Matthew Porretta

Porretta was born in Darien, Connecticut, into a show-biz family: His father, Frank Porretta, was a famous tenor, opera singer and musical theater actor. His mother, Roberta Palmer Porretta, former Miss Ohio 1956, was a spinto soprano. She returned to school after raising their children and went on to an international opera career after graduating from the Juilliard School of Music.{{Cite web|url=https://lawrencefuneralhome.com/tribute/details/1332/Roberta-Porretta/obituary.html|title=Roberta Palmer Porretta Tribute|date=August 2007}}

By the age of 25, Matthew Porretta was already a veteran of Broadway and a student at the Manhattan School of Music. In 1990 he broke into television with recurring roles on shows like Wings and Beverly Hills, 90210. His first major movie role came in 1993 when he portrayed Will Scarlet O'Hara in Mel Brooks' spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights.{{cite web |last1=Pereira |first1=Chris |title=The Actor Behind Control's Dr. Darling Has A Very Surprising Past Movie Role |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-actor-behind-controls-dr-darling-has-a-very-su/1100-6469620/ |website=Gamespot |date=September 10, 2019}} Four years later, Porretta starred as Robin Hood in the first two seasons of The New Adventures of Robin Hood.{{cite book |last1=Knight |first1=Stephen |title=Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography |date=2003 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9780801438851 |page=173 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dPtpkU1WSbcC&pg=PA173}} Since 1997, he has been starring in independent movies, commercials and tv shows.

His debut role on stage was Marius Pontmercy during the national tour of Les Misérables, between 1989 and 1994. In 1994, he was part of the original Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim's Passion.{{cite magazine |last=Simon |first=John |date=May 23, 1994 |title=...Sondheim's Passion score is a glutinous mass—all the songs sound the same; this Grease-for-today is politically correct... |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MOQCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70 |magazine=New York Magazine |volume=27 |issue=21}} Despite not performing in the movie, filmed shortly after the Broadway Production ended,{{Cite web |title=Sondheim Guide / Passion |url=http://www.sondheimguide.com/passion.html#TV |access-date=May 31, 2024 |website=www.sondheimguide.com}} Porretta reprised his role as Count Ludovic for Passion - Original Broadway Cast Recording, Stephen Sondheim – Passion Label: Broadway Angel https://www.discogs.com/pt_BR/release/12671021-Stephen-Sondheim-Passion which won the Best Musical Theater Album at 37th Annual Grammy Awards.

Since 2010, Porretta has been doing the voice acting for the titular character of the psychological action thriller video game franchise Alan Wake by Remedy Entertainment. He returned in 2012 for Alan Wake's American Nightmare and in 2023 for Alan Wake II as well as for a DLC Chapter from Dead by Daylight, released in 2024. He also portrayed Dr. Casper Darling in Remedy's Control{{cite web |last1=Esteves |first1=Ricardo C. |title=Control: AWE |url=https://www.gamereactor.eu/control-awe/ |website=gamereactor.eu |date=September 4, 2020}} and Marco Graziani in Starfield.

Porretta has four siblings. The eldest, Frank Porretta III, is a successful opera singer. His other brother, Greg, has a diverse artistic background across multiple disciplines {{cite web | url=https://www.gregporretta.com/about | title=About }} and 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, he was involved in a bar fight in which a customer hit the actor with a beer mug after Porretta, intoxicated after a couple of drinks, walked in the man's direction and stumbled towards him. The attack not only resulted in cuts to his left eye and cheek but also a facial fracture and injuries to his spine and nasal septum. Porretta needed emergency surgery to save his left eye, and still has vision issues as a result of the attack.{{Cite web|url=https://casetext.com/case/porretta-v-chez-ernies-cafe/?q=Porretta%20v.%20Chez%20Ernie%27s%20Cafe&sort=relevance&p=1&type=case|title=Porretta v. Chez Ernie's Cafe|date=December 14, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Trial-date-set-for-Darien-actor-s-civil-suit-13129597.php|title=Trial date set for Darien actor's civil suit for bar fight|date=August 3, 2018}} In March 2017, Porretta filed a lawsuit against the bar owner and alleged attacker. The lawsuit moved forward in June 2019, and in 2023 the man accepted an offer from state prosecutors and pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. Under the state's offer, he received a jail sentence of five years, suspended after serving between six and 18 months. He is expected to receive up to five years of probation.{{cite news |last1=Kayata |first1=Erin |title=Former '90210,' 'Robin Hood' actor sues after bar assault |url=https://www.darientimes.com/news/article/Former-90210-Robin-Hood-actor-sues-11069322.php |work=The Darien Times |date=April 14, 2017}} {{Cite web|url=https://patch.com/connecticut/darien/lawsuit-moves-forward-assault-darien-bar-report|title=Lawsuit Moves Forward from Assault in Darien Bar: Report|date=August 4, 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/aikler-assault-darien-porretta-guilty-18112545.php#taboola-2|title=Norwalk man pleads guilty to assault on Darien-born Robin Hood Men in Tights actor in 2016|date=May 22, 2023}}

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Category:1965 births

Category:American male film actors

Category:Living people

Category:People from Darien, Connecticut

Category:Male actors from Connecticut

Category:American male video game actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:21st-century American male actors