Who is Jun Matsumoto (Japanese Actor and Singer)

Jun Matsumoto was born in Toshima, Tokyo as the youngest child in his family. He auditioned and was invited to join the talent group Johnny & Associates in 1996. In March 2002, Matsumoto graduated from Horikoshi Gakuen, a renowned high school known for its many performing arts alumnae.

In 1997, Matsumoto was cast in his first stage play Stand by Me after which he starred in many dramas and movies. He returned to the stage in 2004 with an adaptation of West Side Story with bandmates Satoshi Ohno and Sho Sakurai. In 2005 and 2006, Matsumoto was given his first lead stage play roles in Eden no Higashi (East of Eden) and Byakuya no Onna Kishi (Valkyrie of the White Night) respectively.

Matsumoto's debut as a TV actor was via the TBS drama special Hoken Chousain. A few months later, he appeared in the mystery-thriller series Bokura no Yuki: Miman Toshi. He gained further popularity in 2002 with the first season of Gokusen. His portrayal of the troubled 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 in the special epilogue episode. In the same year, Matsumoto took on another lead role in the live-action adaptation of manga series Kimi wa Pet as Takeshi "Momo" Goda.

In 2005, Matsumoto was cast as Tsukasa Domyouji in the live-action adaptation of shoujo manga Hana Yori Dango. The series was a huge success and Matsumoto's portrayal as the airhead arrogant leader of four heirs to billionaire business empires won him Best Supporting Actor again at the 47th Television Drama Academy Awards. The success of Hana Yori Dango spawned a second season and 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 Myu no Anyo Papa ni Ageru playing a man diagnosed with CIDP struggling to recuperate and return to normal life with his wife and young daughter.

In 2009, Matsumoto portrayed Vito Hayakawa, a half-Japanese half-Filipino who faces life with a smile in the Jdrama Smile and won Best Actor for his role in the 13th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix. In January 2010, he co-starred with the other members of Arashi in the suspense drama special Saigo no Yakusoku. Matsumoto portrayed Nozomu Goto, a 27-year-old motorcycle courier rider who is caught up in a building hijack. It was announced on May 28, 2010 that Matsumoto will star in a Getsuku drama titled Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku.

Matsumoto's film screen debut was in Shinjuku Tanteidan Shounen (Shinjuku Boy Detectives) but his breakthrough did not come until 2001 when he was cast as Hajime Kinda'ichi in the third season of Kinda'ichi Shounen no Jikenbo. He proceeded to appear in films with his band Arashi. He also starred in the film Tokyo Tower as a womanizer with a preference for older women and in the independent film Boku wa Imoto ni Koi o Suru, playing the lead character Yori Yuki, 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, Kakushi Toride no San-Akunin: The Last Princess, 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 and became a box office hit.

Information from Wikipedia. Photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of the Jun Matsumoto Facebook Group