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 major episodic television across networks including ABC, CBS, AMC, NBC, FOX, USA, CW, STARZ, & HBO among others. On screen, Matt has had the honor of working alongside the likes of Tom Cruise, Will Ferrell, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Paul Rudd, Jennifer Garner & Joel Edgerton as well as Oscar Award winners like Reese Witherspoon, 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.

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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 sign up for drama as an elective. Excelling in acting from the get-go, film and theatre soon 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 & 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 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 Lewis Black.

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Outside of acting - Matt is a filmmaker and a produced playwright. He loves exploring other cultures, spending quality time with his loved ones and traveling the world with his wife. He is an avid boxing, MMA and NBA fan, as well as a pop culture nerd...passionate about the storytelling potential of a well executed pro wrestling storyline. A life-long martial artist (Seibukan Karate & freestyle wrestling), Matt now cross trains with a boxing emphasis - occasionally having delusions of pursuing a combat sports career along side his artistic aspirations. 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, experimenting in the kitchen or binge watching TV along side his remarkably intuitive cat. In between projects, Matt continues on-going study with Tony & Emmy Award nominee, acting coach Peter Frechette.