Jun Matsumoto

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.[7][8] 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 Eden no Higashi (エデンの東, East of Eden) and Byakuya no Onna Kishi (白夜の女騎士, Valkyrie of the White Night) respectively.

It was announced on July 21, 2011 that Matsumoto will star in Yukio Ninagawa’s production play, Aa, Kōya (あゝ, 荒野, Ah, Wilderness). This will be his first stage play in five years.[9]

Like bandmate Sakurai, Matsumoto made his acting debut as a television actor in April 1997 in the TBS drama special Hoken Chousain (保険調査員, Insurance Investigator). A few months later, he co-starred with the members of KinKi Kids and future bandmate Masaki Aiba in the mystery-thriller series Bokura no Yūki: Miman Toshi (ぼくらの勇気, Our Courage: Miman City).

Matsumoto gained further popularity as an actor in 2002 when he starred in the first season of Gokusen with Yukie Nakama, Shun Oguri, 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.[10] 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 Yoiko no Mikata (よい子の味方, Ally of Good Children). 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.[11]

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%.[12] Matsumoto won Best Supporting Actor at the 10th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix for his role.[13] The same year, Matsumoto starred in Bambino!, which won him his first Best Actor award at the 53rd Television Drama Academy Awards.[14]

In 2008, he re-united with Bambino! co-star Karina for the drama special Myū no Anyo Papa ni Ageru (みゅうの足パパにあげる, Myū will Give Daddy Her Legs), 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%.[15]

In 2009, Matsumoto starred in his first drama series in nearly two years. He portrayed Vito Hayakawa (早川ビト, Hayakawa Vito), 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.[16] Fuji TV announced on September 10, 2009 that Matsumoto would star in a three-part drama special called Wagaya no Rekishi (わが家の歴史, History of our Family) scheduled to air for three consecutive days in the spring of 2010.[17][18]

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 Saigo no Yakusoku (最後の約束, Last Promise).[19][20] Matsumoto portrayed Nozomu Gotō (後藤 望, Gotō Nozomu), 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 Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku (夏の恋は虹色に輝く, Summer Love Shines in Rainbow Colors).[21] He also made a guest appearance on the final episode of bandmate Ohno's drama Kaibutsu-kun (怪物くん, Little Monster), which is based on the Fujiko Fujio's Kaibutsu-kun manga and anime series.[22]

Matsumoto appeared on the silver screen in the 1998 film Shinjuku Tanteidan Shōnen (新宿少年探偵団, 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 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 Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakedo Happy (ピカ☆ンチ Life is HardだけどHappy, Pikanchi Life is Hard But Happy). They came together again for its sequel Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakara Happy (ピカ☆☆ンチ Life is HardだからHappy, Pikanchi Life is Hard Therefore Happy) 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 Yori Yūki (結城 頼, Yūki Yori), 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, became a box office hit.[23]

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.

Matsumoto had his own radio show, Jun Style, on Nack5 from October 5, 2002 to September 2011.[24]