{{Short description|Actor and former American football player (born 1969)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2013}} {{Infobox person | name = Matt Willig | birth_name = Matthew Joseph Willig | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|1|21}} | birth_place = La Mirada, California, U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|American football player}} | years_active = {{Plainlist| * 1993–2005 (American Football) * 2006–present (acting)}} | children = 2 | module = {{Infobox NFL biography | embed = yes | number = 77, 71, 76 | status = | position = Offensive tackle | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 8 | weight_lb = 315 | high_school = St. Paul (CA) | college = USC | undraftedyear = 1992 | pastteams = * New York Jets ({{NFL Year|1992|1995}}) * Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|1996|1997}}) * Green Bay Packers ({{NFL Year|1998}}) * Cleveland Browns (1999)* * St. Louis Rams ({{NFL Year|1999}}) * San Francisco 49ers ({{NFL Year|2000|2002}}) * Carolina Panthers ({{NFL Year|2003|2004}}) * St. Louis Rams ({{NFL Year|2005}}) | highlights = * Super Bowl champion (XXXIV) | statlabel1 = Games played | statvalue1 = 153 | statlabel2 = Games started | statvalue2 = 43 | statlabel3 = Fumble recoveries | statvalue3 = 3 | pfr = WillMa27 }} }}
'''Matthew Joseph Willig''' (born January 21, 1969) is an American actor and former professional football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL).
==Early life== Willig was born in La Mirada, California. He played football and basketball at St. Paul High School (Santa Fe Springs, California). He is of German and Lebanese descent. He played college football at the University of Southern California as a member of the 1989 Rose Bowl winning team. He was a public administration major.{{fact|date=May 2026}}
==Professional football career== Willig played 14 years for the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Carolina Panthers.,<ref name="journalnow">{{cite web|url=http://extras.journalnow.com/superbowl/panthers/stories/20040128c.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040217231855/http://extras.journalnow.com/superbowl/panthers/stories/20040128c.html |archive-date=2004-02-17 |url-status=dead |title=Super Bowl XXXVIII |access-date=2014-01-25 }}</ref> and on the Carolina Panthers' team in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
==Acting career== Willig portrayed Special Agent Simon Cade in season eight of ''NCIS'' until the first episode of season nine (airdate September 20, 2011). In 2009, he had a supporting role as a brutish caveman tormenting Jack Black and Michael Cera in the motion picture ''Year One''. He appeared as a gang member named Little Chino on the Showtime series, ''Dexter'' (2007). He has appeared as a bodyguard named Yuri on the NBC series ''Chuck'', and also has appeared in an episode of ''My Name is Earl'' entitled "Bullies". He also appeared in a season 7 episode of ''Malcolm In the Middle'', as Crash, a recovering alcoholic, and had a small role in the 1993 action movie, ''Full Contact''. He appeared in a minor role in ''iCarly'' as a truckdriver named "Sledgehammer". He made another guest appearance on ''The Suite Life on Deck'' as a genie in season 2 episode 22. On ''Sonny with a Chance'' in the "Sonny Get Your Goat" episode, he appeared as "Limo", the mode of transportation to Tawni's motel room in a foreign country, and appeared in the Disney XD show ''Pair of Kings''. Willig also had a supporting role in the second episode of ''Terriers''. He played Mike Drake in the critically acclaimed independent thriller ''The Employer''. He also appears in the 2013 film ''A Resurrection''. In 2011, he was on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', as Billy Abbott's bodyguard, "Tank". More recently he played One Eye, a Mexican drug dealer, in ''We're the Millers'' and Gregorek in NBC's series ''Grimm''.
In 2014, he appeared in Season 1 of ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' as Brandon Jacoby (Season 1, episode 14 : "The Ebony Falcon").<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2200632/?ref_=tt_cl_t11|title=Matthew Willig|website=IMDb }}</ref>
In 2015, Willig had a recurring role as Lash in the third season of the science fiction television series ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' He also played former NFL player Justin Strzelczyk in the film ''Concussion''.
In 2019, Willig played a Black Satan gang member named Creep in Rob Zombie's film ''3 from Hell''.
Willig voiced Juggernaut in the Marvel game ''Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/111/1115287p1.html |title=The Deadly Villains of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions - IGN |publisher=Uk.comics.ign.com |access-date=2014-01-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227041802/http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/111/1115287p1.html |archive-date=2012-02-27 }}</ref>
In February 2021, he appeared as André the Giant in the NBC comedy series ''Young Rock''.
Willig has acted in numerous national commercial campaigns, including a Capital One spot with David Spade, a Bud Light spot, and as an action hero in a Halls commercial.
==Personal life== Willig was raised Catholic. He supported the NOH8 Campaign in opposition to California Proposition 8, which made same-sex marriage illegal in the state of California. He criticized "the complete hypocrisy that goes on with the Church, and their stance on gays", and that he had "evolved into feeling that equality and treating everyone the same is the utmost important thing". Despite his disagreement with the Church's stance on same-sex marriage, he was still a practicing Catholic as of 2012.<ref name="Outsports">{{cite news |last1=Zeigler |first1=Cyd |title=Former NFL player Matt Willig on marriage, Catholicism & a gay teammate |url=https://www.outsports.com/2012/10/3/4053758/former-nfl-player-matt-willig-on-marriage-catholicism-a-gay-teammate |access-date=December 13, 2019 |work=Outsports |date=October 3, 2012}}</ref>
Willig has two daughters.<ref name="Outsports" />
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Film roles |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1993 |''Full Contact'' |'Hulk' | |- |2006 |data-sort-value="Benchwarmers, The" | ''The Benchwarmers'' |Jock Guy | |- |2008 |data-sort-value="Girl and a Gun, A" | ''A Girl and a Gun'' |'Superman' |Short film |- |2009 |''Year One'' |Marlak | |- |rowspan="2"|2010 |''Abelar: Tales of an Ancient Empire'' |Giant Iberian | |- |''Sex Tax: Based on a True Story'' |Leather Guy |Uncredited |- |rowspan="4"|2012 |''Buds'' |Bruno |Short film |- |''Guns, Girls and Gambling'' |The Indian | |- |data-sort-value="Reef 2: High Tide, The" | ''The Reef 2: High Tide'' |Bronson (voice) |Direct-to-video |- |''Christmas in Compton'' |Charlie | |- |rowspan="4"|2013 |data-sort-value="Resurrection, A" | ''A Resurrection'' |Vince | |- |''Bounty Killer'' |Bob 'Big Bob' | |- |data-sort-value="Employer, The" | ''The Employer'' |Mike Drake | |- |''We're the Millers'' |'One-Eye' | |- |2014 |''Stretch'' |Boris | |- |rowspan="2"|2015 |''Wild Card'' |Kinlaw | |- |''Concussion'' |Justin Strzelczyk | |- |rowspan="4"|2016 |''Term Life'' |Thug #1 | |- |data-sort-value="Horde, The" | ''The Horde'' |Stone |Direct-to-Video |- |''Happy Birthday'' |'El Caballo' | |- |data-sort-value="Bounce Back, The" | ''The Bounce Back'' |Vladamir | |- |2017 |''Keep Watching'' |The Terror | |- |2018 |''Eruption: LA'' |Serge | |- |2019 |''3 from Hell'' |Creep | |- |2020 |''Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)'' |Happy | |- |2024 |''Fight Another Day'' |Verus | |- |2026 |''The Mandalorian and Grogu'' |Hogsbreth | |}
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Television roles |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |rowspan="3"|2006 |''Malcolm in the Middle'' |'Crash' |Episode: "A.A." |- |data-sort-value="West Wing, The" | ''The West Wing'' |Himself |Episode: "Two Weeks Out" |- |''Everybody Hates Chris'' |Jason |Episode: "Everybody Hates Superstition" |- |rowspan="2"|2007 |''Dexter'' |Alfonso Conception / Chino 'Little Chino' Gonzales |2 episodes |- |''Chuck'' |Uri |Episodes: "Chuck Versus the Tango" |- |rowspan="2"|2008 |''Shark'' |Hank 'Buzz' Busby |Episode: "Partners in Crime" |- |''iCarly'' |'Sledgehammer' |Episode: "iHurt Lewbert" |- |rowspan="3"|2009 |''Hydra'' |Gunner |TV movie |- |''My Name Is Earl'' |Wally |Episode: "Bullies" |- |''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' |Gorth |Episode: "A Space Oddity" |- |rowspan="5"|2010 |''Cold Case'' |Chuck 'French' Jaworski '74 |Episode: "The Runaway Bunny" |- |''Sonny with a Chance'' |Lee Moe |Episode: "Sonny Get Your Goat" |- |data-sort-value="Suite Life on Deck, The" | ''The Suite Life on Deck'' |Genie |Uncredited; Episode: "Rock the Kasbah" |- |''Terriers'' |Montell |Episode: "Dog and Pony" |- |''Playing with Guns'' |Larry |TV Pilot |- |2010–2011 |''Pair of Kings'' |Tarantula Leader |3 episodes; Uncredited in two |- |rowspan="4"|2011 |''Chuck'' |Yuri The Gobbler |Episode: "Chuck Versus the Gobbler" |- |data-sort-value="Nine Lives of Chloe King, The" | ''The Nine Lives of Chloe King'' |Raoni |Episode: "Dogs of War" |- |''NCIS'' |NCIS Special Agent Simon Cade |4 episodes |- |data-sort-value="Young and the Restless, The" | ''The Young and the Restless'' |'Tank' |3 episodes |- |rowspan="2"|2012 |''Kickin' It'' |'Mondo' |Episode: "Rowdy Rudy" |- |data-sort-value="High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange, The" | ''The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange'' |Cash & Smash Thug #2 |Episode: "C.E.O. - Chief Executive Orange" |- |2013 |''Grimm'' |Gregorek |Episode: "Cold Blooded" |- |rowspan="2"|2014 |''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' |Brandon Jacoby |Episode: "The Ebony Falcon" |- |data-sort-value="Legend of Korra, The" | ''The Legend of Korra'' |Muscly Man (voice) |Episode: "The Stakeout" |- |2015 |''Battle Creek'' |Dealer |Episode: "The Battle Creek Way" |- |2015-2016 |''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' |Lash |Recurring; 6 episodes |- |rowspan="2"|2016 |''Flaked'' |Granger |2 episodes |- |''Blunt Talk'' |'Tiny' |3 episodes |- |2017 |''Type A'' |Sergeant Dodds |TV Pilot |- |rowspan="3"|2018 |data-sort-value="Guest Book, The" | ''The Guest Book'' |Captain Preposterous |1 episode |- |data-sort-value="Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The" | ''The Ballad of Buster Scruggs'' |Hard Man #3 |1 episode |- |data-sort-value="Loud House, The" | ''The Loud House'' |Prisoner (voice) |Episode: "Tripped!" |- |2019 |''Charmed'' |Dante |Episode: "Keep calm and Harry on" |- |2021 |''Young Rock'' |André the Giant |14 episodes |- |2025 |''Wizards Beyond Waverly Place'' |Archive Guard |Episode: "Raiders of the Locked Archive" |- |2026 |''Euphoria'' |Artur |4 episodes |}
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Video game roles |- ! Year ! Title ! Role |- |2010 |''Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions'' |Juggernaut |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=2200632|name=Matthew Willig}}
{{Super Bowl XXXIV}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willig, Matt}} Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male voice actors Category:American football offensive tackles Category:Atlanta Falcons players Category:Carolina Panthers players Category:Green Bay Packers players Category:New York Jets players Category:Sportspeople from La Mirada, California Category:Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California Category:San Francisco 49ers players Category:St. Louis Rams players Category:USC Trojans football players Category:St. Paul High School (Santa Fe Springs, California) alumni