Embracing Matsumoto Marika’s 24 Years Living as an Actor

“It’s true that I didn’t succeed for a long time. However, I don’t think of those days as just ‘laying the groundwork’.”

 

Matsumoto Marika (39), who plays the lead role of Sumire Asakura, a marriage scammer actively pursuing marriage, in the April drama Miss Target (ABC TV, TV Asahi). Surprisingly, this is her first consecutive prime-time (7-11 p.m.) drama starring role since her debut.

“My debut work received a good response. So, I was praised by those around me, saying, ‘You’ll definitely make it big,’ and I ended up having high expectations. But after that, it was just a downward trend. For a long time, I couldn’t create a work that surpassed my debut.”

Matsumoto’s debut in dramas was at the age of 15. Her role as the class representative in Rokubanme no Sayoko (NHK, ’00) received acclaim, and her career seemed to start off well. However, afterward, while watching actors of the same age grow into national celebrities, she spent her days auditioning and facing rejection. 

“If I had to describe my unremarkable twenties and thirties in one word,, it would be ‘ultimately boring.’ I constantly felt a sense of frustration about my purpose and existence. While that period is sometimes referred to as ‘laying the groundwork,’ I find it discomforting. It sounds as if I was the only one not blessed with opportunities and struggled immensely. I witnessed the efforts and struggles of my actor friends who succeeded, up close.

I felt inadequate in my own immaturity. I believed that even if I were to achieve success easily, it wouldn’t work out well unless I developed solid skills and abilities first. So, I kept polishing myself during those unremarkable times. Therefore, it’s not like I was going through some special hardship, it’s definitely not a ‘Cinderella story’.”

He now views his phase of being unknown, during which he struggled, as a positive thing.

“In a smooth-sailing life, I would have never known the weakness and pain of others, which I fully experienced during that time when neither others nor myself recognized it. Because I experienced pain that cannot be acted out with acting techniques as an actor, I was able to perform in a way that only I could.”

She overcame the negativity.

 

A turning point came in ’18. Transitioning from her cute but calculated character in the drama “Holiday Love” (TV Asahi) to a menacing character as a mistress, her recognition surged rapidly. With a surge in appearances in dramas and movies, her life changed drastically. However, despite the attention, there was always a lingering unease in Matsumoto’s heart.

 

“Even though I finally started getting attention, I still felt empty inside, unable to find happiness no matter what I did. I never thought that being successful would be the end goal, but I realized for the first time that I lacked a sense of purpose in my acting. From ’18 to today, for six years, I’ve been desperately searching for that answer, trying to grasp onto something.” 

Until now, Matsumoto’s acting has been fueled by a hungry spirit. However, there has been a change in that aspect since the beginning of this year.

“For example, the negative emotion of ‘What the hell!’ has incredible energy, but it’s tough to sustain it indefinitely, and I’ve already overcome it. Now, I’m confronting acting based on feelings of happiness and love. Surface-level acting doesn’t move viewers, and I can’t convince myself either. To fully immerse myself in the role and express the emotions that well up, I need to genuinely feel happiness from the bottom of my heart.”

Matsumoto shares that she finally felt the happiness that eluded her since gaining attention in Holiday Love on the set of her starring drama Miss Target.

“Taking on the significant responsibility as the lead brought me immense happiness. Trusting and being trusted by the staff and co-stars on set made me realize how fulfilling those relationships could be. It’s such a wonderful environment that it makes you forget all the unpleasant things when you’re there. Thanks to that, I can naturally portray happiness in my acting now. I confidently recommend this project, which I approached with excitement.”

As Matsumoto approaches her 25th year in the entertainment industry, she now has a clear answer to her question about the purpose of acting.

“Bringing happiness and positive emotions to the audience. That’s the purpose of my acting, I think.”

Having discovered new horizons while facing herself for a long time, actress Matsumoto Marika’s evolution will only accelerate from here.

From the May 31 , 2024 issue of FRIDAY