Matt Whelan (born 1985) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

actor and comedian. Whelan is known for his roles as Brad Caulfield in the New Zealand television

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

programme ''

Go Girls Go, GO, G.O., or Go! may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games and sport * Go (game), a board game for two players * '' Travel Go'' (formerly ''Go – The International Travel Game''), a game based on world travel * Go, the starting position ...

''. He has also played

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

founder

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...

in the Amazon Original series '' American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story''. Whelan played

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domes ...

agent Van Ness in the third season of

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

original series ''

Narcos ''Narcos'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro. Set and filmed in Colombia, seasons 1 and 2 are about Colombian narcoterrorist and drug lord Pablo Escobar, leader ...

''.

Early life

Whelan was born to a primary school teacher mother and a high school teacher father. He was raised with his three siblings in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

on the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. He attended Lincoln High School.Matt Whelan on the ultimate actor’s choice
''The Press''. 22 September 2024 He took up an offer to study at Hagley Theatre Company, fostering a love for acting. He had originally intended to pursue a career in radio production. Whelan later graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, one of New Zealand's most prestigious drama schools located in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. Completing a Bachelor of

Performing Arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

in acting in 2007, immediately upon graduating he joined the cast of ''

Show of Hands Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/ folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley (guitars, mandolin, mandocello, cuatro) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, mandolin, mando ...

'', performing alongside

Melanie Lynskey Melanie Jayne Lynskey ( ; born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American accents, she works predominantly in independent films and television. She is the recipient of numerous ...

Career

In 2009, he landed a recurring role as Brad Caulfield in the first season of

TVNZ 2 TVNZ 2 () is the second New Zealand television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It targets a younger audience than its sister channel, TVNZ 1. TVNZ 2's line up consists of dramas, comedie ...

comedy-drama series, ''

''. He became a series regular from seasons 2-4. He won the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance at the 2010 New Zealand film and television awards. In 2011, he starred alongside

Michelle Ang Michelle Ang (born 17 October 1983) is a New Zealand actress, director and producer, working primarily in film and television. She has won various professional awards, including ''Best Actress'' at the New Zealand Film & Television Awards, whi ...

in '' My Wedding and Other Secrets'', a New Zealand romantic comedy film. In 2014, he starred as Zach, the male lead in a

Silo Theatre Silo Theatre is a theatre production company based in Auckland, New Zealand established in 1997. In 2024 Silo Theatre's director was Sophie Roberts. Silo Theatre has produced plays featuring many well-known New Zealand creative people includin ...

production of

Amy Herzog Amy Herzog is an American playwright. She is known for her poignant and character-driven plays that explore themes of family dynamics, personal relationships, and the complexities of human experience. She has received a Drama Desk Award as well a ...

's '' Belleville''. In April 2017, it was revealed Whelan would be playing the role as

founder,

, in the 2017 Amazon original

docu-series Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

, American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story. The ten-episode series, chronicles the Playboy founder's life, the rise of the magazine and unveils never-before-seen footage from his private archives. Whelan met with Hefner during the filming of the show. It was released just before Hefner's 91st birthday and was partly filmed in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. After featuring in larger acting roles and gaining popularity playing Hefner in 2017, Whelan landed a role in the third season of

original series, ''

''. Whelan played Daniel van Ness, a young

agent partnered with Chris Feistl (played by

Michael Stahl-David Michael Stahl-David (born October 28, 1982) is an American actor, known for his role as Sean Donnelly on the NBC drama series ''The Black Donnellys'' and his lead role as Robert "Rob" Hawkins in the J. J. Abrams-produced film ''Cloverfield''. Ea ...

), who go to

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

after the death of

Pablo Escobar Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed the "King of Cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthie ...

under the order of

Javier Peña Javier F. Peña (born 1958) is an American former Drug Enforcement Administration agent who investigated Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel. Peña worked as a consultant on the Netflix series '' Narcos''. Biography Peña was raised in H ...

(played by

Pedro Pascal José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal (; born April 2, 1975) is a Chilean and American actor. After nearly two decades of taking small roles on stage and television, Pascal had his breakthrough role, breakout role as Oberyn Martell in the Game of Thr ...

) in hopes of taking down the Cali Cartel. In 2020, he starred alongside Rachel Lefevre in the New Zealand-Canadian television mystery drama series, ''

The Sounds The Sounds are a Swedish indie rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1998, the group's musical style has been compared to new wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons. Their debut album, '' Living in America'', was ...

''. In the same year he appeared in ''

The Luminaries ''The Luminaries'' is a 2013 novel by Eleanor Catton. Set in New Zealand's South Island in 1866, the novel follows Walter Moody, a prospector who travels to the West Coast settlement of Hokitika to make his fortune on the goldfields. Instead ...

'', a miniseries based on the

Eleanor Catton Eleanor Catton (born 1985) is a New Zealand novelist and screenwriter. Born in Canada, Catton moved to New Zealand as a child and grew up in Christchurch. She completed a master's degree in creative writing at the International Institute of M ...

novel of the same name. In 2024, he began starring in '' A Remarkable Place to Die'' alongside

Rebecca Gibney Rebecca Catherine Gibney is a New Zealand actress known for her roles on Australian television in '' The Flying Doctors'', '' Halifax f.p.'', ''Packed to the Rafters'', ''Winter'' and '' Wanted''. She has also featured in a number of Australia ...

and

Chelsie Preston Crayford Chelsie Florence Preston Crayford (born 1987), sometimes credited as Chelsie Florence, is a New Zealand actress. Early life Preston Crayford was born in Wellington to film maker Gaylene Preston and musician Jonathan Crayford. Apart from appeari ...

. The Queenstown-set

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

series, is a co-production between

TVNZ Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...

and Australia's

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

. In the same year he starred in the Australian survival thriller film, ''

We Bury the Dead ''We Bury the Dead'' is a 2025 survival horror thriller film written and directed by Zak Hilditch. It stars Daisy Ridley, Mark Coles Smith, Brenton Thwaites and Matt Whelan. Premise Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley), a desperate woman, searches for ...

''. The

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

-set film premiered at the

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in movie theater, cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented wikt:Special:Search/biennial, biennially in March from 2 ...

in November 2024.Film Festival review: We Bury The Dead
''InDaily''. 4 November 2024

Personal life

He currently lives in

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

, in the west of

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards

* 2010 New Zealand film and television awards – Best Performance by a Supporting Actor –

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Matt Living people New Zealand male film actors New Zealand male television actors Toi Whakaari alumni People educated at Lincoln High School, New Zealand 1985 births Actors from Christchurch