Matt Battaglia

Matteo Martin "Matt" Battaglia (born September 25, 1965) is an American producer, actor and former football player.

Early life and family

Battaglia, one of four siblings, was born in Tallahassee, Florida and is of half Italian and half German/Dutch heritage. He has two older sisters, Mary Ann Pedersen and Theresa Nossett, and an older brother, Vince Battaglia, who served three tours in the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars.

When Battaglia was three years old, his family moved and he grew up in the towns of Tucker and Lithonia, both in suburban Atlanta. He attended Idlewood Elementary in Tucker, and Lithonia High School.

A high school athlete, Battaglia served as team captain for his school's wrestling and football teams. In wrestling, he placed second in the AAU's Southeastern States Championship, qualifying him to compete in the National AAU Tournament. But a football scholarship led him to the University of Louisville, where he became an All-American and All-South middle linebacker, leading the nation in tackles both his junior and senior seasons with 153 and 166 tackles respectively. He averaged 15 tackles per game in both his junior and senior seasons.

Battaglia also broke former All-Pro Otis Wilson's college tackling record. He was team captain his junior and senior year and was voted Most Valuable Player by his teammates and coaches. Battaglia went on to play in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles.

Three years later, his career ended abruptly after a broken bone was discovered in his neck. He returned to school, graduating from the University of Louisville with a degree in business and an emphasis in finance. In September 2006, he was named to the All-time University of Louisville team.

Acting and producing

Battaglia is an Emmy winning producer,^[1] has co-produced a two time Golden Globe nominated film and has been an actor in over 90 films, network pilots and television shows.

In 2011, he was an executive producer of Last Shot with Judge Gunn, which he sold straight into syndication with 130 episodes in season one. He won an Emmy in June 2012 as Executive Producer for its first season on the air. The show won an Emmy for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Drama.^[2]

Battaglia co-produced the two time Golden Globe-nominated film Brothers, starring Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal.^[3]

Battaglia sold 2 one hour dramas to Fox, in which the studio bought the rights to and financed the costs of the pilot script(s). The first one was Pyrates, in which he was partnered with Oscar winner Ridley Scott's production company Scott Free Productions and producer Tony To. Bad Monkeys received a pilot and script order by Fox Studios and the script was written by writer Jeff Eastin, best-known for creating White Collar. He co-produced on the 2009 horror film Kill Theory, directed by Chris Moore.^[2]

As a feature film actor in 2017, he wrapped a role in director Tom Shadyac's film Brian Banks with Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear portraying the role of legendary football coach Pete Carroll. He acted in the Marvel Comics Thor, Sony Pictures action thriller Half Past Dead with Steven Seagal. He replaced Jean-Claude Van Damme in the lead role of Luc Deveraux in the action movies Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms and Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business. He appeared in Army of One, Kiss of a Stranger, Pendulum and the direct-to-video film Raven.^[4]

In television, Battaglia is currently in 2017 filming a major recurring role on Netflix's new television series Best, Worst, Weekend Ever. In 2017, he filmed Twin Peaks with David Lynch, and Seal Team for CBS.^[4]

In 2016, he recurred in seven episodes of the Tyler Perry series, Too Close To Home, playing the United States President. Battaglia guest starred in Hawaii Five-O, Night Shift and Criminal Minds. He appeared on Friends as the fireman boyfriend of Phoebe (played by Lisa Kudrow).^[4]

Other notable guest appearances include The Mentalist, The Client List, Longmire in 2012, two episodes on 24, two episodes of HBO's Big Love, Shark, CSI: NY, Bones, Charmed, JAG, and Sabrina The Teenage Witch.^[4]

Personal life

Battaglia married Tina Frazier in 2006; the couple has two children.^[4]

Filmography and other appearances

References

External links

• Matt Battaglia on IMDb
• Official Website
• G.I. Film Festival