{{Short description|New Zealand actor}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Matthew Sunderland | image = Matt Sunderland.jpg | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1972}} | education = Toi Whakaari | occupation = Actor }}
'''Matthew Sunderland''' (born c. 1972) is a New Zealand actor, writer, and director. He performed the lead role of David Gray in the feature film ''Out of the Blue'', based on the events of the Aramoana Massacre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10404350|title=In the shoes of a killer|last=Scott|first=Kara|date=5 October 2006|work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=10 February 2010}}</ref> At the New Zealand Screen Awards in 2008 he won Best Actor Award for this role.<ref>[http://www.qantasfilmandtvawards.co.nz/index.asp?pageID=2145866164 Best Actor Award – 2008 Awards] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014025613/http://www.qantasfilmandtvawards.co.nz/index.asp?PageID=2145866164 |date=14 October 2008 }}</ref>
== Education == Sunderland graduated from Toi Whakaari in 1997.
== Career == Sunderland starred as Uncle Rory in Daniel Borgman's debut feature ''The Weight of Elephants''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rooney |first=David |date=10 February 2013 |title=The Weight of Elephants: Berlin Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/weight-elephants-berlin-review-420036/ |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> He was nominated for a Best Actor Award in the 2006 NZ Screen Awards for ''Nature's Way'', which screened In Competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006.
His other feature film roles include ''A Song of Good,''<ref>[http://www.asongofgood.com/ A SONG OF GOOD – Feature Film] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520124233/http://asongofgood.com/ |date=20 May 2013 }}</ref> ''Christmas,''<ref>[http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/feature-project/pages/Christmas.php CHRISTMAS – Feature Film]</ref> ''Stringer'' ''Woodenhead''<ref>{{Cite web |title=woodenhead |url=https://woodenhead.co.nz/ |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=woodenhead.co.nz |language=en}}</ref> ''Existence'', and ''The Devil's Rock''.
Sunderland made his directorial and screenwriting debut with the short film ''Tuffy'', which deals with estrangement between a father and son, in small town New Zealand.
In 2013, Sunderland played in the stage adaptation of Kate Grenville’s Booker Prize-shortlisted ''The Secret River'' with the Sydney Theatre Company, which toured throughout Australia. He also appeared in ''Shortland Street'' as White Dragon, in a storyline concluding the three-year Kieran Mitchell story arc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Matthew Sunderland |url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/people/17016 |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=www.nationaltheatre.org.uk}}</ref>
In 2016, Sunderland played the role of a drunken man resisting alien abduction in the music video for "Bergschrund" by DJ Shadow and Nils Frahm.
Sunderland played the chemist, Joseph Pritchard in the 2020 miniseries ''The Luminaries''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kiwi actor's star turn on the red carpet at Cannes |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/kiwi-actors-star-turn-on-the-red-carpet-at-cannes/C42VGWJWDICDAUZ7XG6UAF2XVE/ |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=The New Zealand Herald |language=en-NZ}}</ref>
== Filmography ==
=== Film === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1992 |''Desperate Remedies'' |Chorus #15 | |- |1992 |''Absent Without Leave'' |Paul | |- |2003 |''Christmas'' |Brett | |- |2003 |''Woodenhead'' |Strong Man | |- |2006 |''Out of the Blue'' |David Gray | |- |2007 |''The Last Magic Show'' |Lemuel | |- |2008 |''A Song of Good'' |Denis | |- |2009 |''The Strength of Water'' |Hunter | |- |2009 |''Under the Mountain'' |Wilberforce Drone 1 | |- |2010 |''Tracker'' |Posse Soldier Crowther | |- |2011 |''The Devil's Rock'' |Colonel Klaus Meyer | |- |2012 |''Existence'' |Rider | |- |2013 |''The Weight of Elephants'' |Uncle Rory | |- |2014 |''The Little Death'' |Wiry Man | |- |2015 |''Backtrack'' |Steve | |- |2016 |''The Lost City of Z'' |Dan | |- |2017 |''6 Days'' |Tom Lovett | |- |2018 |''The Nightingale'' |Davey / Settler 2 | |- |2019 |''Savage'' |Dad | |- |2020 |''Bloody Hell'' |Father | |- |2022 |''The Stranger'' |Controller / Detective Sergeant Cross | |- |2022 |''Pearl'' |Pearl's Father | |}
=== Television === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1996 |''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' |Shepherd |Episode: "Promises" |- |1999 |''Duggan'' |Private Ewen Daly |Episode: "Last Resort" |- |2001 |''Cleopatra 2525'' |Tox |Episode: "In Your Boots" |- |2004 |''Power Rangers Dino Thunder'' |Monster General #2 |Episode: "Lost & Found in Translation" |- | rowspan="3" |2005 |''Mataku'' |The Viper |Episode: "The Photo - Te Whakaahua" |- |''Power Rangers S.P.D.'' |Green Eyes |Episode: "Perspectives" |- |''Talent'' |Geoff | rowspan="3" |Television film |- |2008 |''Kiss Me Deadly'' |Vigo |- |2009 |''Piece of My Heart'' |Sharp |- |2010 |''This Is Not My Life'' |The Cleaner |2 episodes |- |2013 |''Top of the Lake'' |Voice of Choppy 1 |Episode: "Searchers Voice" |- |2013 |''Harry'' |Spud |4 episodes |- |2016 |''Rake'' |Phil |Episode #4.5 |- |2017 |''Wanted'' |Bryce |4 episodes |- |2020 |''The Luminaries'' |Joseph Pritchard |6 episodes |- |2024 |''Plum'' |Bukowski |4 episodes |}
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == *[http://www.johnsonlaird.com/actors/Matthew_Sunderland Johnson & Laird Agency Talent Profile] * {{IMDb name|0839146}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|id=10007516-out_of_the_blue|title=Out of the Blue}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunderland, Matthew}} Category:Living people Category:New Zealand male film actors Category:Toi Whakaari alumni Category:1970s births Category:Year of birth missing (living people)