Matthew Brandon Ross (born January 3, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Alby Grant on the television series ''

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer that aired on HBO from 2006 to 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a Mormon fundamentalism, fundamentalist Mor ...

'' (2006–11) and Gavin Belson on ''

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

'' (2014–19), as well as his performances in the films '' The Last Days of Disco'' (1998), ''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a black comedy horror novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the First-person narrative, first-person by Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, narcissistic, and vain Manhattan investmen ...

'' (2000), and '' The Aviator'' (2004). He wrote and directed the 2016 comedy-drama film '' Captain Fantastic''.

Early life and education

Ross was born on January 3, 1970 in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

. He spent most of his childhood growing up in Eagle Point, Oregon. His parents divorced when he was young, and Ross was raised in what he described as "alternative living situations". These experiences partly inspired his 2016 film '' Captain Fantastic''. His mother became interested in the

Waldorf education Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical sk ...

philosophy and Ross spent time in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

while his mother worked towards a teaching credential in Waldorf education. He attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

Career

Ross garnered critical acclaim for his role as Alby Grant in the HBO series ''

'' for five seasons. He also played Eddie Scott in the 2005 film ''

Good Night, and Good Luck ''Good Night, and Good Luck'' (stylized as ''good night, and good luck.'') is a 2005 historical drama film directed by George Clooney from a screenplay by Clooney and Grant Heslov. It stars David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, Clooney, Jeff D ...

'', for which he was nominated for a

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Motion Picture is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in film. It is the final award presented during the ceremon ...

. In 2011 and 2015, he played Charles Montgomery in the first and fifth seasons of FX's

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

series ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

''. His feature film directorial debut, '' 28 Hotel Rooms'', premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in 2012. Before that, Ross made seven short films, including ''The Language of Love'', which premiered at a prior Sundance festival. Ross subsequently wrote and directed the feature film '' Captain Fantastic'', starring

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received nominations for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Mortensen made his film debut with a small role in ...

, for which he won the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

Prize for Best Director at the

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian filmmaker George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and ...

. Mortensen's performance in the film earned multiple accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Personal life

He is married to the writer Phyllis Grant, with whom he has two children: Isabel "Bella" and Dashiell "Dash" Ross.

Filmography

Film

Short film Feature film Acting roles

Television

Acting roles

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Matt 1970 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Film directors from Connecticut Living people Male actors from Connecticut Male actors from Greenwich, Connecticut People from Greenwich, Connecticut Screenwriters from Connecticut Juilliard School alumni People from Eagle Point, Oregon Male actors from Oregon American television directors Film directors from Oregon