, often called by the portmanteau nickname , is a Japanese singer, actor, radio host, and model. He is a member of the boy band Arashi, and is Arashi's concert producer as well as production advisor for other groups. He is best known to Japanese television drama audiences for his portrayal as Dōmyōuji Tsukasa in the Hana Yori Dango series, for which he won GQ Japan's Man of the Year Award under the singer/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 .
Career
Matsumoto announced in October 2023 on a fan club video the release of a photo book to celebrate his turning 40. The book will include the account of his experience portraying Ieyasu Tokugawa. The book is to be released in December 2023.
Music career
Although the majority of Matsumoto's solos for albums and concerts are written by Arashi's staff, he has contributed lyrics for some of his solos: "La Familia" for the 2004 Arashi! Iza, Now Tour!!, "Naked" in 2008 for the album Dream "A" Live (under the pen name "Jun"), and "Stay Gold" in 2014 for the album The Digitalian. He also supervised the song "DRIVE" in 2016 for the album Are You Happy? and took part in writing lyrics with other Arashi members as Arashi for their songs "Fight Song", "Energy Song - Zekkōchō Chō!!!!", "5×10", and "5×20".
Matsumoto began to be involved in concert production in 2000. Although he primarily focuses on Arashi concerts, he also gave advice on concert production to younger Johnny & Associates groups, such as for Hey! Say! JUMP in 2014 and King & Prince in 2018; and in 2021 he was director for the Year-End Johnny's Festival Thank you 2021 Hello 2022 concert, featuring many different groups from Johnny & Associates. He is officially credited as the director in the closing credits for the concerts Arashi Anniversary Tour 5×20 and Arafes 2020, and on the official website of Johnny's Festival Thank you 2021 Hello 2022 for the concert of the same name.
As a concert producer, Matsumoto had also been conceptualizing new ideas. In 2005, he, along with the concert staff team, implemented the usage of the moving stage, which has been subsequently used by several Asian musical acts. 3 years prior to Arashi Live Tour 2014 The Digitalian, Matsumoto had been putting efforts into the idea of utilizing light color changes via bluetooth onto penlights, and the concept was successfully implemented in the previously mentioned concert.
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 would star in Yukio Ninagawa's production play, , 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 . In 1999, all the members of Arashi co-starred together for the first time in the volleyball-centered short drama .