Matt Mcgrath
About
Biography
Biography
A darkly handsome stage and screen actor who is equally at home in drama, comedy or musicals, Matt McGrath began his career as a child performer and successfully negotiated the difficult transition to adult roles. The New York native started his career at age five when his piano teacher recommended him for the children's chorus of the New York City Opera. Over several seasons, McGrath appeared in such productions of "Madame Butterfly," "Faust" and "La Boheme" before landing his first role as a cabin boy in "Billy Budd." In 1979, he switched to musical comedy as the understudy for the role of John Darling in "Peter Pan," starring Sandy Duncan. When the national tour was launched, McGrath assumed the role.
McGrath made his film acting debut in a small role in "Ironweed" (1987) and then made his professional stage debut in the 1988 Off-Broadway play "Dalton's Back" at the Circle Repertory Company (CRC). He dropped out of college to concentrate on his burgeoning career which included a co-starring role in the CRC production "Amulets Against the Dragon Forces" (1989) and roles in the busted pilot "Appearances" (NBC, 1990) and "Pump Up the Volume" (1990).
McGrath earned praise for his 1991 stage turns as a troubled teen in "Life During Wartime" and an AIDS-stricken young man in "The Old Boy." He made his Broadway debut opposite Jessica Lange as the young collector who shares a scene with Blanche Du Bois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1992 and that same year offered a chilling performance as a drug addict accused of killing his stepfather in the based-on-fact NBC miniseries "Cruel Doubt." He rounded out the year with a supporting turn in Tim Robbins' political satire "Bob Roberts."
For the next several years, McGrath concentrated on stage work, winning notice co-starring with Samuel L Jackson and Mykelti Williamson in the West Coast premiere of "Distant Fires" in 1994. He made a sympathetic if creepy serial killer in Nicky Silver's black comedy "Living in Captivity" (1995) and was the authorial stand-in in Jon Robin Baitz's semi-autobiographical "A Fair Country" in 1996. McGrath resumed his film career with a supporting part in the film version of Baitz's play "The Substance of Fire" in 1996. The following year, he co-starred in the little-seen "Colin Fitz," playing the younger of two cops assigned to guard a rock star's grave. McGrath had the relatively brief role of Jarvis, the prospective bridegroom, in "The Member of the Wedding" (USA Network, 1997) and reprised his stage role in the gay-themed short "The Dadshuttle" (1997).
Stanley Tucci tapped the actor for the comic role of an Italian detective on board of ship of fools in the contemporary screwball comedy "The Impostors" (1998). McGrath shone as the supportive cousin of Hilary Swank's Brandon in the superior drama "Boys Don't Cry" (1999). He went on to single-handedly rescue the Off-Broadway hit "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" later that year when he replaced a miscast Ally Sheedy in the title role of the German transsexual rock singer. The show had already been earmarked to close but after McGrath earned raves (particularly from The New York Times), "Hedwig" remained opened for several more months. The actor went on to offer a fine turn as a gay graduate student with commitment issues in the ensemble film "The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy" (2000). His career also received a boost when he was tapped as a replacement as the Emcee in the hit revival of "Cabaret" in the fall of 2000. He was next seen on the big screen as the college chum of a novelist (played by co-writer and co-director Alan Cumming) in "The Anniversary Party" (2001).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1974
Stage debut in the chorus of a New York City Opera production of "Madame Butterfly"
1978
Broadway debut in the ill-fated musical "Working"; billed as Matthew McGrath
1979
Understudied the role of John Darling in the Broadway revival of "Peter Pan"
1987
Feature film debut, "Ironweed"
1988
Appeared in the Circle Rep production of "Dalton's Back"
1990
Featured in the teen-themed "Pump Up the Volume"
1991
Appeared as a young gay man who succumbs to AIDS in "The Old Boy"
1991
Offered a strong turn in the stage production of "Life During Wartime"
1992
Starred in the fact based NBC miniseries, "Cruel Doubt"
1992
Appeared in last film for four years, "Bob Roberts"
1992
Returned to Broadway as the young collector who encounters Blanche Du Bois in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
1994
Co-starred with Samuel L Jackson and in the West Coast production of "Distant Fires"
1995
Portrayed a serial killer in Nicky Silver's dark comedy "Raised in Captivity" at the South Coast Repertory Theatre
1996
Co-starred in Jon Robin Baitz's semi-autobiographical "A Fair Country"; co-starred with Judith Ivey and Dan Futterman
1996
Resumed film career with a supporting role in "The Substance of Fire"
1996
Was featured in the ensemble of the TNT original "Andersonville"
1997
Re-teamed with Futterman, playing the fastidious host of a millennial new year's eve party in "1999"
1997
Starred as the younger of a pair of cops guarding a rock star's grave in the festival-screened "Colin Fitz"
1997
Played Anna Paquin's older brother in the USA Network remake of "The Member of the Wedding"
1998
Portrayed an Italian detective in Stanley Tucci's "The Impostors"
1999
Offered a fine turn as Brandon's supportive cousin in the acclaimed "Boys Don't Cry"
1999
Received rave reviews in the title role of the transsexual rock singer in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
2000
Succeeded Michael Hall in the role of the Emcee in the hit revival of "Cabaret" (October)
2000
Played a gay graduate student with committment issues in "The Broken Hearts Club"
2001
Appeared briefly as an old college chum of Alan Cumming's novelist in "The Anniversary Party"
2006
Cast in the HBO original film, "The Notorious Bettie Page" starring Gretchen Mol as the 1950's pin-up model
2008
Starred in the indie comedy, "Full Grown Men"
