Matthew Knowles (born 1985), known professionally as Matt William Knowles or Ma Tai (), is an American actor known for his work in multiple Chinese films and television series such as ''

Asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

'', '' Love Me If You Dare'', '' Deng Xiao Ping at History's Crossroad'', '' Red Sorghum'', ''Eastern Battlefield'' and ''Red Star Over China''. Knowles plays the character of 'Rawa', a rebellious Demi-god, in the mythological fantasy, ''

''. He also stars as 'Jet' in the action-thriller ''Bond of Justice''. In 2018, he was awarded best actor at the

Canada China International Film Festival The Canada China International Film Festival (CCIFF) (, ) is an annual film festival held primarily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The film festival is hosted by Canada China Art-Tech (CCAT), a non-profit organization, and is coordinated by . CCIF ...

Montreal, Canada Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the ninth-largest in North America. It was founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", and is now named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

for his role as Charles Harris in ''Poppies''.

Career

Knowles' entertainment career began when he was discovered singing Mandarin love songs in a Chinese karaoke hall and signed with a

Chengdu, China Chengdu; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; previously romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a population of 20,937,757 at the 2020 census, it is the fourth most popu ...

agency. Shortly afterwards, he had a small role as a Viking Warrior in the 2013 film ''

Vikingdom Vikingdom is an English-speaking fantasy action film directed by Yusry Abdul Halim, produced by Shireen M. Hashim, written by Abdul Halim, and starring Dominic Purcell, Conan Stevens, Craig Fairbrass, Natassia Malthe, and Jon Foo. The film wa ...

''. In 2014, after graduating from

Beijing Film Academy Beijing Film Academy (BFA; zh, first=s, s=北京电影学院, labels=no) is a municipal public college in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the City of Beijing and co-funded by the Beijing Municipal People's Government, the National Radio ...

, Knowles guest starred on two Chinese shows, '' Red Sorghum'' and '' Deng Xiao Ping at History's Crossroads''. Knowles hosted the 2014

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

virtual simulcast for

Youku Youku Tudou Inc. (formerly Youku Inc.), doing business as Youku (), is a video streaming service and former video sharing website based in Beijing, China. It operates as a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited. Youku has its headquart ...

to China. In 2015, Knowles was seen in the recurring role of Dr. Barnes on

Shanghai Media Group Radio and Television Station of Shanghai (RTS), a Shanghai-based state media outlet, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Media Group (SMG), represent one of the largest state-owned media conglomerates of the People's Republic of China, wi ...

's drama '' Love Me If You Dare'' as well as the American pilot,

Paul Tibbets Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. (23 February 1915 – 1 November 2007) was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He is best known as the aircraft captain who flew the B-29 Superfortress known as the '' Enola Gay'' (named after his moth ...

in ''Eastern Battlefield''. In 2016, he portrayed American Marine Corps General

Evans Carlson Evans Fordyce Carlson (February 26, 1896 – May 27, 1947) was a decorated and retired United States Marine Corps general officer who was the leader of " Carlson's Raiders" during World War II. Many credit Carlson with developing the tactics and ...

on CCTV's period military drama ''

Red Star Over China ''Red Star Over China'' is a 1937 book by Edgar Snow based on his visit on the eve of the Second Sino-Japanese War to areas controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), when it was largely obscure to Westerners. The book made an impact on ...

''. He starred as the mythical Demi-god, Rawa, next to Chinese star

Leo Wu Wu Lei (, born December 26, 1999), also known as Leo Wu, is a Chinese actor. He started appearing in commercials at the age of three. In 2007, he made his acting debut as Nezha in the series ''The Legend and the Hero''. He is known for his sup ...

in ''

'', a fantasy adventure film that was directed by Peng Zhang. Knowles also stars as the Japanese Yakuza mafia assassin, Jet, in ''Bond of Justice: Kizuna'' and as Charles Harris in a short film titled ''Poppies''.

Filmography

Charity work

In 2009, Knowles moved to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

's impoverished

Guizhou Province ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

to do service work. Knowles lived in the town of

Duyun Duyun () is the capital city of Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou province, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding ...

where he taught English to over 1,500 students each week. During the weekends, he would run humanitarian projects in the surrounding mountains. Knowles is a supporter of autism awareness internationally through his support of

Autism Speaks Autism Speaks Inc. is an American non-profit autism awareness organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governm ...

, Autism Guardian Angels, and the

Lions Club International Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo) in more than 200 geographic ...

China. In December 2017, Matt returned to his childhood elementary school to give a motivational speech. In June 2018, Knowles became the 40th rotating mayor of Danzhai Wanda Village in Guizhou, China as part of their poverty alleviation program. In Danzhai, rotating mayors are chosen from a diverse field of non-political foreign applicants.

Personal life

Knowles grew up in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

where he attended Sara Collins Elementary School. In 9th grade, he was cut from the C-team football team at J.L. Mann High School. In 2007, Knowles walked on to the

Clemson Tigers Football The Clemson Tigers football program are the American football team at Clemson University. The Tigers compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) of the Atlantic Coast Con ...

team where he received the Most Improved Defensive Walk-on Award before a knee injury ended his football career. In 2008, Knowles graduated from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

with a degree in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

, and then moved to a poor region in China for humanitarian work. It was here that Knowles learned to speak fluent

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

. In 2013, Knowles earned a scholarship to the

, in which he became the school's first Caucasian student. In 2018, he graduated with a Master of Arts from the Theatre Lab program at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Matt William 1985 births Living people 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American expatriate male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art American male television actors American expatriate actors in China Beijing Film Academy alumni Clemson University alumni American football defensive ends Clemson Tigers football players Male actors from South Carolina People from Greenville, South Carolina