He was born in
Setagaya, Tokyo. His older brother is Naoyuki Matsuda, a musical translator and professor at
Komazawa University. After studying at Aoyama Gakuin High School, he dropped out of
Aoyama Gakuin University's Faculty of Letters and Department of Education. Among his classmates is a member of the
Diet and the House of Councilors
Renhō (his classmate from high school to university). He joined the
Himawari Theatre Group at age five and made his child debut in the TV drama ''Mother's Suzu'' in 1974. He gained attention as an actor in the 1983
TBS television drama
Family Game (as Shigeyuki Numata). He appeared in
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984, and in 1987, portrayed the main character Shuna in ''
Shuna's Journey. In 1997, he voiced Ashitaka in the anime movie Princess Mononoke'', and voiced
Leonardo DiCaprio's role Jack Dawson in the American film
Titanic to raise his profile. In 2006, he taught acting as a lecturer at Tokyo Animation College. He became active around the stage, working with directors such as
Yukio Ninagawa and Yoji Aoi. He appeared in the drama
From the North Country. ==Filmography==