# Matthew Sunderland
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{{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](/source/Toi_Whakaari)
| occupation = Actor
}}
'''Matthew Sunderland''' (born c. 1972) is a [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand) actor, writer, and director. He performed the lead role of David Gray in the feature film [''Out of the Blue''](/source/Out_of_the_Blue_(2006_film)), based on the events of the [Aramoana Massacre](/source/Aramoana_Massacre).[{{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](/source/The_New_Zealand_Herald) |accessdate=10 February 2010}}] At the New Zealand Screen Awards in 2008 he won Best Actor Award for this role.[[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 }}]
== Education ==
Sunderland graduated from [Toi Whakaari](/source/Toi_Whakaari) in 1997.
== Career ==
Sunderland starred as Uncle Rory in Daniel Borgman's debut feature ''The Weight of Elephants''.[{{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}}] 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](/source/Cannes_Film_Festival) in 2006.
His other feature film roles include ''A Song of Good,''[[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 }}] ''Christmas,''[[http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/feature-project/pages/Christmas.php CHRISTMAS – Feature Film]] ''Stringer'' ''Woodenhead''[{{Cite web |title=woodenhead |url=https://woodenhead.co.nz/ |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=woodenhead.co.nz |language=en}}] ''[Existence](/source/Existence)'', and ''[The Devil's Rock](/source/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](/source/Kate_Grenville)’s Booker Prize-shortlisted ''[The Secret River](/source/The_Secret_River_(play))'' with the Sydney Theatre Company, which toured throughout Australia. He also appeared in ''[Shortland Street](/source/Shortland_Street)'' as White Dragon, in a storyline concluding the three-year [Kieran Mitchell](/source/Kieran_Mitchell) story arc.[{{Cite web |title=Matthew Sunderland |url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/people/17016 |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=www.nationaltheatre.org.uk}}]
In 2016, Sunderland played the role of a drunken man resisting alien abduction in the music video for "Bergschrund" by [DJ Shadow](/source/DJ_Shadow) and [Nils Frahm](/source/Nils_Frahm).
Sunderland played the chemist, Joseph Pritchard in the 2020 miniseries ''[The Luminaries](/source/The_Luminaries_(miniseries))''.[{{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](/source/The_New_Zealand_Herald) |language=en-NZ}}]
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1992
|[''Desperate Remedies''](/source/Desperate_Remedies_(film))
|Chorus #15
|
|-
|1992
|[''Absent Without Leave''](/source/Absent_Without_Leave_(film))
|Paul
|
|-
|2003
|''Christmas''
|Brett
|
|-
|2003
|''[Woodenhead](/source/Woodenhead)''
|Strong Man
|
|-
|2006
|[''Out of the Blue''](/source/Out_of_the_Blue_(2006_film))
|David Gray
|
|-
|2007
|''The Last Magic Show''
|Lemuel
|
|-
|2008
|''A Song of Good''
|Denis
|
|-
|2009
|''The Strength of Water''
|Hunter
|
|-
|2009
|[''Under the Mountain''](/source/Under_the_Mountain_(film))
|Wilberforce Drone 1
|
|-
|2010
|[''Tracker''](/source/Tracker_(2010_film))
|Posse Soldier Crowther
|
|-
|2011
|''[The Devil's Rock](/source/The_Devil's_Rock)''
|Colonel Klaus Meyer
|
|-
|2012
|''Existence''
|Rider
|
|-
|2013
|''The Weight of Elephants''
|Uncle Rory
|
|-
|2014
|[''The Little Death''](/source/The_Little_Death_(2014_film))
|Wiry Man
|
|-
|2015
|[''Backtrack''](/source/Backtrack_(film))
|Steve
|
|-
|2016
|[''The Lost City of Z''](/source/The_Lost_City_of_Z_(film))
|Dan
|
|-
|2017
|[''6 Days''](/source/6_Days_(2017_film))
|Tom Lovett
|
|-
|2018
|[''The Nightingale''](/source/The_Nightingale_(2018_film))
|Davey / Settler 2
|
|-
|2019
|''Savage''
|Dad
|
|-
|2020
|[''Bloody Hell''](/source/Bloody_Hell_(2020_film))
|Father
|
|-
|2022
|[''The Stranger''](/source/The_Stranger_(2022_film))
|Controller / Detective Sergeant Cross
|
|-
|2022
|[''Pearl''](/source/Pearl_(2022_film))
|Pearl's Father
|
|}
=== Television ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1996
|''[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys](/source/Hercules%3A_The_Legendary_Journeys)''
|Shepherd
|Episode: "Promises"
|-
|1999
|[''Duggan''](/source/Duggan_(TV_series))
|Private Ewen Daly
|Episode: "Last Resort"
|-
|2001
|''[Cleopatra 2525](/source/Cleopatra_2525)''
|Tox
|Episode: "In Your Boots"
|-
|2004
|''[Power Rangers Dino Thunder](/source/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.](/source/Power_Rangers_S.P.D.)''
|Green Eyes
|Episode: "Perspectives"
|-
|''Talent''
|Geoff
| rowspan="3" |Television film
|-
|2008
|[''Kiss Me Deadly''](/source/Kiss_Me_Deadly_(2008_film))
|Vigo
|-
|2009
|[''Piece of My Heart''](/source/Piece_of_My_Heart_(film))
|Sharp
|-
|2010
|''[This Is Not My Life](/source/This_Is_Not_My_Life)''
|The Cleaner
|2 episodes
|-
|2013
|''[Top of the Lake](/source/Top_of_the_Lake)''
|Voice of Choppy 1
|Episode: "Searchers Voice"
|-
|2013
|''Harry''
|Spud
|4 episodes
|-
|2016
|[''Rake''](/source/Rake_(Australian_TV_series))
|Phil
|Episode #4.5
|-
|2017
|[''Wanted''](/source/Wanted_(2016_Australian_TV_series))
|Bryce
|4 episodes
|-
|2020
|[''The Luminaries''](/source/The_Luminaries_(miniseries))
|Joseph Pritchard
|6 episodes
|-
|2024
|''[Plum](/source/Plum_(TV_series))''
|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}}
{{authority control}}
{{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)
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Matthew Sunderland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Sunderland) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Sunderland?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.