depending on their type and are present in a wide variety of foods.

During his specific preparations for City Hunter, Suzuki described eating three meals a day while consuming protein drinks five times daily. He shared this detail with VOGUE JAPAN as part of his film-related body preparation.

His experiences highlight how closely food, physical training, and acting have been connected throughout his career. The routines he has described reflect particular professional goals and periods of his life, while everyday nutritional needs vary with each person's diet, activity level, and circumstances.

A Sweet Tooth: Warabi Mochi, Wakame Miso Soup and His Father's Homemade Pudding

Looking at Suzuki's muscular physique, some people might imagine that he rarely enjoys desserts.

The reality is quite different.

Suzuki openly admits that he loves sweets.

In his 2024 BITEKI interview, he spoke fondly of Japanese sweets made with soft, chewy textures, particularly warabi mochi, a traditional Japanese dessert usually served with roasted soybean flour and sometimes a sweet syrup.

He joked that people often assume he avoids sweet foods because of his appearance, while he would actually like to show more of his relaxed, everyday personality in his 40s.

In a 2025 MAQUIA interview, he explained that he had established his own habit of enjoying sweet foods before midday.

It is simply one of the personal choices he has made to fit his lifestyle while continuing to enjoy foods he loves.

Suzuki has also spoken about paying attention to how he feels when tired or busy.

In 2025, he mentioned including seaweed in his diet and particularly enjoying wakame miso soup.

Wakame is an edible seaweed commonly used in Japanese cooking, while miso is a traditional fermented soybean paste. Miso soup is a familiar part of Japanese meals and can be prepared with ingredients such as tofu, vegetables, and mushrooms.

For Suzuki, this warm, comforting dish is part of the everyday Japanese food he enjoys.

His love of sweets also has a charming connection to childhood.

In an interview with Japan's Urban Renaissance Agency, Suzuki recalled that his father frequently made custard pudding for the children.

His father was particular about the finished texture, carefully preparing the pudding to avoid small bubbles and achieve a smooth result.

Suzuki remembers the pudding as especially delicious. He even wondered whether his continuing affection for custard-based desserts might have originated with those homemade treats.

There is something wonderfully human about an actor known for extreme physical preparation fondly remembering his father's pudding.

Food, after all, is more than a collection of nutrients. It can also carry memories of family, childhood, and the simple pleasure of sharing something delicious.

Alongside his dedication to training, Suzuki clearly enjoys warabi mochi, comforting Japanese dishes, and the flavours that remind him of home.

Ryohei Suzuki's Skincare and Beauty Routine: Dry Skin, Moisturizers and Haircare in His 40s

Lotion, Emulsion and Moisturizing Cream: His Evolving Skincare Routine

Although Suzuki is most widely associated with physical training and action performances, moisturizing has become an important focus of his skincare routine.

In a 2024 MAQUIA interview, he explained that he naturally has dry skin and had already been using facial lotion and emulsion for years.

As he entered his 40s, however, he began feeling that his familiar routine was no longer providing quite the level of moisture he wanted.

This encouraged him to explore additional skincare products.

In April 2024, Suzuki told BITEKI that he had started using a moisturizing cream recommended by a hair and makeup professional.

Japanese skincare often distinguishes between a lightweight hydrating facial lotion, sometimes called a toner, and a milky emulsion or cream used to help maintain moisture.

The products vary in ingredients, texture, and personal preference, allowing people to choose an approach that suits their skin.

A particularly amusing moment came during his beauty magazine interview.

When advised to use a generous amount of facial lotion, Suzuki seemed genuinely concerned that the bottle would run out much faster.

It was a wonderfully relatable reaction from someone who takes an interest in skincare but also appreciates making everyday products last.

He had also started paying more attention to the environment in his bedroom.

In his 2024 MAQUIA interview, Suzuki revealed that he had introduced a humidifier to his bedroom for the first time that winter.

Indoor humidity naturally changes with the season and the use of heating. A humidifier can be part of managing the indoor environment when used appropriately and kept clean.

Beyond basic facial lotions, emulsions, and moisturizing creams, the wider world of skincare includes eye creams, night creams, and facial masks, offering different textures and approaches to daily care.

The products Suzuki specifically discussed using at the time were facial lotion, emulsion, moisturizing cream, and a humidifier.

His comments show a practical willingness to adapt his routine as his skin changes with age.

Hair Balm and Dry Hair: How His Beauty Habits Have Changed with Age

In a 2025 MAQUIA interview, Suzuki also discussed changes in his hair.

As well as noticing increased skin dryness in his 40s, he had become more aware of his hair feeling dry and less manageable. One of the products he had begun using was hair balm.

Hair balms are styling and haircare products commonly used to give hair a smoother appearance, add shine, and help create a more controlled finish.

Throughout his acting career, Suzuki has appeared with a wide range of hairstyles and visual identities.

In TOKYO MER, he portrayed a dependable emergency physician. In Elpis, he played a composed and influential figure in the television news industry. In City Hunter, his appearance was tailored to the sharp, urban style of Ryo Saeba.

Hair, clothing, and posture all contribute to the impression created by these different characters.

In 2025, Suzuki also mentioned that healthy-looking moisture in the skin and hair is something he notices when considering a person's beauty.

His own haircare habits reflect an awareness of how his appearance has gradually changed with age.

Another lighthearted moment occurred during a 2025 beauty magazine interview, when he tried a lip gloss included as a magazine gift.

He appeared intrigued by the unfamiliar texture and enjoyed looking at the result in a mirror.

It was a playful moment rather than a discussion of his everyday makeup products, but it offered another glimpse of his openness to discovering something new.

Embracing Wrinkles and Maturity: Ryohei Suzuki's View of Aging and Charisma

In a 2024 MAQUIA interview, Suzuki spoke thoughtfully about growing older.

While he had begun noticing changes in his stamina and skin, he also looked forward to the wider range of characters he might be able to portray in the years ahead.

Roles involving senior executives, leaders, or people with considerable social responsibility may become more natural to portray as an actor accumulates life experience.

For Suzuki, wrinkles can contribute to the individuality and depth of a character.

His perspective combines an interest in maintaining comfortable, well-cared-for skin with an appreciation for the expressions and character that come with age.

He has also shared interesting thoughts on maturity and personal charisma.

In a 2024 BITEKI interview, he described finding people attractive when they possess firm personal convictions while remaining willing to listen to other people's opinions.

He also explained that part of Ryo Saeba's appeal lies in the way the character keeps certain emotions and intentions hidden, leaving others curious to discover more.

From Suzuki's perspective, attractiveness involves more than appearance alone. Confidence, flexibility, body language, and the way someone interacts with others all contribute to personal presence.

In 2024, Suzuki received the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award at the 17th Asian Film Awards, recognizing his contribution to film.

Even as his career has received international recognition, he continues to approach new roles and interests with curiosity.

His positive view of aging reflects the idea that growing older can bring fresh opportunities for expression, learning, and personal development.

Ryohei Suzuki's Wellness Habits: Stretching, Walking, Sleep and Lifelong Curiosity

Even He Has Days When He Doesn't Want to Go to the Gym

Despite his reputation for rigorous physical preparation, Suzuki readily admits that he sometimes struggles to feel motivated to exercise.

In an April 2025 VOCE interview, he spoke openly about days when he simply does not feel like going to the gym.

On those occasions, he may begin with approximately three minutes of back stretches or squats.

Moving his body for a short time can help him shift his mood and feel more ready to head outside.

It is a particularly approachable habit coming from someone whose film roles have required such demanding training schedules.

Stretching offers a simple way to pay attention to how the body feels, while squats involve major muscles in the legs and hips. Both activities can be adapted to an individual's physical condition and ability.

Walking is another activity Suzuki enjoys.

In his 2024 BITEKI interview, he named walking among the activities that he particularly values.

He enjoys using that time to think, reflect, and organize his thoughts.

Of course, his demanding work schedule sometimes makes it difficult to find time for a walk, something he acknowledged with a laugh.

His approach feels refreshingly relaxed: he enjoys the opportunity whenever his schedule allows.

For Suzuki, focused strength training and an unhurried walk appear to offer different kinds of personal time. One involves preparing the body for professional challenges, while the other provides space for thought and reflection.

Travel, World Heritage Sites and Physics: Why Suzuki Loves Learning

Intellectual curiosity is one of the most distinctive aspects of Ryohei Suzuki's personality.

He holds Japan's highest World Heritage Examination qualification and an advanced English proficiency certificate, reflecting his long-standing interest in history, cultures, languages, and the natural world.

In a 2024 BITEKI interview, Suzuki described time spent learning new things as one of the activities he values most.

He enjoys books, educational videos, and podcasts. At the time, he was particularly interested in videos discussing Renaissance art.

Learning something unfamiliar is itself a source of enjoyment and a way for him to refresh his mind.

His passion for exploring the world began early.

According to an interview with Japan's Urban Renaissance Agency, Suzuki traveled to Los Angeles with his family when he was in the second grade of elementary school.

Later, during his first year of high school, he spent approximately one year as an exchange student in Oklahoma in the United States.

His host family lived on a ranch with around 60 cattle, surrounded by wildlife including beavers, coyotes, armadillos, and owls.

It was a remarkably rural environment. He recalled that it took about ten minutes just to walk from the house to the road, while reaching the nearest shop required a car journey.

The experience exposed him to a way of life very different from the one he had known in Japan.

Living in another culture helped him realize just how much of the world remained unfamiliar, inspiring a lasting interest in travel, nature, and historical places.

His curiosity has continued to expand.

In 2024, Suzuki told MAQUIA that he had become interested in physics and had been watching educational videos about gravity and the origins of the universe.

Learning about the scale of the universe helped him view everyday successes and disappointments from a broader perspective, something he found fascinating.

He also describes acting itself as a deeply enjoyable experience.

Becoming another person and connecting emotionally with fellow actors allows him to explore lives and experiences beyond his own.

In a 2025 OCEANS interview, Suzuki explained that travel remains one of his greatest personal pleasures. He enjoys embracing unexpected experiences while away, including trying bodyboarding during a trip overseas.

Whether he is discovering a new landscape, learning about historical art, exploring physics, or developing a fictional character, curiosity is a recurring theme throughout his life.

Ryohei Suzuki's Marriage, Family and Personal Life: His Wife, Daughter and New Zealand Connection

His 2011 Marriage Announcement and Stories About His Wife, Daughter and Siblings

On July 28, 2011, Ryohei Suzuki announced his marriage through his official blog.

His wife is a woman outside the entertainment industry whom he had been dating since his student years. She is older than Suzuki, and he revealed that the couple had already held their wedding ceremony.

In the same announcement, he shared that they were expecting a child and expressed his determination to grow both as an actor and as someone responsible for his family.

In November 2011, Suzuki announced the birth of his first daughter.

He described being present for the birth and feeling an overwhelming sense of emotion when he saw his newborn daughter.

He also wrote about wanting to continue growing as a father, an actor, and a person.

Suzuki grew up as the middle child in a family of three siblings, with an older brother and a younger sister.

In his Urban Renaissance Agency interview, he recalled that both parents worked and that his father actively participated in cooking, cleaning, and other household responsibilities.

One family rule was that everyone should eat dinner together.

As a teenager, Suzuki sometimes found this routine a little restrictive. Looking back as an adult, however, he developed a deeper appreciation for how hard his parents worked while raising three children.

His father's homemade custard pudding, mentioned earlier, is one of the affectionate memories he still treasures.

Family relationships also informed his performance in the 2025 film Hanamanma.

In the film, Suzuki plays Toshiki, an older brother devoted to his younger sister, portrayed by Kasumi Arimura.

Because Suzuki has a younger sister in real life, he felt familiar with the occasionally awkward emotional distance that can develop between siblings.

He recalled how, during adolescence, he wanted to appear strong and dependable as an older brother while also worrying about whether his sister liked him.

These personal memories helped him understand the character's mixture of affection, responsibility, and emotional awkwardness.

For a wedding speech scene in the film, Suzuki participated in developing the words his character would say.

He imagined what it would feel like to send off a younger sister whom he had helped raise, and recalled becoming deeply moved while filming, almost as though he were attending a real family wedding.

The experience illustrates how his own memories and understanding of family relationships can contribute to his performances.

A New Zealand Commercial and His Unexpectedly Charming Life at Home

Suzuki's interest in travel, natural landscapes, and world cultures has also led to an unexpected connection with New Zealand.

In 2016, he wrote on his official blog about appearing in a commercial for Kirin's Tanrei Green Label beverage.

The advertisement featured Suzuki as a gigantic figure against the dramatic mountain scenery of New Zealand.

The playful concept made an already tall actor appear enormous against the surrounding natural landscape.

According to Suzuki, the scenes were filmed in a studio.

To create the final visual illusion, he had to position his hands, feet, and body very carefully so that they aligned with the mountains in the background.

He and the production team experimented with the positioning repeatedly until the composition looked right.

It is a humorous contrast: a vast New Zealand landscape on screen, created through painstaking adjustments to the actor's pose inside a studio.

New Zealand is celebrated for its mountains, lakes, forests, and dramatic natural scenery, making it an appealing destination for travellers interested in hiking and outdoor experiences.

Having spent part of his youth surrounded by nature on an American ranch, Suzuki has maintained a fascination with remarkable landscapes and places around the world.

The New Zealand-themed commercial is another interesting episode in a career shaped by curiosity and memorable visual storytelling.

At home, however, Suzuki also finds pleasure in much smaller details.

In a 2025 OCEANS interview, he described changing the cushion covers in his home to navy blue and yellow.

He particularly enjoyed the way the colours looked when illuminated by the light in the room.

Amusingly, he liked admiring the cushions as decorative objects so much that he rarely touched them.

The same actor who admires magnificent World Heritage landscapes can also appreciate the atmosphere created by a few cushions and carefully chosen lighting.

That combination of grand curiosity and an appreciation for simple everyday pleasures is one of the most appealing aspects of his personality.

Ryohei Suzuki's approach to beauty and wellness reveals far more than his famous body transformations. Alongside demanding workouts and carefully planned diets, he has developed an interest in adapting his skincare routine, paying attention to sleep and recovery, and enjoying the foods, activities, and experiences that make everyday life meaningful. His journey from dramatic weight changes to a more refined understanding of movement and character reflects the experience he has gained throughout his career.

At the same time, he remains someone who enjoys warabi mochi, remembers his father's homemade pudding, finds pleasure in walking and learning, and approaches life with an open and curious mind. His positive attitude toward aging, together with his enthusiasm for acting, family, beauty, and personal interests, offers a thoughtful example of embracing change while continuing to enjoy life's small discoveries.