Jun Matsumoto

, often called by the portmanteau nickname , is a Japanese actor, radio personality, model and singer. He is best known to Japanese television drama audiences for his portrayal as Dōmyōuji Tsukasa in the "Hana Yori Dango" series, in which he won GQ Japan's Man of the Year Award under the actor category for his work in the drama.
Matsumoto began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1996 at the age of . Prior to his debut as a singer with Arashi in 1999, Matsumoto started an acting career when he was cast as Teddy Duchamp for the stage play "Stand by Me", which was based on the film of the same name. Since then, he has gone on to appear in numerous dramas and movies, receiving a number of awards and nominations for his roles.
Early life.
Matsumoto was born in Toshima, Tokyo, as the youngest child in his family. He has an older sister whose support of KinKi Kids influenced his decision to join Johnny & Associates in 1996. Thinking it might bode good luck, he sent his application to the agency on his elementary school graduation day and received a phone call weeks later from president Johnny Kitagawa himself, inviting him to attend a rehearsal instead of being auditioned. Due to this, Matsumoto is frequently referred to as one of the "elite" within the agency.
Matsumoto graduated from Horikoshi Gakuen, a renowned high school known for its many performing arts alumnae such as Kyoko Fukada and Ai Kato, in March 2002 at the age of .
Music career.
Although the majority of Matsumoto's solos for albums and concerts are written by Arashi's staff, he has contributed lyrics for two of his solos: "La Familia" for the "2004 Arashi! Iza, Now Tour!!" and "Naked" in 2008 for the album "Dream "A" Live" under the penname "Jun".
Acting career.
Stage.
In 1997, Matsumoto was cast in his first stage play, which was based on the American coming of age film "Stand by Me" with future bandmates Masaki Aiba and Kazunari Ninomiya. He did not return to do any major stage productions for nearly seven years after "Stand by Me", instead focusing on dramas and movies. However, in 2004, Matsumoto appeared in the stage play "West Side Story" with bandmates Satoshi Ohno and Sho Sakurai. In 2005 and 2006, Matsumoto was given his first lead stage play roles in and respectively.
It was announced on July 21, 2011 that Matsumoto will star in Yukio Ninagawa’s production play, . This will be his first stage play in five years.
Drama.
Like bandmate Sakurai, Matsumoto made his acting debut as a television actor in April 1997 in the TBS drama special . A few months later, he co-starred with the members of KinKi Kids and future bandmate Masaki Aiba in the mystery-thriller series .
Matsumoto gained further popularity as an actor in 2002 when he starred in the first season of "Gokusen" with Yukie Nakama, Tomohiro Waki, Hiroki Narimiya and Yuma Ishigaki. His portrayal of the troubled but highly intelligent student, Shin Sawada, drew acclaim and won him Best Supporting Actor at the 33rd Television Drama Academy Awards. He later returned with most of the original cast to star in the special epilogue episode in 2003. Soon after, his character also made a cameo in Sakurai's comedy series . In the same year, Matsumoto took another high-profile role in the live-action adaptation of manga series "Kimi wa Pet" as Takeshi "Momo" Goda, starring opposite Koyuki.
In 2005, Matsumoto took the most prominent role of his career to date when he was cast as Domyōuji Tsukasa in the live-action adaptation of shōjo manga "Hana Yori Dango". Co-starring opposite Mao Inoue, Shun Oguri, Shota Matsuda and Tsuyoshi Abe, the series was a success with an average viewership rating of 19.6%. Matsumoto's portrayal as the air-headed and arrogant leader of four rich heirs won him Best Supporting Actor again at the 47th Television Drama Academy Awards.
In 2007, due to the success of "Hana Yori Dango", it spawned a second season, which was an even bigger hit with television audiences as it had a peak rating of 27.6% on the final episode and an overall rating of 21.57%. Matsumoto won Best Supporting Actor at the 10th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix for his role. The same year, Matsumoto starred in "Bambino!", which won him his first Best Actor award at the 53rd Television Drama Academy Awards.
In 2008, he re-united with "Bambino!" co-star Karina for the drama special , which aired as part of the "24-hour Television" telethon in 2008. He portrayed a man diagnosed with CIDP struggling to recuperate and return to normal life with his wife and young daughter. The drama special received a viewership rating of 25.6%.
In 2009, Matsumoto starred in his first drama series in nearly two years. He portrayed , a half-Japanese, half-Filipino young man who always faces life with a smile in the drama "Smile". Matsumoto subsequently won Best Actor for his role in the 13th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix. Fuji TV announced on September 10, 2009 that Matsumoto would star in a three-part drama special called scheduled to air for three consecutive days in the spring of 2010.
In January 2010, Matsumoto co-starred with the other members of Arashi in their first drama in nearly ten years in the human suspense drama special . Matsumoto portrayed , a 27-year-old motorcycle courier rider who is caught up in a building hijack. Matsumoto co-starred with Yūko Takeuchi in his first Getsuku drama titled . He also made a guest appearance on the final episode of bandmate Ohno's drama , which is based on the Fujiko Fujio's "Kaibutsu-kun" manga and anime series.
Film.
Matsumoto appeared on the silver screen in the 1998 film but his breakthrough did not come until 2001 when he was cast as Hajime Kinda'ichi in the third season of "Kinda'ichi Shōnen no Jikenbo", taking over the role from Tsuyoshi Domoto and co-starring opposite Anne Suzuki.
In 2002, Arashi co-starred in their first movie together called . They came together again for its sequel in 2004. He also starred in the film "Tokyo Tower" as a womanizer with a preference for older women with Junichi Okada the same year.
In 2007, Arashi starred in their third movie together "Kiiroi Namida" while Matsumoto was cast in the independent film "Boku wa Imōto ni Koi o Suru" with Nana Eikura as his co-star. He portrayed the lead character , a high school student who falls in love and develops a romantic relationship with his younger twin sister.
In 2008, Matsumoto took on his first jidaigeki role in a re-make of Akira Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress", "", with award-winning actors Hiroshi Abe, Kippei Shiina and Masami Nagasawa. Soon after, TBS decided to end the "Hana Yori Dango" series through a film. "Hana Yori Dango Final", which hit the big screen on June 28, 2008 in Japan, became a box office hit.
In 2013, Matsumoto Jun played the role of Okuda Kosuke in the movie ‘Hidamari no Kanojo‘(Her Sunny Side) along with actress Ueno Juri in the latest movie of director Miki Takahiro (‘Solanin’, ‘Boku ga Ita’).‘Hidamari no Kanojo’ was filmed in January and to hit cinemas on October 2013.
In 2017, Matsumoto Jun played the role of Takashi Hayama in the Movie 'Narratage' along with actress Kasumi Arimura.
Other ventures.
Radio.
Matsumoto had his own radio show, "Jun Style", on Nack5 from October 5, 2002 to September 2011.