His biological father Izumi worked at the Kōriyama Postal Savings Bureau, and was born to the family of a karō, a top-ranking samurai official.

Tatsuji took him to the movies on the weekends, which inspired Nishida to join the drama club at his elementary school.

Outside Japan Nishida was best known for his portrayal of Pigsy in the first season of the TV series Monkey, or for his role in the 2008 film The Ramen Girl, as the sensei of American actress Brittany Murphy's character.

[6] In 2017, Nishida reprised his role as yakuza underboss Nishino in Takeshi Kitano's Outrage trilogy to positive reviews.

In 2018, Nishida received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, alongside comedian Takeshi Kitano.