Matt Knudsen (born March 10, 1974) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for playing the villain Sonny Appleday in the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

TV film ''

Re-Animated ''Re-Animated'' is a television film that aired on Cartoon Network on December 8, 2006. It was the first original production on the genre for the network. It was released on DVD on September 11, 2007, and serves as a pilot for the follow-up se ...

'' and its spinoff series ''

Out Of Jimmy's Head ''Out of Jimmy's Head'' (abbreviated as ''OOJH'') is an American teen sitcom. It was advertised as the first Cartoon Network original series in its genre, and is based on the network's 2006 film ''Re-Animated''. The series was produced by Cartoon ...

''.

Early life

Knudsen was born in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii and grew up in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. He graduated from high school in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

and after one semester in college, dropped out to become a merchant marine. After spending five years sailing to ports in Europe, Africa,

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

and successfully navigating through both the Suez and Panama canals, he eventually settled down in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and began an entertainment career.

Entertainment career

As an actor, Knudsen appeared with Oscar winner

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

in the Warner Brothers film '' Gangster Squad'' and has made appearances in television shows including ''

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tripp ...

'', ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, t ...

'' and ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...

'' just to name a few. Matt's also been a part of several high-profile commercial campaigns for Volkswagen, DirecTV, Pepsi, Apple, GE and others; which have aired during the Super Bowl and the Olympics. As a stand-up, he has appeared on ''Conan'', ''The Late Late Show'', ''Last Call'', ''ASX Live'' and ''Comics Unleashed'' as well as several festivals, including The San Francisco Sketchfest, Bridgetown, Limestone, High Plains, Laughing Skull, Big Sky, and the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal; where he was named a "Best of the Fest." His critically acclaimed albums The Comedy Stylings of Matt Knudsen and American became top downloads on iTunes, heard regularly on SiriusXM radio, and have been described as mixing "droll observation with a dry, almost hypnotic delivery," (The Onion A.V. Club); and with Knudsen's unique style, "The personal feels universal, and the universal feels personal. The only explanation for this phenomenon is that it's all finely crafted comedy from a strong central voice…a great stand up album." (''The Huffington Post'') On August 27, 2014 Matt appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast.

Filmography

Television

*''

NewsBreak News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televis ...

'' (2000)Internet Movie Database
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Citizen Baines ''Citizen Baines'' is an American drama series television series created by Emmy Award-winning producer Lydia Woodward, that stars James Cromwell. The series premiered on CBS September 29, 2001 and ended on November 3, 2001. Synopsis Cromwell s ...

'' (2000), (1 episode) *''

'' (2002), (1 episode) *'' 7th Heaven'' (2005), (1 episode) *''

'' (2006), (1 episode) *''

'' (2006), (3 episodes) *''

'' (2006) *''

'' (2007–2008), (13 episodes)CNET Networks Entertainment
/ref> *''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, ...

'' (2007), (himself, 1 episode) *''

Talking Marriage with Ryan Bailey ''Talking Marriage with Ryan Bailey'' is an American comedy web series created by married Los Angeles-based actor Ryan Bailey. It stars its creator as a combination talk show host/marriage counselor who seeks to pass on his words of wisdom for m ...

'' (2014), (1 episode)

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudsen, Matt 1957 births American male actors Living people American people of Danish descent