Matt Nable
{{Short description|Australian rugby league footballer, film maker & actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name = Matt Nable
|fullname = Matthew Nable
|nickname =
|image = Matthew Nable 2015.jpg
|imagesize =
|caption = Nable in 2015
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1972|03|08}}
|birth_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
|retired =
|height =
|weight =
|position = {{rlp|LK|SR}}
|club1 = Manly Sea Eagles
|year1start = 1991
|year1end = 92
|appearances1 = 5
|tries1 = 1
|goals1 = 0
|fieldgoals1 = 0
|points1 = 4
|club2 = South Sydney
|year2start = 1995
|year2end =
|appearances2 = 3
|tries2 = 0
|goals2 = 0
|fieldgoals2 = 0
|points2 = 0
|club3 = Carlisle
|year3start = 1996
|year3end =
|appearances3 = 16
|tries3 = 4
|goals3 = 0
|fieldgoals3 = 0
|points3 = 16
|club4 = London Broncos
|year4start = 1997
|year4end =
|appearances4 = 4
|tries4 = 1
|goals4 = 0
|fieldgoals4 = 0
|points4 = 4
|updated =
|source = [http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/matthew-nable/summary.html Rugby League Project]
| module = {{infobox person
| embed = yes
| father =
| mother =
| spouse =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| relatives = Adam Nable (brother)
}}
}}
Matthew Nable (born 8 March 1972) is an Australian film and television actor, writer, sports commentator and former professional rugby league player. After playing in the Winfield Cup Premiership during the 1990s for the Manly-Warringah and South Sydney clubs, he wrote and starred in the rugby league-centred drama The Final Winter in 2007.{{Cite news |last=Purcell |first=Charles |title=Final whistle |work=Sydney Morning Herald |place=Australia |publisher=Fairfax Media |date=6 September 2007 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/final-whistle/2007/09/05/1188783289309.html |access-date=2 October 2010}} Nable went on to act in films such as Killer Elite and Riddick. He appeared on Mr Inbetween, The CW's Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow as Ra's al Ghul.
Early life
Nable grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and also, as a young boy, spent two years at Portsea, Victoria, when his father, Dave, a soldier, was stationed there,{{Cite news |last=Mathieson |first=Craig |title=The field of broken dreams |work=Age |place=Australia |publisher=Fairfax |date=31 August 2007 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/the-field-of-broken-dreams/2007/08/30/1188067232617.html |access-date=2 October 2010}} and another period of his childhood in Albury. His father had also worked as a trainer for the Australian national rugby league team, and his brother, Adam Nable, would become a professional player as well.{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Joanna |title=Matt Nable on The Final Winter: The RT Interview |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Flixster, Inc. |date=14 February 2008 |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008893-the_final_winter/news/1709264/matt_nable_on_the_final_winter_the_rt_interview |access-date=2 October 2010}}{{Cite news |last=AMNRL |title=New York Knights star Adam Nable welcomes brother Matt and his hit rugby league movie The Final Winter for its US premiere in Manhattan on October 10 |work=American National Rugby League News |place=United States |publisher=Super League America, Inc. |year=2007 |url=http://www.amnrl.com/news/09252007thefinalwinter.html |access-date=2 October 2010}}
Rugby league career
Nable rose through the junior ranks at the Manly-Warringah club and made five appearances for the Graham Lowe-coached team over 1991 and 1992. Following this he didn't appear in the premiership until 1995 when he played three games for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
After another season in England where he played for Carlisle before moving to the London Broncos,{{Cite news|title=Club-by-club guide to the Super League|work=The Independent|place=UK|publisher=independent.co.uk|date=13 March 1997|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby-clubbyclub-guide-to-the-super-league-1272658.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby-clubbyclub-guide-to-the-super-league-1272658.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2 October 2010}} Nable quit football and then tried his hand at boxing, fighting for the state light-heavyweight title as an amateur.{{Cite news|last=Maddox|first=Garry|title=A league of his own|work=Sydney Morning Herald|place=Australia|publisher=Fairfax Media|date=1 September 2007|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/a-league-of-his-own/2007/08/30/1188067267819.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2|access-date=2 October 2010}} He then worked as a beer salesman and personal trainer,{{Cite news|last=Chester|first=Rodney|title = Hard yards for Final Winter|work=Courier-Mail|place=Australia|publisher=News Limited|date=6 September 2007|url=http://www.couriermail.com.au/entertainment/hard-yards-for-final-winter/story-e6freqex-1111114349118|access-date=2 October 2010}} but eventually decided to leave paid employment to become a writer.
Writing and acting career
File:Matt Nable (8284170126).jpg
After encouragement from his mentor, Booker Prize-winning novelist Thomas Keneally, Nable wrote a screenplay for The Final Winter based on his unpublished novel of the same name.{{Cite news|last=Sutherland|first=Claire|title=The Final Winter in a league of its own|work=Herald Sun|place=Australia|publisher=News Limited|date=6 September 2007|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/movies/the-human-league/story-e6frf9h6-1111114350001|access-date=2 October 2010}} With friends he also managed to raise $1.6m and they worked together to make the film which was released in 2007, and earned critical praise{{Cite magazine|last=Williams|first=Daniel|title=Footy for Thought|magazine=Time|publisher=Time Inc.|date=31 August 2007|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657920,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009110521/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657920,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 October 2010|access-date=2 October 2010}} but was a box office failure.{{Cite news|last=Maddox|first=Garry|author2=Kerry Coleman|title=Comeback of the day|work=Sydney Morning Herald|place=Australia|publisher=Fairfax Media|date=4 December 2007|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/12/03/1196530570364.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1|access-date=2 October 2010}}
Nable went on to act in the United States as a Los Angeles detective in the 2008 television movie S.I.S..{{Cite news|last=Shattuck|first=Kathryn|title=What's on Today|work=The New York Times|date=24 August 2008|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E5DA133CF937A1575BC0A96E9C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|access-date=2 October 2010}}
In 2009, his book We Don't Live Here Anymore was published,{{Cite web|author=Penguin Books|title=Matt Nable|work=Contributors|publisher=Penguin|year=2010|url=http://www.penguin.com.au/contributors/6157/matt-nable|access-date=8 June 2011}} in 2011 he published his second book Faces in the Clouds, which won critical praise.{{cite news|last=Flynn|first=Chris|title=Matt Nable's sibling story a class act|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/books/matt-nables-sibling-story-a-class-act/story-e6frg8nf-1226075625761|access-date=14 January 2014|newspaper=The Australian|date=18 June 2011}}
He worked as a writer on Channel 7's rugby league comedy programme, The Matty Johns Show.{{Cite news|last=Ritchie|first=Dean|title=Afternoon of hot dogs and heroes|work=Daily Telegraph|place=Australia|publisher=News Limited|date=5 July 2010|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/afternoon-of-hot-dogs-and-heroes/story-e6frfgbo-1225887790582|access-date=2 October 2010}}
Nable appeared in the main cast of critically acclaimed and award-winning SBS drama series, East West 101,{{Cite web|title=Matt Nable on writing and acting|work=Life Matters|publisher=Radio National|date=7 June 2011|url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2011/3233942.htm|access-date=8 June 2011}}{{Cite web|title=Matt Nable as Detective Neil Travis|work=East West 101|publisher=SBS|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/eastwest101/cast/detail/id/911|access-date=8 June 2011}} and in the 2011 action film Killer Elite alongside Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Yvonne Strahovski, Jason Statham, and Dominic Purcell.
Nable starred in the 2012 Australian drama series, Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms. The same year he was announced as a cast member of another Australian TV series, Underbelly: Badness. He also had a role in the film 33 Postcards.
He appeared in the 2013 sci-fi film Riddick alongside Vin Diesel.{{cite news|title=From running on rugby league fields to acting on the Hollywood big screen|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/from-running-on-rugby-league-fields-to-acting-on-the-hollywood-big-screen/story-e6frf3ou-1226780413830|access-date=11 December 2013|newspaper=Fox Sports|date=11 December 2013}}
In March 2014, it was reported that Nable would appear in the Nine Network's upcoming miniseries Gallipoli.{{cite news|title=Rising star Kodi Smit-McPhee set to headline epic Gallipoli TV drama|url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/rising-star-kodi-smitmcphee-set-to-headline-epic-gallipoli-tv-drama/story-e6frfmyi-1226843736960|access-date=4 March 2014|newspaper=news.com.au|date=3 March 2014}}
On 4 September 2014, Stephen Amell announced on Facebook that Nable would portray the role of Ra's al Ghul on the third season of Arrow.{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/arrow-ras-al-ghul-is-726121 |last=Ng |first=Philiana |title='Arrow' Finds Its Ra's al Ghul |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=September 4, 2014 |access-date=August 10, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601120721/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/arrow-ras-al-ghul-is-726121 |archive-date=June 1, 2016}} Despite Liam Neeson (Ra's al Ghul in The Dark Knight Trilogy) expressing an interest in reprising his role for the television series' third season and the CW Network reaching out to him, he was unavailable{{cite web|title=Liam Neeson Actually WAS Offered the Role of Ra's Al Ghul for Arrow|url=http://moviepilot.com/posts/2014/10/11/liam-neeson-actually-was-offered-the-role-of-ra-s-al-ghul-for-arrow-2336204?lt_source=external,manual|date=11 October 2014|publisher=Movie Pilot|access-date=12 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518091729/http://moviepilot.com/posts/2014/10/11/liam-neeson-actually-was-offered-the-role-of-ra-s-al-ghul-for-arrow-2336204?lt_source=external,manual|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=dead}} and Nable was cast as Ra's instead. IGN's Jesse Scheeden said he brought "charisma and danger to the part".{{cite web|title=Arrow: "The Climb" Review|url=http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/12/11/arrow-the-climb-review|date=10 December 2014|publisher=IGN}} Nable portrayed the character in ten episodes of the third season. He reprised his role in a first season episode of Legends of Tomorrow.{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/recap/dcs-legends-of-tomorrow-season-1-episode-9|title='Legends of Tomorrow' recap: Too little, two years too late|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2016-04-01}}
In October 2019, Nable starred in the opening cinematic of the 2019 Bathurst 1000, broadcast on Fox Sports Australia.{{Citation|title=Bathurst, home to the most adored mountain of them all {{!}} Supercars| date=10 October 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaWbH53tK7Q|language=en|access-date=2021-05-30}} Nable has since featured in numerous Fox Sports cinematics, promotions and advertisements, primarily for their Rugby League division, Fox League.
From 2018 to 2021 he had a recurring role in the Australian black-comedy crime drama Mr Inbetween.
On 19 November 2024, Nable was named as part of an extended cast for Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar.{{Cite web |author=Staff Writer |date=19 November 2024 |title=Apple Cider Vinegar cast plot photos |url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/apple-cider-vinegar-series |access-date=23 November 2024 |website=Netflix.com}}
Filmography
File:Matthew Nable.jpg Australian premiere]]
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"|Notes |
|---|
| 2007
| {{sortname|The|Final Winter}} | Mick 'Grub' Henderson | Also writer |
| rowspan="2"|2011
| Tommy | As Matthew Nable |
| Killer Elite
| Pennock | |
| 2012
| K-11 | Villalobos | As Matthew Nable |
| rowspan="3"|2013
| Jack Wood | |
| {{sortname|The|Turning|The Turning (2013 film)}}
| Max | |
| Riddick
| Colonel R. 'Boss' Johns | |
| rowspan="2"|2014
| Fell | Thomas | |
| Son of a Gun
| Sterlo | |
| rowspan="2"|2016
| Lieutenant Colonel Cooney | |
| Incarnate
| Dan Sparrow | |
| rowspan="2"|2017
| Sergeant | |
| 1%
| President Knuck | Also writer |
| 2019
| Male Interviewer | |
| 2021
| The Dry | Grant Dow | |
| 2022
| Billy | |
| 2023
| Transfusion | Johnny | Also writer and director |
| align="left" style="background:#FFFFCC;" |TBA{{dagger|alt=Films that have not yet been released}}
| In Cold Light | The Inspector | Post-production |
| align="left" style="background:#FFFFCC;" |TBA{{dagger|alt=Films that have not yet been released}}
| That's Not a Knife | Himself | Documentary; post-production |
| class="wikitable"
|+Key | style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Films that have not yet been released}} |Denotes films that have not yet been released |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"|Notes |
|---|
| 2008
| S.I.S. | Melville Atkinson | Television film |
| 2011
| Detective Neil Travis | Main cast (season 3) |
| rowspan="2"|2012
| Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms | Main cast |
| Underbelly: Badness
| Detective Sergeant Gary Jubelin | Main cast |
| 2014–2015
| Arrow | Recurring role (season 3) |
| rowspan="2"|2015
| Winter | Federal Agent Jake Harris | Main cast |
| Gallipoli
| Sergeant Harry Perceval |
| rowspan="4"|2016
| Ra's al Ghul | Episode: "Left Behind" |
| Barracuda
| Frank Torma | Miniseries |
| Quarry
| Thurston | 2 episodes |
| Hyde & Seek
| Detective Sergeant Gary Hyde | Main cast |
| 2017
| Detective Mark Standen | Miniseries |
| 2018
| Matt O'Reilly | Miniseries |
| 2018–2021
| Dave | Recurring role |
| 2020
| Jack McGregor | Main cast |
| 2022
| Nathan Spears | Main cast |
| rowspan="2"|2023
| "Big Tony" Stone | Main cast |
| Year Of
| Alan Prichard | 10 episodes |
| 2023–present
| Thaddeus | TV series |
| 2024
| Plum | Dave | 5 episodes |
| 2025
|Joe |6 episodes |
Bibliography
{{Incomplete list|date=January 2019}}
=Books=
- We Don't Live Here Anymore (2009)
- Faces in the Clouds (2011)
- Guilt (2015)
- Still (2021)
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{IMDb name||Matt Nable}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110317012357/http://www.yesterdayshero.com.au/PlayerProfile_Matt-Nable_6076.aspx Matt Nable] at yesterdayshero.com.au
{{navboxes
|title=Awards for Matthew Nable
|list1=
{{EquityAward TVDramaCast 2010-2019}}
{{EquityAward TVMiniSeriesTeleMovieCast}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nable, Matthew}}
Category:21st-century Australian male actors
Category:21st-century Australian novelists
Category:21st-century Australian screenwriters
Category:Australian Book Review people
Category:Australian children's writers
Category:Australian expatriate rugby league players in England
Category:Australian filmmakers
Category:Australian male film actors
Category:Australian male television actors
Category:Australian rugby league players
Category:Australian screenwriters
Category:Carlisle RLFC players
Category:London Broncos players
Category:Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players
Category:Rugby league players from Sydney
Category:South Sydney Rabbitohs players