# Kenichi Matsuyama

Kenichi Matsuyama (松山 ケンイチ, Matsuyama Ken'ichi, born March 5, 1985) is a Japanese actor. He is known for his affinity for strange character roles, and he is best known internationally for playing L in the 2006 films Death Note, Death Note 2: The Last Name and L: Change the World in 2008. He was cast to play lead character Toru Watanabe in the film adaptation of Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood, which was released in December 2010.
His stage name uses the katakana spelling of his first name (ケンイチ) instead of the usual kanji (研一).
He graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Toyama High School.

## Career

He debuted as a model in 2001 for PARCO. He made his acting debut in the television series Gokusen in 2002 and made his first film appearance in Bright Future in 2003. He starred in the film Winning Pass a year later.
Matsuyama starred in Ultra Miracle Love Story in 2009, using the Tsugaru dialect of Japanese in the film.
He voiced the role of Balthazar Bratt in the Japanese dub of Despicable Me 3 in 2017. He was in the stage play Seven Souls in the Skull Castle the same year.
He played a police detective in the 2023 drama Why Didn't I Tell You a Million Times?

## Personal life

On April 1, 2011, he married Koyuki Katō, who co-starred with him in Kamui Gaiden. The couple's first child was born in January 2012, and their second child was born in January 2013 in South Korea. In July 2015, the couple had their third child.
He speaks in the Shimokita dialect.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | Bright Future | Jun | |
| 2003 | Worst by Chance | A bully | |
| 2004 | Winning Pass | Kenta Kobayashi | Lead role |
| 2004 | The Locker 2 | Yosuke Shinohara | |
| 2004 | Kamachi | | |
| 2004 | The Taste of Tea | Matsuken | |
| 2005 | Linda Linda Linda | Makihara | |
| 2005 | Nana | Shinichi "Shin" Okazaki | |
| 2005 | Furyo Shonen no Yume | Hiroyuki Yoshiie | Lead role |
| 2005 | Custom Made 10.30 | Tamotsu/Shin-Getsu | |
| 2005 | Otoko-tachi no Yamato | Katsumi Kamio (15 years old) | |
| 2006 | Oyayubi Sagashi | Tomohiko Igarashi | |
| 2006 | Death Note | L | |
| 2006 | Death Note 2: The Last Name | L | |
| 2007 | Ten Nights of Dreams | Shōtarō | Anthology film |
| 2007 | Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea | Juchi | |
| 2007 | Shindo | Wao | |
| 2007 | Southbound | Officer Niigaki | |
| 2007 | Tsubaki Sanjuro | Iori Isaka | |
| 2007 | Dolphin Blue: Fuji, mo Ichido Sora e | Kazuya Uemura | Lead role |
| 2008 | L: Change the World | L | Lead role |
| 2008 | Sex Is No Laughing Matter | Mirume | Lead role |
| 2008 | Detroit Metal City | Souichi Negishi/Johannes Krauser II | Lead role |
| 2009 | Kamui Gaiden | Kamui | Lead role |
| 2009 | Kaiji | Makoto Sahara | |
| 2009 | Ultra Miracle Love Story | Yojin | Lead role |
| 2010 | Norwegian Wood | Toru Watanabe | Lead role |
| 2010 | Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac | Yuji Miwa | Lead role |
| 2011 | Gantz | Masaru Kato | Lead role |
| 2011 | Gantz: Perfect Answer | Masaru Kato | Lead role |
| 2011 | My Back Page | Umeyama | Lead role |
| 2011 | Usagi Drop | Daikichi Kawachi | Lead role |
| 2012 | Train Brain Express | Kei Komachi | Lead role |
| 2013 | The Kiyosu Conference | Hidemasa Hori | |
| 2014 | Homeland | Jirō Sawada | Lead role |
| 2014 | Climbing to Spring | Tōru Nagamine | Lead role |
| 2015 | Chasuke's Journey | Chasuke | Lead role |
| 2015 | The Emperor in August | Takeo Sasaki | Special appearance |
| 2016 | Rage | Tetsuya Tashiro | |
| 2016 | Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow | Satoshi Murayama | Lead role |
| 2016 | Chin-yu-ki: The Journey to the West with Farts | Tarō Yamada | Lead role |
| 2016 | Something Like, Something Like It | Defunetei Shinden | Lead role |
| 2016 | Death Note: Light Up the New World | L | Cameo |
| 2017 | Sekigahara | Naoe Kanetsugu | |
| 2017 | Yurigokoro | Yōsuke | |
| 2017 | Despicable Me 3 | Balthazar Bratt | Voice; Japanese dub |
| 2019 | Miyamoto | Kazuo Jinbo | |
| 2019 | Promare | Galo Thymos | Voice; Lead role |
| 2020 | Mio's Cookbook | | |
| 2020 | Hotel Royal | Miyagawa | |
| 2021 | Brave: Gunjō Senki | Oda Nobunaga | |
| 2021 | Blue | Urita | Lead role |
| 2022 | Noise | Jun Tanabe | Lead role |
| 2022 | Dreaming of the Meridian Arc | Kinoshita / Matakichi | |
| 2022 | Riverside Mukolitta | Yamada | Lead role |
| 2023 | Do Unto Others | Munenori Shiba | Lead role |
| 2023 | We're Broke, My Lord! | Matsudaira Shinjirō | |
| 2024 | Saint Young Men: The Movie | Jesus | Lead role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Gokusen | Kenichi Mouri | |
| 2003 | Kids War 5 | Yūta Kuroda | |
| 2005 | 1 Litre of Tears | Yuji Kawamoto | |
| 2006 | Tsubasa no Oreta Tenshitachi | Tarō / Shingo | |
| 2006 | Sono 5 fun mae | Yuka Takashi | Lead role |
| 2006 | Death Note | Gelus | Voice; Episode: "Koigokoro" |
| 2007 | Sexy Voice and Robo | Iichiro Sudo/Robo | Lead role |
| 2008 | Matsuda Spinoff | L | |
| 2008 | Detroit Metal City | Makoto Hokazono | Voice; Cameo |
| 2009 | Zeni Geba | Gamagori Futaro | Lead role |
| 2010 | Japanese Americans | Hiramatsu Jiro | |
| 2012 | Taira no Kiyomori | Taira no Kiyomori | Lead role; Taiga drama |
| 2015 | Dokonjo Gaeru | Hiroshi | Lead role |
| 2015 | Futagashira | Benzō | Lead role |
| 2016 | Death Note: New Generation | L | Cameo |
| 2017 | A Life | Sōta Igawa | |
| 2018 | Residential Complex | Daiki Igarashi | |
| 2018 | Miyamoto kara Kimi e | Kazuo Jinbo | |
| 2019 | Shiroi Kyotō | Shuji Satomi | Miniseries |
| 2019 | Yuganda Hamon | Mitazono | |
| 2020 | Komoribito | Masao | Lead role; TV movie |
| 2021 | Japan Sinks: People of Hope | Koichi Tokiwa | |
| 2023 | What Will You Do, Ieyasu? | Honda Masanobu | Taiga drama |
| 2023 | Why Didn't I Tell You a Million Times? | Yuzuru Uozumi | |
| 2024 | The Tiger and Her Wings | Tōichirō Katsuraba | Asadora |
| 2025 | Who Saw the Peacock Dance in the Jungle? | Yoshiteru Matsukaze | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work(s) | Result |
| 2006 | 31st Hochi Film Awards | Best New Actor | Death Note | Won |
| 2007 | 28th Yokohama Film Festival | Best New Talent | Death Note | Won |
| 2007 | 30th Japan Academy Film Prize | Best Supporting Actor | Death Note | Nominated |
| 2007 | 30th Japan Academy Film Prize | Best New Actor | Death Note | Won |
| 2007 | 31st Elan d'or Awards | Newcomer of the Year | Himself | Won |
| 2008 | 2nd Asia Pacific Producer's Network Award | Best Actor | Death Note | Won |
| 2009 | 32nd Japan Academy Film Prize | Best Actor | Detroit Metal City | Nominated |
| 2009 | 32nd Japan Academy Film Prize | Most Popular Actor | Detroit Metal City | Won |
| 2010 | 64th Mainichi Film Awards | Best Actor | Ultra Miracle Love story | Won |
| 2010 | 24th Takasaki Film Festival | Best Actor | Ultra Miracle Love story | Won |
| 2011 | 24th Nikkan Sports Film Awards | Best Actor | My Back Page, Norwegian Wood, Gantz, Usagi Drop | Won |
| 2017 | 71st Mainichi Film Awards | Best Actor | Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow | Nominated |
| 2017 | 12th Osaka Cinema Festival | Best Actor | Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow | Won |
| 2017 | 40th Japan Academy Film Prize | Best Actor | Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow | Nominated |
| 2017 | 59th Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Actor | Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow, Chinyūki | Won |
| 2022 | 76th Mainichi Film Awards | Best Actor | Blue | Nominated |
| 2022 | 35th Nikkan Sports Film Awards | Best Actor | Riverside Mukolitta and Noise | Nominated |
| 2023 | 36th Nikkan Sports Film Awards | Best Actor | Do Unto Others | Nominated |
| 2024 | 66th Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Actor | Do Unto Others | Nominated |