Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城 武, Kaneshiro Takeshi; born October 11, 1973) is a Japanese actor and singer active in the Chinese world. He began his career as a pop idol before shifting his focus to acting. His notable films include Chungking Express (1994), Fallen Angels (1995), House of Flying Daggers (2004), Perhaps Love (2005), The Warlords (2007), Red Cliff (2008), Dragon (2011), and The Crossing (2014–2015).

Kaneshiro was born and raised in Taipei to a Japanese businessman and a Taiwanese homemaker. He holds Japanese citizenship. Kaneshiro has two elder half-brothers: one who is seven years his senior, and another who is just one year older.

After graduating from Taipei Japanese Junior High School, he enrolled into Taipei American School. During his time at secondary school, Kaneshiro began working in television commercials, and he decided to leave school to pursue a full-time career in music and acting. Kaneshiro is fluent in Mandarin, Hokkien, Japanese and conversational in Cantonese and English.

Kaneshiro (金城) is a common Okinawan surname, albeit with an unusual pronunciation, as the usual reading is Kinjō, while the traditional Okinawan pronunciation is Kanagusuku or Kanegusuku. His given name is Takeshi (武). He appears as Kaneshiro Takeshi (金城 武) in Japanese media.

Since personal names are commonly written in Chinese characters in both Chinese and Japanese naming conventions, following the Eastern name order, and in this particular case the name, in its written form, appears native in both Japanese and Chinese, giving Kaneshiro the freedom to associate himself as a Japanese or Chinese when working in China by preserving or removing the space between his surname and given name.

In 1992, Kaneshiro made his singing debut with the nickname "Aniki", meaning 'older brother' in Japanese. His debut album was Heartbreaking Night (1992). Contracted to EMI, he wrote many of his own Mandarin and Cantonese songs. The following year, his popularity propelled him into acting. He no longer produces any commercial music, although certain notable roles, such as those in Peter Chan’s Perhaps Love (2005) and See You Tomorrow (2016) have required him to sing onscreen.

Kaneshiro made his film debut in Executioners (1993) and this was followed by Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express (1994), Fallen Angels (1995) and a string of other Hong Kong films, such as Lost and Found (1996), and Anna Magdalena (1998). It was through his collaboration with the auteur director Wong Kar Wai in Chungking Express that Kaneshiro first developed what would become his onscreen signature, namely quirky, character-driven performances that often played against type and ran counter to his idol image. Later, Kaneshiro starred in the Japanese Drama God, Please Give Me More Time (1998), allowing him to branch into Japanese films such as Returner (2002), as well as K-20: Legend of the Mask (2009) and Accuracy of Death (also titled Sweet Rain), (2010).

Kaneshiro’s work, however, is more heavily concentrated in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In 2005, he sang his way through Perhaps Love, the first modern musical to be produced in China. It was the first of many collaborations with Hong Kong-based director Peter Chan. In 2008 and 2009 he starred in Red Cliff, a high budget film by Hong Kong director John Woo. He has also played the romantic lead in Zhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers, and starred alongside Jet Li and Andy Lau in The Warlords. He expressed excitement when he received the news that he would have an opportunity to work with Director Zhang Yimou.