Matthew Sunderland
{{Short description|New Zealand actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Matthew Sunderland
| image = Matt Sunderland.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1972}}
| education = Toi Whakaari
| occupation = Actor
}}
Matthew Sunderland (born c. 1972) is a New Zealand actor, writer, and director. He performed the lead role of David Gray in the feature film Out of the Blue, based on the events of the Aramoana Massacre.{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10404350|title=In the shoes of a killer|last=Scott|first=Kara|date=5 October 2006|work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=10 February 2010}} At the New Zealand Screen Awards in 2008 he won Best Actor Award for this role.[http://www.qantasfilmandtvawards.co.nz/index.asp?pageID=2145866164 Best Actor Award – 2008 Awards] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014025613/http://www.qantasfilmandtvawards.co.nz/index.asp?PageID=2145866164 |date=14 October 2008 }}
Education
Sunderland graduated from Toi Whakaari in 1997.
Career
Sunderland starred as Uncle Rory in Daniel Borgman's debut feature The Weight of Elephants.{{Cite web |last=Rooney |first=David |date=10 February 2013 |title=The Weight of Elephants: Berlin Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/weight-elephants-berlin-review-420036/ |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} He was nominated for a Best Actor Award in the 2006 NZ Screen Awards for Nature's Way, which screened In Competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006.
His other feature film roles include A Song of Good,[http://www.asongofgood.com/ A SONG OF GOOD – Feature Film] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520124233/http://asongofgood.com/ |date=20 May 2013 }} Christmas,[http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/feature-project/pages/Christmas.php CHRISTMAS – Feature Film] Stringer Woodenhead{{Cite web |title=woodenhead |url=https://woodenhead.co.nz/ |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=woodenhead.co.nz |language=en}} Existence, and The Devil's Rock.
Sunderland made his directorial and screenwriting debut with the short film Tuffy, which deals with estrangement between a father and son, in small town New Zealand.
In 2013, Sunderland played in the stage adaptation of Kate Grenville’s Booker Prize-shortlisted The Secret River with the Sydney Theatre Company, which toured throughout Australia. He also appeared in Shortland Street as White Dragon, in a storyline concluding the three-year Kieran Mitchell story arc.{{Cite web |title=Matthew Sunderland |url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/people/17016 |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=www.nationaltheatre.org.uk}}
In 2016, Sunderland played the role of a drunken man resisting alien abduction in the music video for "Bergschrund" by DJ Shadow and Nils Frahm.
Sunderland played the chemist, Joseph Pritchard in the 2020 miniseries The Luminaries.{{Cite web |title=Kiwi actor's star turn on the red carpet at Cannes |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/kiwi-actors-star-turn-on-the-red-carpet-at-cannes/C42VGWJWDICDAUZ7XG6UAF2XVE/ |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=The New Zealand Herald |language=en-NZ}}
Filmography
= Film =
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 1992
|Chorus #15 | |
| 1992
|Paul | |
| 2003
|Christmas |Brett | |
| 2003
|Strong Man | |
| 2006
|David Gray | |
| 2007
|The Last Magic Show |Lemuel | |
| 2008
|A Song of Good |Denis | |
| 2009
|The Strength of Water |Hunter | |
| 2009
|Wilberforce Drone 1 | |
| 2010
|Posse Soldier Crowther | |
| 2011
|Colonel Klaus Meyer | |
| 2012
|Existence |Rider | |
| 2013
|The Weight of Elephants |Uncle Rory | |
| 2014
|Wiry Man | |
| 2015
|Steve | |
| 2016
|Dan | |
| 2017
|Tom Lovett | |
| 2018
|Davey / Settler 2 | |
| 2019
|Savage |Dad | |
| 2020
|Father | |
| 2022
|Controller / Detective Sergeant Cross | |
| 2022
|Pearl's Father | |
= Television =
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 1996
|Hercules: The Legendary Journeys |Shepherd |Episode: "Promises" |
| 1999
|Private Ewen Daly |Episode: "Last Resort" |
| 2001
|Tox |Episode: "In Your Boots" |
| 2004
|Monster General #2 |Episode: "Lost & Found in Translation" |
| rowspan="3" |2005
|Mataku |The Viper |Episode: "The Photo - Te Whakaahua" |
| Power Rangers S.P.D.
|Green Eyes |Episode: "Perspectives" |
| Talent
|Geoff | rowspan="3" |Television film |
| 2008
|Vigo |
| 2009
|Sharp |
| 2010
|The Cleaner |2 episodes |
| 2013
|Voice of Choppy 1 |Episode: "Searchers Voice" |
| 2013
|Harry |Spud |4 episodes |
| 2016
|Rake |Phil |Episode #4.5 |
| 2017
|Bryce |4 episodes |
| 2020
|Joseph Pritchard |6 episodes |
| 2024
|Plum |Bukowski |4 episodes |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.johnsonlaird.com/actors/Matthew_Sunderland Johnson & Laird Agency Talent Profile]
- {{IMDb name|0839146}}
- {{rotten-tomatoes|id=10007516-out_of_the_blue|title=Out of the Blue}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunderland, Matthew}}