Age: 42
male
Takayuki Yamada (山田 孝之 Yamada Takayuki, born October 20, 1983) is a Japanese actor and singer. He has two elder sisters and one son. At age 15, he was discovered by talent agency Stardust and made his debut in his acting career in the TV drama Psychometrer Eiji 2 in 1999. One of his first big roles was starring as Matsumoto Sakutaro in Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu in the 2004 TBS series. In 2005, he made his name known with the movie Densha Otoko. His recent projects include Taiyou no Uta and the Japanese movie The Letter (Tegami) with co-star Erika Sawajiri. Description above from the Wikipedia article Takayuki Yamada, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Kyung Cho is a young father burdened by a house he can’t afford. For years, he and his wife, Gillian, have lived beyond their means. Now their debts and bad decisions are catching up with them, and Kyung is anxious for his family’s future. A few miles away, his parents, Jin and Mae, live in the town’s most exclusive neighborhood, surrounded by the material comforts that Kyung desires for his wife and son. Growing up, they gave him every possible advantage—private tutors, expensive hobbies—but they never showed him kindness. Kyung can hardly bear to see them now, much less ask for their help. Yet when an act of violence leaves Jin and Mae unable to live on their own, the dynamic suddenly changes, and he’s compelled to take them in. For the first time in years, the Chos find themselves living under the same roof. Tensions quickly mount as Kyung’s proximity to his parents forces old feelings of guilt and anger to the surface, along with a terrible and persistent question: how can he ever be a good husband, father, and son when he never knew affection as a child? As Shelter veers swiftly toward its startling conclusion, Jung Yun leads us through dark and violent territory, where, unexpectedly, the Chos discover hope. Shelter is a masterfully crafted debut novel that asks what it means to provide for one's family and, in answer, delivers a story as riveting as it is profound.
