Biography
Matt was born in Perth, Western Australia but due to his mother's South African heritage he spent most of his life growing up in Cape Town, South Africa. He was discovered by a modeling agency in Cape Town at the age of 19. Soon after he found himself travelling abroad to various parts of the world as an International Model. During the span of his modeling career Matt was signed with top agencies such as Ford NY, Joy Model Management Milan, Boss Model Management London, Vivien's Models Sydney where he frequented the runways in London, Paris, New York, and Milan. Matt was featured in L'Uomo Vogue, GQ, Armani and Versace and shot with the iconic photographer, Bruce Weber.
Due to the locale of Matt's upbringing, the ocean was an inherent part of his evolution. Surfing, diving, fishing and spear-fishing was a way of life. Growing up in South Africa made it essential to train in self-defense, martial arts and firearms. These skills led to the development of his heightened sense and awareness which lends itself well to his type and in delivering truth and authenticity to action and adventure roles he so loves to partake in. Having Slovakian and Croatian heritage from his father and Dutch and South African heritage from his mother gives Matt a versatile range of looks for his character types. Always being a leader not a follower, Matt is perfect for the strong heroic leading man type characters. In addition to playing the protagonist roles, Matt is also masterful in playing the antagonist villain type roles.
Matt was known among friends and family as a free spirited adventurer and an adrenaline junkie involved in various extreme sports. This thirst for adventure lead him later in life to the Kokoda Trail in Papa New Guinea during which time he worked as a medic and a trek leader for an executive adventure company. On his seventh trip Matt contracted Malaria which almost took his life. This close call with death woke him up to his aspirations even more. After filling his cup with invaluable life experiences Matt decided it was time to pursue his true creative calling, his passion for the art of acting which led him to being accepted into the world renowned, Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre, where during the course of study he was awarded a full scholarship. During his time at Stella, Matt was recognized by his peers and tutors for his hard work, relentless commitment to the craft and his talent for accents ranging from General American, Brooklyn, Southern, Irish, Scottish, British, Cockney, South African, Russian, German and French. He earned himself leading roles and played various range of characters on stage from Baylis in 'Blackbird' by Adam Rapp, Mr. Lockhart (the Devil) in 'The Seafarer' by Conor McPherson, Jack in 'Brighton Beach Memoirs' by Neil Simon, Dan in 'Closer' by Patrick Marber and Edmond in 'Edmond' by David Mamet. The Imagination technique for which Stella Adler is world famous for has given Matt the ability to perform truthfully and honestly to green screen and any situation that demands the use of imagination. The combination of his multi faceted life experience and intensive formal training has equipped Matt with all the necessary skills for future roles to come.
