Ryuhei Matsuda

Ryuhei Matsuda, born in 1983, rose to prominence at fifteen when cast as the young samurai Sōzaburō Kanō in Nagisa Ōshima’s controversial film Taboo, a role that earned him critical acclaim and several awards, including the Japanese Academy Award for Newcomer of the Year. Since then, Matsuda has demonstrated versatility, from his portrayal of the rebellious high school student Kujo in Blue Spring to the charismatic rock star Ren Honjo in Nana. In 2013, he took on a Japanese gangster in The Raid sequel, Berandal, and in 2020, he portrayed the tortured poet Ryūnosuke Akutagawa in A Stranger in Shanghai, marking his enduring presence in both Japanese and international cinema.