Matthew Rhys "Matt" Leisy is a British-American theatre, television, and film actor.

Biography and training

Matt Leisy was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in Surrey, England. He attended the

American Boychoir School The American Boychoir School was a boarding/day middle school located in Princeton, New Jersey, and the home of the American Boychoir. The school originated as the Columbus Boychoir in Columbus, Ohio. In 1950, the school relocated after receivin ...

and high school at

The Pembroke Hill School The Pembroke Hill School (usually referred to as Pembroke Hill) is a progressive, inclusive, secular, coeducational, independent preparatory school for about 1,200 students in early years (age 2 years) through high school, separated into four sec ...

in Kansas City, Missouri. Leisy graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and continues to study at

The Barrow Group The Barrow Group is a non-profit performing arts group located in New York City focused on empowering actors, writers, and directors through simple, clear, spontaneous storytelling. The company prioritizes accessibility, diversity, and excellence, ...

in New York City.

Career

Matt Leisy played

Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny is a fictional character and one of the protagonists of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel ''The Phantom of the Opera''. Biography Raoul is a viscount and Christine Daaé's childhood friend. They first met when he was a young c ...

in the World Tour of ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

''. Recent credits include the

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...

-winning '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' as Beadle Bamford at the

Barrow Street Theatre Barrow Street Theatre is the name of both a 199-seat Off-Broadway theatre located in New York City's historic Greenwich House at 27 Barrow Street and a production company of the same name. From 2003 to 2018, the venue was leased to Barrow Street ...

and the Broadway First National Tour of the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning musical '' A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder''. Other career highlights include the regional premiere of

The Inheritance (play) ''The Inheritance'' is a play by Matthew Lopez that is inspired by the 1910 novel ''Howards End'' by E. M. Forster. The play premiered in London at the Young Vic in March 2018, before transferring to Broadway in November 2019. Productions Origina ...

, Mr. Bingley in ''Pride and Prejudice'' at

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is a regional theatre in the United States. It was founded in 1959 by college student Gerald Covell and was one of the first regional theatres in the United States. Located in Eden Park, the first play that pr ...

, Algernon in ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'' at

Arizona Theatre Company Arizona Theatre Company is a non-profit, professional regional theatre company operating in both Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. It performs a season of six productions at two theatres—the only League of Resident Theatres member to do so—at the Te ...

, Ken in John Logan's ''

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

'' at the Clarence Brown Theatre, Richard Hannay in '' The 39 Steps'', Younger Brother in ''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

'', and Leonard Vole in ''

Witness for the Prosecution In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

'' at Bristol Riverside Theatre, Scripps in Alan Bennett's ''

The History Boys ''The History Boys'' is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Royal National Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where 185 performances were staged be ...

'' at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Arden Theatre Company, and Young Scrooge in ''A Christmas Carol'' at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. He made his solo concert debut at Helzberg Hall of the

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA, at 16th and Broadway, near the Power & Light District, the T-Mobile Center and the Crossroads Arts District. Its construction was a m ...

in November 2021. Leisy starred in the Off-Broadway production of ''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

'' in the role of Matt. His film credits include ''Life Interrupted'', ''Tell'', ''Man From the Dying Planet'', ''Shooting Script'', and ''The Good Shepherd''. His television credits include ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily s ...

'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and ''

Live from Lincoln Center ''Live from Lincoln Center'' is a seventeen-time Emmy Award-winning series that has broadcast notable performances from the Lincoln Center in New York City on PBS since 1976. The program airs between six and nine times per season. Episodes of '' ...

'' on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

. Leisy currently resides in New York City.

Awards and nominations

Leisy was nominated for the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theater for ''

'' at the Arden Theatre. Leisy received an honorable mention for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his role in ''Ghostlight'' at the

New York Musical Theatre Festival The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) was an annual three-week summer festival that operated from 2004 to 2019. It presented more than 30 new musicals a year in New York City's midtown theater district. More than half were chosen by leading theate ...

. Leisy received a Great Performance of 2011 honor for his portrayal of Matt in ''

''.

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leisy, Matt British male actors Male actors from Massachusetts Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Boston