Matt Mercurio (he/him) is a proud son of immigrants and a theatrically trained, award-winning American actor. He is known for playing Miguel Cordosa in the World War II miniseries "The Liberator" (NETFLIX), Asher in the horror film "Hellfest" (LIONSGATE) and as the unpredictable Colby on the final two seasons of Tyler Perry's "The Have and the Have Nots" (OWN). Matt's other recent TV credits include recurring roles on hit shows such as "FBI: Most Wanted (CBS), "Black Lightning" (CW), "The Resident" (FOX), "MacGyver" (CBS) and over 50 appearances of episodic television on networks like ABC, CBS, AMC, FOX, USA, CW, STARZ, & HBO. On screen, Matt has had the honor of working alongside the likes of Tom Cruise, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Paul Rudd, Jennifer Garner & Joel Edgerton as well as Oscar Award winners like Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, Helen Mirren & Rami Malek. He's worked with such esteemed filmmakers like Ang Lee, Doug Liman and Paul Schrader. Matt is a national finalist of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship and recipient of the American College Theatre Festival's Marvin Sims Diversity Award in Acting.

​

A first-generation American and the son of two military parents, Matt spent most of his formative years in Jacksonville, Florida. Coming from a hard working immigrant family, meant a strong emphasis was placed on Matt's education and an unrelenting insistence from his parents to pursue a more traditional career path. Having spent a portion of his childhood aspiring to be a professional wrestler, and the rest of it dreaming to be an actor, Matt always possessed an inherent theatricality and the playful spirit required to chase his inevitable artistic ambitions. In middle school, his class-clown antics and knack for mischief made sure Matt was a consistent visitor of the school office for disciplinary action. Administrators urged Matt to focus his energy into something more creative and to enroll in drama classes. Excelling in acting from the get-go, film and theatre became the passions that would consume his pursuits and paint his dreams.

 

Matt first studied acting at Florida State College Jacksonville's Theatre Performance program on a full-time performance talent scholarship and was then later accepted to the BFA Acting program at the University of Florida's School of Theatre and Dance, where he was a recipient of the program's Friends of Theatre and Dance Scholarship. During his final year at UF, Matt was nominated for his second Irene Ryan Award and he competed on a regional level with the other nominees across the Southeast, winning the Marvin Sims Diversity in Acting Award. He went on to win the region and became a national finalist at the American College Theatre Festival, which is the theatre equivalent of the NCAA tournament. At Nationals, Matt was invited to spend a week in Washington, DC to attend workshops, learning from some of the best teachers & artistic directors in American Theatre. The festival culminated in a performance at the world-renowned Kennedy Center where Matt was awarded the Everett-Cushing Scholarship to become an Acting Apprentice and a company member at the Tony Award winning Williamstown Theatre Festival. It was there that he got a chance to pursue his first professional opportunities as an actor while being surrounded by some of the best theatre in the country. At Williamstown, he studied viewpoints, improv comedy with UCB and stand up comedy with multi-time, comedic album Grammy Award winner, Lewis Black.

​

Outside of acting - Matt has always had a fondness for filmmaking and is also a produced playwright. He loves going on adventures with his wife, exploring other cultures, discovering new places and ideas, spending quality time with people he's closest to and lounging with his whimsical cat. He is also an avid boxing, MMA and NBA fan, a loyal Florida Gator enthusiast and a news junky, as well as a pop culture nerd who remains resiliently passionate about the storytelling potential of well executed pro-wrestling. A life-long martial artist, Matt occasionally has delusions of pursuing a combat sports career. More often than not, he's prepping for an upcoming obstacle course race, reading a book that he'll finish at an unbearably slow pace or in the kitchen attempting to whip up a tasty dish. In between projects, Matt continues on-going study with Tony & Emmy Award nominee, Peter Frechette.