Matthew Porretta

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Matthew Porretta
Born
Matthew Charles Porretta

(1965-05-29) May 29, 1965 (age 58)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Spouse
Gleice
(m. 2012⁠–⁠2014)
Children2

Matthew Charles Porretta (born May 29, 1965) is an American television-, voice-, and film-actor, known for his appearances in Wings, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He has also appeared on Broadway and in video games, where he is known for his voice role for the titular character in Alan Wake and its sequel, Alan Wake II, and as Dr. Darling in Control.

Life and career[edit]

Porretta was born in Darien, Connecticut, into a show-biz family: His father, Frank Porretta, was a famous opera-singer and musical-theater actor. His mother, Roberta, is also a trained singer and was Miss Ohio 1956.

By the age of 25, Porretta was already a veteran of Broadway and a student at the Manhattan School of Music. In 1990 Porretta broke into television with recurring roles on shows like Wings and Beverly Hills, 90210. In 1993 he was given his first major movie role, as Will Scarlet O'Hara in Mel Brooks' spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights.[1] Porretta starred as Robin Hood in his own TV series four years later.[2] Since 1997 he has starred in many independent movies and been featured in commercials for McDonald's and Arrowhead Water. In 1994 he appeared in the original Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim's Passion.[3]

In 2010, Porretta portrayed the titular character of the psychological action thriller video game Alan Wake by Remedy Entertainment. He also portrayed Dr. Casper Darling in Remedy's Control.[4]

Personal life[edit]

Porretta has four siblings. The eldest, Frank Porretta III, is a successful opera singer. His other brother, Greg, has guest-starred with Matthew on television. His sisters, Anna and Roberta, are also in the entertainment industry; Anna was a writer for Talk Soup.

Porretta has two sons with ex-wife Gleice; Luigi (born May 22, 2001) and Enzo (born April 13, 2008). The children were born while Porretta and Gleice were in a relationship. The couple eventually married in 2012 and divorced in 2014. Porretta is still living in Darien with his sons.

In December 2016, Porretta was involved in a bar fight in which an assailant hit Porretta with a beer mug causing severe injuries, scars on the left side of his face and partial loss of vision on his left eye. In March 2017, Porretta filed a lawsuit against the bar owner and alleged attacker. The lawsuit moved forward in June 2019, with the outcome still unknown.[5][6]

Filmography[edit]

Television[edit]

Year Project Role Notes
1993 Beverly Hills, 90210 Dan Rubin 10 episodes
1993 Class of '96 Claude Episode: "Breaking up Is Hard to Overdue"
1993 South Beach Richard Episode: "Wild Thing"
1996 Wings David Barnes Episode: "Love at First Flight"
1996–1998 The New Adventures of Robin Hood Robin Hood 23 episodes
2000 Code Name: Eternity Leethan Episode: "Death Trap"
2004 Without a Trace Oscar Episode: "Doppelgänger"
2005 CSI: NY Ron Bogda Episode: "Hush"
2010 Imagination Movers Stanley Spillburger Episode: "Seeing Stars"
2010 Bright Falls Alan Wake Episode: "Clearcut"
2015 Deadbeat Crosby / Matthew Biscotti 5 episodes
2019 The Blacklist Schmock Episode: "General Shiro"

Film[edit]

Year Project Role Notes
1993 Robin Hood: Men in Tights Will Scarlet O'Hara
1995 Dracula: Dead and Loving It Handsome Lieutenant at Ball
1999 Desperate But Not Serious Gene
1999 Kate's Addiction Dylan Parker
1999 Turkey. Cake. Jimmy
2003 Dream Warrior Caleb

Video games[edit]

Year Project Role Notes
2010 Alan Wake Alan Wake (voice)
2012 Alan Wake's American Nightmare Alan Wake, Mr. Scratch (voice)
2013 Grand Theft Auto V The local population
2013 The Bureau: XCOM Declassified Additional voices
2016 Quantum Break Alan Wake (voice)
2019 Red Dead Online The local pedestrian population
2019 Control Dr. Casper Darling (live acting and voice), Alan Wake (voice)
2023 Starfield Marco Graziani / Mooch (voice)
Alan Wake II Alan Wake, Scratch (voice), Dr. Casper Darling (live acting and voice)
2024 Dead by Daylight Alan Wake [7]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2013 NAVGTR Awards Lead Performance in a Drama (Alan Wake) Alan Wake's American Nightmare Nominated [8]
Supporting Performance in a Drama (Mr. Scratch) Nominated
2019 The Game Awards Best Performance (Dr. Casper Darling) Control Nominated [9]
2023 Golden Joystick Awards Best Lead Performer (Alan Wake) Alan Wake 2 Nominated [10]
2024 British Academy Games Awards Performer in a Leading Role Longlisted [11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Pereira, Chris (September 10, 2019). "The Actor Behind Control's Dr. Darling Has A Very Surprising Past Movie Role". Gamespot.
  2. ^ Knight, Stephen (2003). Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography. Cornell University Press. p. 173. ISBN 9780801438851.
  3. ^ Simon, John (May 23, 1994). "...Sondheim's Passion score is a glutinous mass—all the songs sound the same; this Grease-for-today is politically correct..." New York Magazine. Vol. 27, no. 21.
  4. ^ Esteves, Ricardo C. (September 4, 2020). "Control: AWE". gamereactor.eu.
  5. ^ "Lawsuit Moves Forward from Assault in Darien Bar: Report". 4 August 2018.
  6. ^ Kayata, Erin (April 14, 2017). "Former '90210,' 'Robin Hood' actor sues after bar assault". The Darien Times.
  7. ^ Wilson, Mike (January 17, 2024). "New 'Dead by Daylight' Trailer Spotlights Upcoming 'Alan Wake' Chapter and Perks [Watch]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  8. ^ "Journey wins Game of the Year". NAVGTR Awards. March 24, 2013. Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  9. ^ Spangler, Todd (November 19, 2019). "The Game Awards 2019 Nominees: 'Death Stranding,' 'Control' Lead the Field (Full List)". Variety. Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  10. ^ Loveridge, Sam (November 10, 2023). "Here are all the Golden Joystick Awards 2023 winners". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  11. ^ "The 60 Best Video Games of 2023". BAFTA. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.

External links[edit]