Acting
Ryuhei Matsuda
JA, EN, ID cinema · 70 credits
Born
9 May 1983 (age 43)
Birthplace
Suginami, Tokyo, Japan
Also known as 松田龙平 · Ryûhei Matsuda · ریوهی ماتسودا · ریوهای ماتسودا
Ryuhei Matsuda (松田 龍平, Matsuda Ryūhei, born 9 May 1983) is a Japanese film and television actor. Matsuda's best known film roles include the young and desirable samurai Sōzaburō Kanō in Taboo and the rock star Ren Honjo in Nana. At age 15, Matsuda was offered the role of the desirable young samurai Kanō Sōzaburō in Nagisa Ōshima's 1999 film Taboo. The role helped boost him from an entirely unknown actor to a film star, earning him a Japanese Academy award "Newcomer of the Year", as well as "Blue Ribbon", "Kinema Junpo", and "Yokohama Film Festival" Awards for the "Best New Actor". Since appearing in Taboo, Matsuda has played a wide range of roles, from the high school student Kujo in the 2001 film Blue Spring to the rock star Ren Honjo in the 2005 film Nana. In February 2013, it was revealed that Matsuda would play the part of a Japanese gangster in the sequel to the 2012 Indonesian film The Raid, named Berandal. In 2020 portrayed Ryūnosuke Akutagawa in the film A Stranger in Shanghai. It depicts Akutagawa's time in as a reporter in the city. Since then, Matsuda has continued to work steadily across film and television. His notable award-winning period remains centered on his earlier career — most notably his Best Actor win at the 37th Japan Academy Film Prize in 2013 for The Great Passage, alongside a Best Actor win at the 2nd Hainan Island International Film Festival in 2019 for the film Shadow. More recently, his credits include the films Ichigeki (2023), Who Were We? (2023–2024), and Transcending Dimensions (2025). On television, he starred in the Netflix drama Asura (2025), based on Kazuo Kikuta's play, and in Tokyo Salad Bowl (2025). His film Disaster was released on February 20, 2026, and was also selected for the competition section of the San Sebastián Film Festival. In January 2026, Matsuda took on his first-ever leading role in a TV Asahi drama with Hey Detective, Your Backpack Is Open! He also appeared in UNDERGIRL a first movie from UNDERCOVER production, a superhero film released in Shibuya.
Known for
Filmography
UNDERGIRL
as UNDERMAN
Transcending Dimensions
as Shinno
Ichigeki
as Shimada Konosuke
Okehazama: Oda Nobunaga Birth of the Overlord
as Shibata Katsuie
ZOKKI
as Fujimura
The Day of Destruction
as Mr. Shinno
Beneath the Shadow
as Hiasa Norihiro
Wolf's Calling
as Samurai
A Stranger in Shanghai
as Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
The Scythian Lamb
as Ichirō Miyakoshi
The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan
as Shoji Segawa
Isle of Dogs
as Junior Scientist 4 / Bartender (voice)
Before We Vanish
as Shinji Kase
The Last Shot in the Bar
as Takada
Kurara: The Dazzling Life of Hokusai's Daughter
as Zenjiro Ikeda
The Mohican Comes Home
as Eikichi Tamura
The Magnificent Nine
as Moku Kayaba
My Uncle
as Uncle
A Farewell to Jinu
as Takeharu Takami
The Raid 2
as Keiichi
Disconcerto
as Haruhiko Gyoten
The Great Passage
as Mitsuya Majime
Detective in the Bar
as Takada
My Little Sweet Pea
as Norio Koiwa
I'm Flash!
as Bodyguard
A Chorus of Angels
as Isamu
Phone Call to the Bar
as Takada
Tada's Do-It-All House
as Haruhiko Gyoten
Boys on the Run
as Aoyama
Nobody To Watch Over Me
as Shogo Mishima
Kanikôsen
as Shinjo
The Vulture
as Osamu Nishino
Nightmare Detective 2
as Kyoichi Kagenuma
The Suicide Song
as Riku Nagase
Nightmare Detective
as Kyoichi Kagenuma
Tokyo Serendipity
as Takashi Ohno
Life Can Be So Wonderful
as Shuichi
The Yakiniku Movie: Bulgogi
as Tatsuji
Chosyu Five
as Yozo Yamao
Big Bang Love, Juvenile A
as Jun Ariyoshi
Nana
as Ren Honjou
Synesthesia
as Kaoru Homura
Rampo Noir
as Tarô Hirai (segment "Caterpillar")
Cutie Honey
as NSA Client
Izo
as His Highness
Otakus in Love
as Mon Aoki
Karaoke Terror
as Ishihara
Collage of Our Lives
as Masato Segawa
9 Souls
as Michiru Kaneko
Age 17
as Book Boy
Blue Spring
as Kujo
Run Ichiro Run
as Ryu Mochizuki
Love Ghost
as Shibayama Ryuske
Taboo
as Sozaburo Kano