SixTONES’ Hokuto Matsumura Surprises Fans with Untold Story of His “Come Come Everybody” Audition
Hokuto Matsumura (29) of SixTONES is currently appearing in the January-season drama series Ensemble (NTV). His individual acting career is going well, as evidenced by the strong start of the film First Kiss 1ST KISS (released on February 7), in which he co-stars with actress Takako Matsu for the first time.
Recently, Matsumura shared behind-the-scenes stories about his audition for NHK’s morning drama, surprising many online users.
Matsumura appeared on the late-night radio program TOKYO SPEAKEASY (TOKYO FM) broadcast on February 4, where he spoke with Deu from the three-piece band PEOPLE1 about the NHK morning drama series Come Come Everybody (aired from November 1, 2021, to April 8, 2022).
“Come Come Everybody is a story depicting three generations of women—grandmother, mother, and daughter. Matsumura played Minoru Kijima, the husband of the heroine Yasuko Tachibana, portrayed by Mone Kamishiraishi.
Minoru was the heir of a distinguished family, a good-natured young man fluent in English. Matsumura, with his classic handsome looks, was a perfect fit for the role and captivated many female viewers. Since Minoru’s story ended in tragedy with his death in war, many fans continued to express their sorrow even after his departure from the show,” said an entertainment writer.
He revealed a shocking behind-the-scenes audition story
On TOKYO SPEAKEASY, Matsumura revealed the story of how he came to appear in Come Come Everybody. In fact, he originally had no plans to participate in the audition.
It turns out that the staff responsible for selecting audition candidates had not included Matsumura as a contender.
However, Matsumura shared,
“Someone lower in the hierarchy thought, ‘No, I want to include him,’ and secretly added me to the list.” He reflected emotionally, saying, “As a result, I got the role, and that was a complete turning point.”
Since Come Come Everybody began rebroadcasting on NHK General from November 18 last year, many viewers had been rewatching it. Following Matsumura’s revelation, online users reacted with comments such as:
“I remember looking him up, thinking, ‘What a perfect young man for a morning drama,’ and being shocked to find out he was a SixTONES member. Thank you to the person who pushed for his audition.”
“Hokuto has a classic, traditional-looking face—he was perfect for Minoru. Why wasn’t he included as a candidate in the first place?”
“Thank you to the person who secretly put him in the audition. Minoru was such a perfect role for him—I shudder to think what would have happened if it hadn’t been Hokuto.”
Praise for his acting ability
“Last year, he took on his first single-father role in the drama series Saionji-san wa Kaji wo Shinai (TBS), starring Wakana Matsumoto. In this season’s drama Ensemble, he plays the romantic interest of Haruna Kawaguchi, portraying an idealistic rookie lawyer.
After the drama premiered, social media was filled with positive reactions:
‘Hokuto Matsumura was adorable. Just like Minoru in Come Come, he fits sincere roles perfectly.’
‘I already thought he was great as Minoru in the morning drama, but he was also wonderful in Ensemble.’”
Meanwhile, his latest film, First Kiss 1ST KISS, debuted at No. 1 in the domestic box office rankings from February 7 to 9 (as reported by Kogyo Tsushinsha). According to the movie information site Eiga.com, the film attracted 174,000 viewers and earned 254 million yen in its first three days.
Looking at online reviews, Matsumura’s performance has been widely praised, with comments such as A phenomenal actor and A treasure of the Japanese film industry. In the future, his acting career may serve as a gateway for more people to become fans of SixTONES.
