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.[1] At the New Zealand Screen Awards in 2008 he won Best Actor Award for this role.[2]
Matthew Sunderland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1972 (age 51–52) |
| Education | Toi Whakaari |
| Occupation | Actor |
Education edit
Sunderland graduated from Toi Whakaari in 1997.
Career edit
Sunderland starred as Uncle Rory in Daniel Borgman's debut feature The Weight of Elephants.[3] 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,[4] Christmas,[5] Stringer Woodenhead[6] 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.[7]
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.[8]
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Desperate Remedies | Chorus #15 | |
| 1992 | Absent Without Leave | Paul | |
| 2003 | Christmas | Brett | |
| 2003 | Woodenhead | Strong Man | |
| 2006 | Out of the Blue | David Grey | |
| 2007 | The Last Magic Show | Lemuel | |
| 2008 | A Song of Good | Denis | |
| 2009 | The Strength of Water | Hunter | |
| 2009 | Under the Mountain | Wilberforce Drone 1 | |
| 2010 | Tracker | Posse Soldier Crowther | |
| 2011 | The Devil's Rock | Colonel Klaus Meyer | |
| 2012 | Existence | Rider | |
| 2013 | The Weight of Elephants | Uncle Rory | |
| 2014 | The Little Death | Wiry Man | |
| 2015 | Backtrack | Steve | |
| 2016 | The Lost City of Z | Dan | |
| 2017 | 6 Days | Tom Lovett | |
| 2018 | The Nightingale | Davey / Settler 2 | |
| 2019 | Savage | Dad | |
| 2020 | Bloody Hell | Father | |
| 2022 | The Stranger | Controller / Detective Sergeant Cross | |
| 2022 | Pearl | Pearl's Father |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Shepherd | Episode: "Promises" |
| 1999 | Duggan | Private Ewen Daly | Episode: "Last Resort" |
| 2001 | Cleopatra 2525 | Tox | Episode: "In Your Boots" |
| 2004 | Power Rangers Dino Thunder | Monster General #2 | Episode: "Lost & Found in Translation" |
| 2005 | Mataku | The Viper | Episode: "The Photo - Te Whakaahua" |
| 2005 | Power Rangers S.P.D. | Green Eyes | Episode: "Perspectives" |
| 2005 | Talent | Geoff | Television film |
| 2008 | Kiss Me Deadly | Vigo | |
| 2009 | Piece of My Heart | Sharp | |
| 2010 | This Is Not My Life | The Cleaner | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Top of the Lake | Voice of Choppy 1 | Episode: "Searchers Voice" |
| 2013 | Harry | Spud | 4 episodes |
| 2016 | Rake | Phil | Episode #4.5 |
| 2017 | Wanted | Bryce | 4 episodes |
| 2020 | The Luminaries | Joseph Pritchard | 6 episodes |
References edit
- ^ Scott, Kara (5 October 2006). "In the shoes of a killer". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
- ^ Best Actor Award – 2008 Awards Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rooney, David (10 February 2013). "The Weight of Elephants: Berlin Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ A SONG OF GOOD – Feature Film Archived 20 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ CHRISTMAS – Feature Film
- ^ "woodenhead". woodenhead.co.nz. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "Matthew Sunderland". www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "Kiwi actor's star turn on the red carpet at Cannes". NZ Herald. Retrieved 29 July 2022.