<h3>Age 32 was the turning point. &#8230;&#8230; <br>
After more than 15 years of working under the radar, she was selected to star in a series of dramas one after another! <br>
This season, she plays a super emergency doctor!</h3>
<figure id="attachment_424591" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-424591" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a0164900"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/05/9c2b92e26880b9c88bf88d39db28a8b1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-424591" class="wp-caption-text"> Wakana Matsumoto / Born in Tottori Prefecture. He made his acting debut in &#8220;Masked Rider Den-O&#8221; (TV Asahi) in 2007, and his breakthrough role was in the drama &#8220;Yangonokake no Kazoku&#8221; broadcast in 2010, and he continues to attract fans with his one and only presence, starring in three consecutive GP drama series.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I honestly don&#8217;t feel like I&#8217;ve had a breakthrough, but last year was an intense year.</span></p>
<p> I don&#8217;t really feel like I&#8217;ve had a breakthrough, but last year was an intense year for me,&#8217; said actor Wakana Matsumoto, 41, with a look of contentment on his face. Her outrageous performance in the drama &#8220;Yangonokake no Kazoku&#8221; (Fuji TV), which aired in 2010, attracted so much attention that the phrase &#8220;Matsumoto Gekijo&#8221; was coined, and she quickly rose to stardom.</p>
<p> She was also selected to play the lead role in the drama &#8220;Dr. Ashera&#8221; (Fuji TV), which will start airing in April. She plays the role of Shura Anno, a super emergency doctor who never turns down any urgent patient and uses every means at her disposal to save the patient in front of her.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> This time, the setting is an emergency department where people face life on the front lines, and I had the opportunity to learn under the supervision of a medical supervisor,&#8221; she said. I heard that professional doctors can tell when an amateur or inexperienced doctor is performing a single cardiac massage. So I learned the techniques in detail and observed actual lifesaving situations so that I could reflect the tension in the film as much as possible.</span></p>
<p> Matsumoto&#8217;s role in the film is not limited to what is seen on screen, but also extends to what is not seen.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In some of the surgery scenes, you can see my hands, and I was concerned if my fingernails were even slightly long,&#8221; he said. In the surgery scene, I wear a sterile glove, so you don&#8217;t see my fingernails, but I try to keep them short so that I can show my &#8220;doctor-like&#8221; appearance. Actually, after playing this role, I started to feel uncomfortable with my long nails in real life as well (laughs).</span></p>
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<p> This is the third time for me to play the lead role in a GP drama. He recalled that he also developed a sense of responsibility as the chairperson.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Thankfully, I have been blessed by the people around me, and I hope to repay that favor little by little on the set. I have met many respectable chairpersons. I would like to inherit what they have done for me.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" When I was about to give up, my mother said to me, I&#39;m going to quit."></div>
<h3>A Reward for Myself</h3>
<p> Last year, she was ranked No. 1 in the &#8220;Breakthrough Actor Ranking (Female),&#8221; and this year she won the &#8220;33rd Hashida Award&#8221; for newcomer of the year, and her success knows no bounds.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> She is still going strong, winning the &#8220;Hashida Award for Best Newcomer&#8221; this year, and is still going strong! I thought, &#8220;This is destiny! I got the biggest reward for all the hard work I&#8217;ve put in so far, as well as a shout-out to myself for the future!</span></p>
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<p> Although Matsumoto is now in great demand, it has not always been smooth sailing for him. He spent more than 15 years as an underachiever, working part-time at sushi restaurants, Okinawan restaurants, and other eateries until the age of 34, in parallel with his acting career. His efforts did not bear fruit, and he recalls, &#8220;There were times when I seriously considered quitting acting.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I was 32 years old,&#8221; he recalls, &#8220;I almost gave up because of a number of mental and physical challenges. I had no personality and no distinctive voice. I had so little presence that people didn&#8217;t even notice that I was in the productions, and I almost lost my confidence. I felt that there was no place for me in the entertainment industry, and I was thinking of returning to my hometown of Tottori.</span></p>
<p> What made her decide to stay was a comment from her mother.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> I called my mother and told her that I was quitting, and all she said was, &#8216;Okay. I honestly thought she was going to ask me why, but she didn&#8217;t. I really appreciated her reaction at the time. I was really grateful for that response, and it gave me the courage to go back to my roots and do my best.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I changed my mind and worked hard, and the following year I won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 39th Yokohama Film Festival. At that time, I felt for the first time that I had been recognized by someone, and I thought, &#8220;Maybe I can still be a part of this world. I am the person I am today because of what my mother said to me at that time.</span></p>
<p> When asked what his parents thought of their son&#8217;s success, he replied with a wry smile, &#8220;My father and mother are both in the entertainment business.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> My father and mother are not very knowledgeable about the world of show business. When I call them, they don&#8217;t talk about work at all, and the only question they ask is, &#8216;When are you coming home? (laughs). But I was happy when my father said to me about two years ago, &#8216;I&#8217;m rooting for you.</span></p>
<p> With a solid presence, Matsumoto is steadily on her way to becoming a top actress.</p>
<figure id="attachment_424592" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-424592" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2425a45d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/05/227a5ae4d912cef7c1f6e399cd504411.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-424592" class="wp-caption-text"> Wakana Matsumoto, a photo not featured in this issue: &#8220;I am the person I am today thanks to a word from my mother.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_424593" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-424593" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="589d99c0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/05/4279ace68b1e8d1e1fdf123514aa16ba.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-424593" class="wp-caption-text"> Unpublished photograph of Wakana Matsumoto: &#8220;I am the person I am today thanks to a word from my mother.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_424594" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-424594" style="width: 1667px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="714da59b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/05/9a0fc397db7d7c53f3c21730fa4ebe47.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-424594" class="wp-caption-text"> Unpublished photograph of Wakana Matsumoto: &#8220;I am the person I am today thanks to a word from my mother.</figcaption></figure>
<p> From the May 9, 16, and 23, 2025 issue of FRIDAY</p>


 Kana Masuda

 Kyoko Toyoshima

 Hirotsuru Fujiyama

 Takehiko Kohiyama

 Actor Wakana Matsumoto (41) says, "I honestly don't feel like I've had a breakthrough, but last year was a very intense year.

Wakana Matsumoto: “I am the person I am today thanks to a word from my mother” – A Turning Point at the Age of 32

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