He had no interest in the entertainment industry, instead dreaming about a professional baseball career, but was signed up to audition by his mother.
Dream Boy shows (along with KAT-TUN), Uchi was diagnosed with and hospitalized for pulmonary pneumothorax, a condition which causes holes to form in the lining of the lungs.
Uchi was pulled from both shows for the urgent surgery to repair the three holes in his left lung.
[2] After rehabilitation, Uchi returned in June for the release of NEWS’s "Teppen" single as well as filming the drama Ganbatte Ikimasshoi!
In early January 2008, it was announced that Uchi would graduate from trainee to solo status with a leading role in the drama Isshun no Kaze ni Nare, a Fuji TV special airing for the last four days of February.
[8][9] In 2010, in a news article concerning Hiroki Uchi becoming involved with the Japanese production of Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, the president of Johnny & Associates, Johnny Kitagawa, stated that Uchi has been permanently removed from both Kanjani8 and NEWS and will instead focus on solo work and acting.