Matt Letscher

Matt Letscher is an American actor, director, and playwright, known for his roles as Captain Harrison Love in The Mask of Zorro and Colonel Adelbert Ames in Gods and Generals. He co-starred in 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. He was also Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash in The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.

Early life and education Letscher was born on June 26, 1970, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He attended college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and a drama major.

Career Acting Letscher got his first professional acting job with a role in The Tropic Pickle, during the second season of Jeff Daniels' Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea, Michigan. Letscher impressed Daniels enough that the veteran arranged a meeting for Letscher with Ron Maxwell, the director of Gettysburg. After appearing in a small role, Letscher took advice from Daniels and moved to Los Angeles. He quickly found work in guest roles on television. Despite the series receiving negative reviews, Letscher and Constance Zimmer were standouts in the series and eventually paired up as a combative couple. But the show was canceled midway though its second season due to low ratings.

His performance in Good Morning, Miami led to him being cast in the lead in the film Straight-Jacket, opposite Carrie Preston, about a gay Hollywood actor forced to marry a beard in the 1950s. His flair for classical farce also led to him being cast in the leading role of Capt. Jack Absolute in the Lincoln Center theater production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals. Letscher was praised for his spirited performance and his costar Robert Easton referred to Letscher as "a perfect classical actor." The show ran for two seasons from 2013 until 2014. He appeared in the 2013 films, Atom Egoyan's Devil's Knot (about The West Memphis Three) and Spike Jonze's comedy Her, opposite Amy Adams. Letscher portrayed Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash, initially in a recurring role on The Flash and later as a regular in season two of Legends of Tomorrow, and reprised the role in two episodes of its seventh season.

Writing In June 2007, Jeff Daniels' Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea, Michigan, staged the world premiere of Letscher's original play Sea of Fools, a farce set in Joseph McCarthy-era Hollywood. Film director Elia Kazan is a character in the play. Daniels initially planned to direct the play but pulled out, allowing Letscher to also direct the play.

In 2009, his play Gaps in the Fossil Record was staged at the Pacific Resident Theater, then had its world premiere production at the Purple Rose Theatre in 2016.

In 2010, he co-wrote (with Nipper Knapp and Andrew Newberg) and starred in the comedy pilot Gentrification, which won best writing at the Comedy Central New York Television Festival.

Personal life Letscher has a wife, Jennifer, and two children.

Filmography Film

Television

Web series Year Title Role Notes 2009 The Hustler Dad Episode: "Piñata Hustler" 2014–2016 One & Done Matthew Main role; Also co-creator, writer, director, and producer

Video games Year Title Role Note 2010 BioShock 2 Additional voices Minerva's Den DLC

Theater Actor Year Play Role Theater/Company 1992 The Tropical Pickle BirminghamPurple Rose Theatre (regional) 1993 The Seagull Fountain Theater (regional) 1995 The Sisters David Turzin 1997–1998 Proposals Ray Broadhurst Theater (Broadway) 1999 Absolution David Los Angeles Court Theater (regional)2000 Love's Labour's Lost BerowneOld Globe Theater (regional) Tonight at 8.30 Toby CartwrightPacific Resident Theater (regional) 2001 Rain Dance HankPurple Rose Theatre (regional) 2002 On Approval GeorgePacific Resident Theatre (regional) 2004–2005 The Rivals Captain Jack AbsoluteLincoln Center (Broadway)2006 Double Double Duncan Williamson Theater Festival (regional) Ridiculous Fraud Kap South Coast Repertory (regional) 2007 Anatol AnatolPacific Resident Theatre (regional), Los Angeles Drama Desk Award - Lead Performance 2008 What We Have JonasSouth Coast Repertory (regional)2010 In a Garden Hacket The Language Archive GeorgeRoundabout Theater Company (Off-Broadway)

Playwright