The world's most famous sushi chef isn't the white-hot superstar he was a decade ago, but his chain is running smoothly—and making millions—with dozens of locations around the world.

Matsuhisa apprenticed for a top Tokyo sushi chef at 18 and had to wait for three years, he says, before his mentor allowed him to touch a single piece of sushi. He later traded Japan for Lima, Peru, where he incorporated Latin flavors into his culinary arsenal, and then moved to Anchorage, Ala., where he opened his first U.S. restaurant, Koi Oi. When a fire devastated the eatery two months later, a dispirited Matsuhisa headed to LA with $27 in his pocket. After working at a few sushi joints in the LA area, he rustled up a $70,000 loan from a friend and opened Matsuhisa on La Cienega Boulevard in 1987. A celebrity following soon materialized, including Robert De Niro, who suggested the chef take his act to the East coast. After much persuasion from the actor, Matsuhisa came to New York in 1994, opening Nobu with partners De Niro, Drew Nieporent, and movie producer Meir Teper.

Nobu proved a hit from day one, although given the De Niro connection, that was probably to be expected: Diners lined up on Hudson Street before 6 p.m. waiting for the restaurant to open, and early diners had to "verbally agree" to relinquish their tables in time for people with eight o'clock reservations. Nobu's overwhelming success meant that it wasn't long before the partners made plans to expand the chain. These days there are branches in dozens of cities, including LA, Milan, and London. And although the original Nobu is no longer the buzzed-about new kid on the block, it's still hugely profitable.

Matsuhisa appears as a Japanese gambler in the Martin Scorsese-directed Casino alongside his BFF De Niro. He returned to the big screen to play a Japanese businessman named Mr. Roboto in Austin Powers: Goldmember and even appeared in Rob Marshall's Memoirs of a Geisha. [Image via Getty]