[1] Yamada rose to prominence as a teen idol in 2007 following his role in the Japanese television series Tantei Gakuen Q.
His mother, who was a fan of KinKi Kids, sent an application for an audition which recruited trainees for future male idols.
He began working as a backup dancer for Tackey & Tsubasa, NEWS, Kanjani8, and KAT-TUN and appeared regularly on Shounen Club from autumn 2004.
In 2006, he made his acting debut in a two-hour television live action drama, Tantei Gakuen Q SP, as Ryu Amakusa.
From July 2007, a three-month series of Tantei Gakuen Q was launched and Yamada reprised his role as Ryu Amakusa.
From January to March 2008, he appeared in the three-month long television drama series One-Pound Gospel, with Kazuya Kamenashi.
[8][9][10] On April 12, he played a main role in a two-hour drama episode, Sensei wa Erai, as Hayato Gunjou.
[13][14] From October to December 2008, he played the main role, Toichi Takasugi, in a three-month long television drama series, Scrap Teacher, along with Daiki Arioka, Yuto Nakajima and Yuri Chinen.
[21] From January 2010, Hidarime Tantei EYE became a three-month long television series and Yamada once again played the main role.
[33] The fact that Yamada was in his teens at the time when the single reached number one helped him set several new records in the Japanese music industry.
JUMP was chosen as the TV personality of NTV's annual 24 Hour Television, which was a program to raise awareness for all the people that are going through hard times, alongside another Johnny's group, V6.
Yamada received positive reviews for his role as a knife-wielding assassin, including from his veteran co-stars, Toma Ikuta, Tadanobu Asano, and Jun Murakami.
[42] In 2016, Yamada won Newcomer of the Year in the 39th Japan Academy Prize for his portrayal of Nagisa Shiota in Assassination Classroom.
He earned Rookie Actor of the Year in the Japan Movie Critics Awards for his role as Semi in Grasshopper.
[43] On May 24, 2016, it was announced that Yamada would star as Edward Elric in the live-action film Fullmetal Alchemist based on the manga and anime of the same name.
[49][50] Yamada was cast as the lead in Fuji TV's getsu 9 (prime-time slot) fall drama, Cain and Abel.
The story is adapted from the Bible's Old Testament, and was a remake of the American film, East of Eden starring James Dean.
[51] For his role, Yamada was the youngest person to be nominated as Best Leading Actor in the Autumn TV Drama Academy Award 2016.
[52] On December 2, 2016, Yamada was cast as a lead in Miracles of the Namiya General Store based on the best-selling novel of the same name by award-winning writer, Higashino Keigo.
Co-star Nishida Toshiyuki praised his performance, calling him the Japanese version of James Dean, and wrote a special letter for him appreciating his acting.
[54] Both Miracles of the Namiya General Store and Fullmetal Alchemist debuted at number 1 at the Japanese box office for opening weekend.
Yamada plays the youngest child, a police officer who graduates from the University of Tokyo and struggles to be accepted by his family under the shadows of his older siblings.
[56] On August 18, 2023, Yamada announced on his Instagram the release of 2 photobooks to celebrate his 30th birthday, as well as the 10th anniversary of solo debut.
Additionally, Yamada’s label launched official accounts on X and TikTok to share updates related to his solo activities.
"snow moon" is referred to as a "Winter Medium Ballad", in contrast to the edgy and danceable song his previous single was.
[63] A new Johnny's YouTube channel called ジャにのちゃんねる (Janinochaneru), led by Arashi's Kazunari Ninomiya, was opened on April 25, 2021.
On this channel, Yamada mainly streams gameplay of first-person shooter games, featuring other Japanese streamers and VTubers.
Later that day, he streamed live, announcing the release of a pair of photobooks to celebrate his upcoming 30th birthday and 10th anniversary of his solo debut.