Matthew John Armstrong (born August 28, 1973) 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. ...

. He is known for roles in ''Turks'' (1999), ''The Profile'' (2010) and ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

'' (2006).

Early life

Armstrong attended

Naperville Central High School Naperville Central High School (Naperville Central or NCHS) is a four-year state school, public high school located in Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. The school, which enrolls students in grades nine through twelve, is a par ...

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

, where he played football and was the two-time Defensive Player of the Year in the DuPage Valley Conference. Armstrong was listed as Linebacker on the 1990 Tribune All-State football team. On May 4, 2012, he was recognized as a notable Naperville Central Alumni.

Career

Armstrong appeared in 1999 on the short-lived police drama ''Turks''. He had a recurring role on ''

American Dreams ''American Dreams'' is an American drama television series that ran on NBC for three seasons and 61 episodes, from September 29, 2002, to March 30, 2005. The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia during the mid-1960s, with m ...

'' from 2002 to 2005. He portrayed an

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

patient in an episode of ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'' in 2005. From 2006 to 2007, he appeared on the television series ''

'' as Ted Sprague. In 2011, he portrayed a phoenix in an episode of ''

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

''. In 2012, he appeared in the second season of ''

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 ...

''.

Cavemen mixup

Armstrong reportedly has been mistaken for one of the actors who portray

cavemen The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as "simian" or "ape-like" by Marcellin Boul ...

in a popular series of commercials for the

automobile insurance Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury ...

provider

GEICO The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is an American vehicle insurance company headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO provides motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, snowmobile, travel, pet, event, hom ...

, due to his hairstyle and facial hair resembling the makeup used for the caveman characters. Armstrong noted this misconception in an interview with ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' stating, "For the record, I am not the GEICO caveman."

Personal life

He is married to actress Ashley Crow. He has one son, professional baseball player Pete Crow-Armstrong.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Matthew John 1973 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Chicago 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Naperville, Illinois