Born 1949 (age 40) · Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan
Appears in 39 titles

Yūsaku Matsuda was a Japanese actor. He was born in Shimonoseki, to a Japanese father and a Zainichi Korean mother. He became an actor when he was 23 as a rookie police officer for the 1970s Japanese TV detective drama called Taiyō ni hoero! Apart from this role, his other defining role on television was in Tantei monogatari. He featured in many other TV shows and movies. He won the award for best actor at the 8th Hochi Film Award for Detective Story and The Family Game. He specialized in physical action movies. The 1989 movie Black Rain — directed by Ridley Scott and starring Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia— opened the door for Matsuda as an international actor. However, shortly after he made this movie, he died due to bladder cancer. He was survived by his second wife and three young children.

Filmography

Black Rain
6.6
Black Rain
1989
as Sato
Kagero-za
6.6
Kagero-za
1981
as Shungo Matsuzaki
The Family Game
6.8
The Family Game
1983
as Yoshimoto
And Then
7.1
And Then
1985
as Daisuke Nagai
The Beast to Die
5.7
The Beast to Die
1980
as Kunihiko Date
Proof of the Man
7.8
Proof of the Man
1977
as Detective Munesue
The Assassination of Ryoma
4.8
The Assassination of Ryoma
1974
as Yûta
The Most Dangerous Game
6.1
The Most Dangerous Game
1978
as Shouhei Narumi
Wuthering Heights
6.7
Wuthering Heights
1988
as Onimaru
The Execution Game
7.4
The Execution Game
1979
as Shohei Narumi
The Killing Game
7.5
The Killing Game
1978
as Shohei Narumi
The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf
6.3
The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf
1979
as Tetsuya Asakura
Yokohama BJ Blues
7.8
Yokohama BJ Blues
1981
as BJ
No Grave for Us
6.3
No Grave for Us
1979
as Katsuo Shima
Rape Hunter: Target Woman
3.6
Rape Hunter: Target Woman
1980
as Insurance Salesman
Detective Story
6.7
Detective Story
1983
as Shuichi Tsujiyama
A Homance
7.8
A Homance
1986
as Kaze
A Chaos of Flowers
7.3
A Chaos of Flowers
1988
as Takeo Arishima
Murder in the Doll House
7.7
Murder in the Doll House
1979
as Toshio Katsu
Horror of the Wolf
7.3
Horror of the Wolf
1973
as Dō Haguro