Kenichi Matsuyama

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 played the main character Toru Watanabe in the film adaptation of Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood.

His stage name uses the katakana spelling of his first name (ケンイチ) instead of the usual kanji (研一). from among 16,572 applicants. He graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Toyama High School.

Matsuyama made his acting debut in the television series Gokusen in 2002.

He starred in the film in 2004, a movie with its main character modeled after real–life wheelchair basketball player .

Matsuyama starred in in 2009,

He played a police detective in the 2023 drama Why Didn't I Tell You a Million Times?

He was in the stage play in 2017.

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. He also presumably speaks English, judging from a scene in L: Change The World where he plays L, who is talking to Near in English.

Filmography

Film

Japanese dub

Television

Awards and nominations