All About 'Drops of God' Star Tomohisa Yamashita

Tomohisa Yamashita is breaking new ground with his role in Apple TV+'s Drops of God.

Based on the popular Japanese manga series of the same name, the series, which premiered on April 21, follows a young woman (Fleur Geffrier) who is forced to compete with a young wine expert (Yamashita) for her inheritance after her father dies.

The original manga series ran from 2004 to 2014 and received critical acclaim for its characters, storylines and accurate portrayal of the wine world. In addition to being featured on the New York Times Best Selling list of manga, it has largely been attributed to the rise in wine sales during its run as people tried to procure the obscure wines featured in the series.

While this certainly isn't Yamashita's first starring role, having been in the industry for over 25 years with roles ranging from Code Blue to Alice in Borderland, the Japanese actor, 38, tells PEOPLE it's a "dream come true" to star on a show with the global impact of Drops of God.

"I've been dreaming to take part in something big like this," he says of his role in the series. "It's very exciting. It's an honor to work on this project."

From how he prepared for Drops of God to his biggest acting inspirations, learn more about Yamashita ahead.

He was a fan of the manga series Drops of God before booking the Apple TV+ series

Having already been a fan of the manga series, Yamashita says it was an immediate "yes" when he was approached about the Apple TV+ series. Like many others, he says he was actually influenced to buy wine after reading the series in his twenties.

"When I got offered from the production, I was really honored and excited to hear that good news," he says. "I immediately decided to take this role."

He studied wine extensively to prepare for the role

Since the series heavily revolves around wine, Yamashita adds that he did some extensive research on the topic to prepare for his role. "I took 40 hours [of] lessons in Japan before I [left] Japan [to film]," he reveals. "Then after I landed in France, I tried to go to a lot of restaurants. We shot [the] series in the middle of a vineyard, so I met the owner of the winery. I've learned so many things."

He really bonded with his costars while filming

While the multilingual series features a talented cast from many different backgrounds, Yamashita notes that the cast really bonded during filming as they shared a passion for making "quality content."

"The cast and crew were amazing," he adds. "We have these small differences, cultural differences, but [they] have nothing to do with acting and the process of making the show. More importantly, I felt like everyone shared the same passion to make quality content. [That made] me even more excited to be part of something big like this."

In addition to acting, he's an accomplished musician

Yamashita first signed with Johnny & Associates, a Japanese talent agency formed by Johnny Kitagawa, when he was 11 years old. After working as a backup dancer, he was chosen to be part of the group NEWS, which made its formal debut in 2004. Though he parted from the group in 2011, he continued to create music as a solo artist in the years that followed.

Since parting ways with Johnny & Associates in 2020, Yamashita has put his focus on his acting career. "It's like a sun and moon," he says of what he loves most about acting and singing.

"Music has the power to change the atmosphere in the second, so I like the energy of that," he notes. "But acting is more profound and maybe in five or 10 years, someone's going to watch the movie or TV series."

He looks up to Tom Cruise

When it comes to acting, Yamashita lists Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe and Sean Penn as some of his biggest inspirations. "I really respect Tom Cruise," he says. "He's been on the top since the beginning. And then he's still challenging so many things."

Like the ​Top Gun: Maverick actor, Yamashita adds he would love to do more action films in the future. "Japan doesn't have a lot of huge action movies, so I want to try to do that," he adds. "I want to do so many things even out outside of entertainment or acting. I just don't want to miss any opportunity."

His biggest motivation is his fans

Having been in the industry for over two decades, Yamashita notes that he has developed a big fanbase in Asia that has given him "unconditional love" throughout his career. "I just want to return something to them," he says. "That's my biggest motivation to keep working in this industry."