Matthew Newton (born May 11, 1977) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and

acting coach An acting coach or drama coach is a teacher who trains performers – typically film, television, theatre, and musical theatre actors – and gives them advice and mentoring to enable them to improve their acting and dramatic performances, prepa ...

Personal life

Born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, Newton was raised in

Guilford, Connecticut Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the Connecticut seacoast. The population was 22,073 at the 2020 census. History Guil ...

. He is the son of Thomas Newton and Jennifer Newton (nee. Chase), whose parents were arranger and composer Bruce Chase and violinist Fannie (née Paschell) Chase. He is of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, French, and

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent. Newton is a first cousin once removed of the actress

Sienna Miller Sienna Rosie Diana Miller (born December 28, 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian '' Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli c ...

. He began performing musicals and plays at local theaters while in high school. Following graduation from high school, Newton studied at the

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Awa ...

and

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...

, from which he graduated with a B.A. in

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

. Newton moved to New York City in 1999 and landed roles in various television series, including that of Alan, the blind football player, in the Comedy Central hit ''

Strangers With Candy ''Strangers with Candy'' is an American comedy television series produced by Comedy Central. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ( ET). A pre ...

'', and guest appearances on ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

'' and ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham ( Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel ( Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flag ...

''. His first film role was opposite

Jeremy Renner Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as '' Dahmer'' (2002) and ''Neo Ned'' (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as ''S.W.A.T.'' (2 ...

and

Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor and director. Davison is well known for his starring role as Willard Stiles in the cult horror film '' Willard'' (1971) and his Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning perfor ...

in the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

'' Dahmer'' (2002), which was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards. His sister,

Becki Newton Rebecca Sara Newton is an American actress, known for her roles as Amanda Tanen on ''Ugly Betty'' and Quinn Garvey on ''How I Met Your Mother''. Early life Newton was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the daughter of Thomas Newton and Jennifer N ...

, is an actress who appeared as

Amanda Tanen Amanda Tanen (born Amanda Sommers) is a fictional character in the American dramedy series ''Ugly Betty'' and spin-off web-series '' Mode After Hours''. She is played by Becki Newton. Like Henry Grubstick, Amanda shares a last name with a real-li ...

in ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian ...

'', and his brother-in-law, Chris Diamantopoulos, is featured in the television series ''24''. Newton's mother, Jennifer, is an artist, and his aunt,

Stephanie Chase Stephanie Ann Chase (born ) is an American classical violinist. Life and career Chase was born in Evanston, Illinois. She is the daughter of two musicians, the noted arranger and composer Bruce Chase and violinist Fannie (Paschell) Chase. She ...

, is a classical

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. Newton makes his home in New Canaan, CT.

Career

Newton started his professional career as a television and film actor, before becoming a filmmaker and acclaimed acting coach. As an actor, Newton guest starred on ''Dragnet'', ''Strangers with Candy'', ''Family Law'', ''Dragnet'', ''JAG'', ''Royal Pains'', ''Ugly Betty'', ''Drake and Josh Go Hollywood'', ''Miracles'', ''The Americans'', ''All My Children'', ''Gilmore Girls'', and starred in the films ''Van Wilder'', ''Poster Boy'', '' Dahmer'', and ''

The Men Who Stare at Goats ''The Men Who Stare at Goats'' (2004) is a non-fiction work by Jon Ronson concerning the U.S. Army's exploration of New Age concepts and the potential military applications of the paranormal. The title refers to attempts to kill goats by starin ...

'', and appeared in countless commercials. In 2010 Newton started his own acting studio (MN Acting Studio) in NYC, and became a sought after acting coach. His coaching credits include ''Jessica Jones'', ''Orange is the New Black'', ''Blue Bloods'', ''The Affair'', ''Master of None'', and Ava Duvernay’s ''When They See Us on Netflix''. In 2016 Newton turned to directing, and wrote and produced several short films, including ''Hide/Seek'', ''Vacation Rental'' (winner Best Director), ''Pretty People Inc'', and ''Sins of the Son''. In 2020 Newton published the book ''The No B.S. Guide to the Acting Biz'', which was ranked by ''Forbes'' as "Top 5 Books to Read in an Uncertain Market."

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Matt 1977 births Living people Male actors from Connecticut Male actors from New Haven, Connecticut American male film actors American male television actors American people of Czech descent American people of English descent People from Guilford, Connecticut Vassar College alumni