Takashi Fujii (藤井隆, Fujii Takashi), born March 10, 1972) is a Japanese entertainment personality who has performed as comedian, actor, singer, presenter, and music producer affiliated with the Japanese entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo and was the popular host of Matthew's Best Hit TV (as the character Matthew Minami (マシュー南, Mashū Minami), and various other related shows on TV Asahi. He was born in Toyonaka, Osaka.
On May 7, 2005, he officially announced his intention to marry Otoha (乙葉), a Japanese idol. They married on July 30, 2005, at the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo, with an audience of 340 guests including many famous Japanese personalities and celebrities. They have one daughter.
In 2022, he was the co-host of Love Is Blind: Japan, and host of the Audible podcast Matthew's Matthew: Matthew in Matthew's Room.
Acting career
Takashi Fujii is most active as an actor and a comedic host.
In the Western world he is known for his appearance as Matthew Minami, hosting his own show, with Bill Murray's character Bob Harris in the 2003 movie Lost in Translation. As Matthew, his trademark blonde wig and garish suits complement his effeminate but wacky personality.
Although Bill Murray has never been a guest, Fujii (as Matthew Minami) actually hosted such a program, now called Matthew's Best Hit UV, largely consisting of musicians and popular Japanese celebrities, the show's guests are often subject to fierce competition by Matthew Minami himself. The character Matthew Minami also appears in a handful of programs and shorts related to Best Hit TV.
Takashi Fujii is also a popular talent himself and appears frequently on many Japanese variety shows. He is considerably less flamboyant while appearing as himself, but his frequent seemingly random comments and odd gestures are all part of his signature performances. He has even made appearances in the US and China showing off both his comedy and music. Takashi Fujii is currently featured on the following programs (titles are loose translations):
発見!仰天!!プレミアもん!!! 土曜はダメよ! (Hakken! Gyōten!! Puremia mon!!! Doyō wa Dame yo!) on YTV
Fujii is also active as an artist and producer focusing on dance music and J-pop. His single, "Oh My Juliet!", was produced by popular J-pop artist Tommy february6. The song was subsequently featured in the soundtrack to the film Babel.
