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Fact Sheet
| Birth Name | Gackt M.S. Camui |
| Occupation | Songwriter, Singer |
| Birthplace | Okinawa, Japan |
Gackt can speak Japanese, English, Mandarin, Korean, and French.
Early life
Camui does not release his birth date, maintaining a biography fit for a member of Malice Mizer. He claims his birthday is July 4, 1540, but some sources say that he was born on the more realistic date of July 4, 1973. He has never revealed his real name, and various rumours about what it might be (including Okabe Satoru) are pure conjecture.Born in Okinawa, Japan, he was raised by unusually strict parents who regulated his life. His television viewing was restricted to national or educational programming. At age seven, Gackt nearly drowned in the Sea of Okinawa. After being saved, he claimed to be able to see things that normal people couldn't and was then sent into isolation in a mental hospital.
Gackt is a very competitive person who has stated, "It's not that I want to win, it's just that I don't want to lose." As a child, he always wanted to be better than anyone else, and he continues to learn new skills and practice existing skills to become better. He has always been extremely ambitious.
His interest in music was a rough one: his parents, both musicians, forced him to learn the piano when he was three. He was too small to actually play, but he had to sit in front of the piano for two hours. Later, his competitive nature made him master the piano after seeing his friend play better than him. Gackt's interest changed to brass instruments after seeing his father play trumpet. Again, his competitive nature resulted in non-stop practice and mastery of several instruments of the brass category, but it all ended when his parents worried it would damage his teeth and forbade him to play. This prompted him to consider becoming a music conductor.
When Gackt turned seventeen, his musical direction changed when his mother told him that she regretted forcing him to learn piano. He changed his tastes in music from classical to rock (after becoming very interested in it because he had never heard it in his childhood) and started learning band instruments.
Gackt started as a drum technician for a recording studio and drummer for an unknown band. Later on, he met lifelong friends and fellow performers Ren and You. They formed a band, Cains:Feel, with Gackt as the vocalist, although he felt his deep voice wasn't suited for the trend at the time.
Days with Malice Mizer
Gackt's popularity began to rise after joining the visual kei band Malice Mizer in October 1995 as their new vocalist. His contributions to the band led it in a new stylistic direction, bringing a soft romantic touch to their music as well as their appearance. During Gackt's time with the band, Malice Mizer met its greatest popularity, releasing two albums (Voyage ~sans retour~ on Mana's Midi:Nette label, and their first and only major release, Merveilles on Nippon Columbia) as well as a number of singles.Gackt left in 1998 after the end of the "Merveilles" Tour. He has variously cited personal, artistic, and financial differences as reasons for leaving. In his autobiography, Gackt said that he was asked by Malice Mizer to leave, although he wished to stay.
Solo career
After leaving Malice Mizer, Gackt started a solo career with a group of people called GacktJOB, consisting of several members including You (violin/rhythm guitar), Yukihiro "Chachamaru" Fujimura (lead guitar/effects), Masa (rhythm guitar), Ren (bass), Toshi (drums), Yosh (choreographer/dancer), and Igao (keyboards). GacktJOB later added Ryuichi Ryu Nishida on drums, and Ju-ken on bass. Gackt's live shows often include homoerotic play (fan service) with some of these members. His solo career has been a great success as he continues to maintain a level of popularity far greater than when he was with Malice Mizer. His fans (whom he calls "Dears") live in many different countries across the world.In addition to music, Gackt has been involved as an actor in various TV commercials (usually playing himself), and in the Japanese drama Hero's Hero. He also co-wrote and co-starred in the hit vampire movie Moon Child with hyde, vocalist of L'Arc-en-Ciel, with whom he has a strong bond.
He has also: written a book, Moonchild: Requiem, and several as-yet unpublished short stories; worked as a runway model for his favorite designer, Yoshiyuki Konishi; designed his own stage-wear and clothing line; and opened his own private, members only restaurant/bar, Tamaly Bar, complete with his own personal and family recipies. In 2003 his autobiography entitled Jihaku, where he displays his deep thoughts and events, was published.
Gackt was also involved in the PlayStation 2 game 'Bujingai', for which he performed voice work as well as doing motion capture for the game's protagonist. He has also appeared in Japanese commercials for the hit game 'Metal Gear Solid 2', and his name appeared on a dog tag in-game. Other voice-over work Gackt has done includes the character 'Seiji' from the anime New Fist of the North Star (Shin Hokuto no Ken). He also performed the ending theme Tsuki no Uta for the anime Texhnolyze.
Gackt is usually cited as being the model for 'Final Fantasy VIII' lead Squall Leonhart's character design. A character with his likeness will not appear in 'Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus'. Instead he will be recorded doing motion work and he will be digitally inserted into the game, so he will be in live action.
In early 2005 he was asked to write and perform the theme songs for the Gundam movie 'Zeta Gundam: A New Translation', which was eagerly anticipated by a significant number of people in the anime-community. The songs were 'Metamorphoze' and a rearrangement of a previously released song, Kimi ga Matteiru kara.