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

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

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, prepar ...

Personal life

Born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, Newton was raised in

Guilford, Connecticut Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Connecticut, Madison, Branford, Connecticut, Branford, North Branford, Connecticut, North Branford and Durham, Connecticut, Durham, and is situated on Inter ...

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

Bruce Chase Robert Bruce Chase (March 22, 1912 – June 29, 2001) was an American composer and music arranger. Biography Early life and education Robert Bruce Chase was born on March 22, 1912, in Muscatine, Iowa. His parents were locally prominent mu ...

and violinist Fannie (née Paschell) Chase. He is of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 *Czech (surnam ...

, Norwegian,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, 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 Rose Diana Miller (born 28 December 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 Cale ...

. 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, seating just over 1,000 guests. The center has received two ...

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. The college be ...

, from which he graduated with an A.B. 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 television sitcom created by Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris, and Mitch Rouse that originally aired on Comedy Central from April 7, 1999, to October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10:00 ...

'', 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 television series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves ...

'' and ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The show debuted October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. The show ran fo ...

''. His first film role was opposite

Jeremy Renner Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as ''Dahmer (film), Dahmer'' (2002) and ''Neo Ned'' (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as ''S.W.A.T. (20 ...

and

Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor who has appeared in more than 270 films, television and stage productions since his debut in 1968. His breakthrough role was as Willard Stiles in the 1971 cult horror film '' Willard' ...

in the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

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

Becki Newton Becki Newton (born July 4, 1978) is an American actress known for her roles as Amanda Tanen on ''Ugly Betty,'' Quinn Garvey on ''How I Met Your Mother'', and Lorna Crane on '' The Lincoln Lawyer.'' Early life Newton is a first cousin once remove ...

, is an actress who appeared as

Amanda Tanen This article lists the characters featured in the American ABC comedy-drama series ''Ugly Betty''. Overview Main characters Betty Suarez Betty Suarez, played by America Ferrera, is the main protagonist. Aims to run her own magazine in the f ...

in ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...

'', and his brother-in-law,

Chris Diamantopoulos Christopher Diamantopoulos ( (''Khristóforos Diamantópoulos''); born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He played Russ Hanneman in the HBO series ''Silicon Valley'' and starred in the film ''The Three Stooges'' as Moe Howard, and the TV series ...

, is featured in the television series ''24''. Newton's mother, Jennifer, is an artist, and his aunt, Stephanie Chase, is a classical

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

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 book 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 stari ...

'', 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 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