Jun Matsumoto

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jun Matsumoto (松本潤, Matsumoto Jun^?, born August 30, 1983) is a Japanese singer and actor from Johnny's Entertainment. He is best known for being part of popular J-pop band ARASHI, together with Masaki Aiba (相葉雅紀), Kazunari Ninomiya (二宮和也), Satoshi Ohno (大野智), and Sho Sakurai (櫻井翔), Matsumoto has been critically acclaimed in the acting field as well.

Normally serious and very dedicated to his work, Matsumoto has been declared by his bandmates as caring the most for ARASHI.

1 Singing Career
2 Acting Career
3 Trivia
4 Awards
5 Filmography
6 External links

[edit] Singing Career

Matsumoto entered Johnny's Entertainment in 1996, at the age of thirteen. Although the proper procedure is for the applicant to go through a round of auditions before being admitted into the talent agency, Matsumoto bypassed it by receiving a direct phone call from Johnny Kitagawa, telling him to report for work.

In September 1999, on board a cruise ship off the shores of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, he debuted as the youngest member of ARASHI. ARASHI, the slightly hip-hop-influenced group of Johnny's Entertainment, was instantly popular with the fans. However, it was not until 2002 that Matsumoto truly made his mark in the acting industry by portraying Sawada Shin in the manga-turned-drama Gokusen, a role which won him the Best Supporting Actor at the 44th Television Drama Academy Awards.

In 2003, Matsumoto took on the role of Momo/Goda Takeshi in the drama Kimi wa Petto, portraying a homeless young man taken in by a successful journalist as her pet. A year later, in 2004, he wrote a song called "La Familia" in honor of ARASHI's fifth anniversary, and performed it at the Iza Now! concert.

[edit] Acting Career

In 2005, Matsumoto took on the role of Domyouji Tsukasa, the leader of F4, in the Japanese live action of the highly popular manga/anime Hana Yori Dango, which aired its first season from 2005-10-21 to 2005-12-16. Hana Yori Dango was the highest rated drama of winter 2005, and a second season is currently in production.

A lot of publicity was generated when he made an appearance at the 47th Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan in June 2006. Dressed in a gray suit, he was frequently referred to as "Prince Charming" in the Taiwanese media reports. Two hundred fans were at the airport to receive him and he recited a few Mandarin phrases while presenting the Best Director award.

Aside from acting and singing, Matsumoto has taken on hosting duties by co-hosting Utawara HotHit10 with Aya Matsuura and Wada Akiko. The most well-known moments in that program were Matsumoto's arguments with Akanishi Jin of KAT-TUN.

As of June 2006, he became part of an unofficial group within Johnny's Entertainment called "No Border", which includes members: Yamashita Tomohisa of NewS, Murakami Shingo of Kanjani8, Satou Atsuhiro, Ikuta Toma of Johnny's Junior's, Domoto Koichi of Kinki Kids, Yamaguchi Tatsuya of TOKIO and Takizawa Hideaki of Tackey & Tsubasa. It was group formed when the 8 members from different JE groups met up for dinner and decided to name themselves "No Border". They are known to interact freely, bypassing the sempai-kouhai relationships formed by JE. There is a 7 part round-robin on their jwebs about the formation of the group. Each member has a specific colour - White, Black, Red, Pink, Purple, Gold, Blue, Grey. However, who holds which colour is still unknown.

[edit] Trivia

Matsumoto is myopic. Although he wears contact lenses for his work, he is frequently seen with spectacles.
He was the first Japanese male celebrity to make it onto the cover of the Japanese May 2006 issue of Marie Claire magazine.
He used to have buckteeth when he was younger.
Although the members of ARASHI enjoy more or less equal popularity, a large portion of the fans were attracted to ARASHI by watching Matsumoto's dramas; a common syndrome that has been nicknamed the 'Jun-bait' by fans.
Matsumoto Jun is more commonly known as Matsujun, by both fans and acquaintances.

[edit] Awards

(2002) 33rd Television Drama Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actor (Sawada Shin in Gokusen)
(2005) 47th Television Drama Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actor (Domyouji Tsukasa in Hana Yori Dango)

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Drama

Hana Yori Dango 2 (2007) as Domyouji Tsukasa
Yonimo Kimyouna Monogatari 15th Anniversary Special (2006) Part 5
Hana Yori Dango (2005) as Domyouji Tsukasa
Propose - mini drama (2005) Episode 01
Kimi wa Petto ( You're my Pet) (2003) as Goda Takeshi
Yoiko no Mikata (2003) as Sawada Shin walk on scene
Gokusen (2002) as Sawada Shin
Kindaichi Shonen no Jikembo 3 (2001) as Kindaichi
Bokura no yuuki ~miman toushi~ (1997)

[edit] Movies

Kiroii Namida (Yellow Tears) (2007)
Boku wa Imōto ni Koi o Suru ("My sister, My love" This means I'm falling love with my younger sister.) (2007)
Yonimo Kimyouna Monogatari (2006)
Tokyo Tower (2004) as Koji
"ピカンチ★LIFE IS HARD だから HAPPY" (2003)
”ピカンチ☆LIFE IS HARD だけど HAPPY" (2002)