Matthew Walker

Matthew Walker is a New Zealand–born Australian-trained actor and performer.

Early life Walker was born on 11 May 1982 in Hamilton, New Zealand.

Walker trained at the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Australia's leading drama school, boasting graduates such as Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette and Sam Worthington. He was accepted into NIDA in 2002, after auditioning alongside over 4,000 other people for the 20 places in the school's acting course. He graduated in 2004.

Walker also completed a business and arts degree at Victoria University of Wellington, majoring in marketing, and theatre and film.

Career

Television Walker played the leading role of Adam Martini in Danish / New Zealand co-production Straight Forward. Described as an 'international crime caper', the big budget 8-part series was filmed in Auckland, Queenstown and Copenhagen.

He appeared in the TVNZ drama Dirty Laundry as bad guy Nikki Rossini, and played a recurring character, Ford Hathaway, in the second season of TVNZ's Filthy Rich. He also played Vince Cully, a recurring character in the final season of Australian Channel 7 series 800 Words.

Walker is well known for his role as Justin Jefferies, the elder brother of Aden Jefferies in the popular Channel 7 soap Home and Away.

Other television credits include Rake, The Cut (for the ABC), and Legend of the Seeker (for Disney). Walker played Dr. Karl Vanderbeck in New Zealand's popular prime time drama series Shortland Street in 2020-2021.

Film Walker appeared in Chinese war epic The Children of Huang Shi alongside Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.

Stage Walker has appeared on-stage in Much Ado About Nothing at the Sydney Opera House with the Bell Shakespeare Company, in the world premiere of Colder with Griffin Theatre Company and in the Australasian premiere of Tracey Letts' Bug. He also played Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream by Mendelssohn with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2008 The Children of Huang Shi Andy Fischer Feature film 2009 Vinyl DJ Short film 2021 Love Knots William 'Will' Calvin TV film

Television Year Title Role Notes 1998 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Tiresius TV series, 1 episode 2002 Dark Knight Outlaw son TV series, 1 episode 2005-06 headLand Heath Forbes (main) TV series 2009 Legend of the Seeker Kieran TV series, 1 episode 2009 The Cut Nathan Bailey / Kerry Bailey (Identical twins) TV series, 2 episodes 2010 Rake Bill Hampton (Advisor) TV series, 2 episodes 2010 Home and Away Justin Jefferies (main) TV series 2016 Dirty Laundry Nikki Rossini TV series, 4 episodes 2017 Filthy Rich Ford Hathaway TV series, season 2, 4 episodes 2017-18 800 Words Vince Cully (recurring) TV series, final season 2019 Straight Forward Adam Martini TV series, 7 episodes 2020-21 Shortland Street Dr. Karl Vanderbeck (main) TV series

Directing Year Title Role Notes 2022 Small Waves Director Short film

Stage

Year Title Role Notes 2006 The Mediator East Village Hotel with The Judas Tree 2006 Romeo and Juliet Abraham / Benvolio Bell Shakespeare Company 2008 Colder David Norman World premiere at Stables Theatre with Griffin Theatre Company 2009 Sydney Ghosts Story Various characters Old Fitzroy Theatre 2009 A Midsummer Night's Dream Lysander & Francis Flute / Thisbe Sydney Theatre Company & Sydney Symphony Orchestra 2010 Bug Peter Evens Australasian premiere at SBW Stables Theatre with Griffin Theatre Company / Picture This Productions 2011 Othello Cassio Peach Theatre Company 2011 Much Ado About Nothing Don Pedro Sydney Opera House, The Playhouse Canberra, Playhouse, Melbourne with Bell Shakespeare Company