Matthew Joseph O'Leary (born July 6, 1987) is an American actor. He made his debut in the

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

Disney Channel Original film ''

Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire ''Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire'' is a 2000 American made-for-television horror-comedy film directed by Steve Boyum and starring Caroline Rhea, Matt O'Leary, Charles Shaughnessy, Laura Vandervoort, and Robert Carradine. It aired as a Disney C ...

'' (2000), and would go on to star in the thriller ''

Domestic Disturbance ''Domestic Disturbance'' is a 2001 American psychological thriller film directed by Harold Becker and starring John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Teri Polo, Steve Buscemi, and Matt O'Leary. Plot In Southport, Maryland, Susan Morrison, recently divor ...

'' (2001) opposite

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...

. He also had supporting roles in '' Frailty'' (2001), and the independent

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

film ''

Brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

'' (2005). In 2011, he starred opposite

Rachael Harris Rachael Elaine Harris (born January 12, 1968) is an American actress and comedian. She is known for her numerous acting roles, such as starring as Dr. Linda Martin in ''Lucifer'', her role in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' film series, and as a gu ...

in the critically acclaimed independent film ''

Natural Selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...

'', followed by a lead role in ''

Fat Kid Rules the World ''Fat Kid Rules the World'' is a young adult novel published by American author K. L. Going in 2003. The story follows a suicidal, 296 pound teen, Troy Billings, who befriends a local guitar legend, Curt MacCrae, who insists that they form a ban ...

'' (2012). He had a minor part in

Gore Verbinski Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and musician. He is best known for directing ''The Ring (2002 film), The Ring'', the ''Pirates of the Caribbean (film series), Pirates of t ...

's ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

'' (2013), and lead roles in the horror films '' Stung'' (2015) and ''

Bokeh In photography, bokeh ( or ; ) is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image. Bokeh has also been defined as "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light". Differences in lens aberrations and ...

'' (2017).

Career

O'Leary auditioned for the lead in ''

Home Alone 3 ''Home Alone 3'' is a 1997 American family comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell in his directorial debut, produced by John Hughes, and starring Alex D. Linz and Haviland Morris. The film tells the story of an 8-year-old boy who defends his hom ...

'' and made his acting debut in the lead role in 2000 in the

film ''

''. He was subsequently cast in the thriller ''

'', playing the son of

's character. O'Leary next appeared in another thriller, '' Frailty'', directed by

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 13 ...

, and in the kids comedy '' Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams'', both of which opened in 2002 to positive reviews, gaining O'Leary recognition among teenage audiences. In 2003, O'Leary had a minor role in the third ''

Spy Kids ''Spy Kids'' is an American spy family action-adventure comedy franchise created by Robert Rodriguez. The plot follows adventures of Carmen and Juni Cortez, two children who become involved in their parents' espionage organization. The films inc ...

'' film, '' Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over'', and also appeared in the 2004 drama ''

The Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

'', although most of his role was reduced to one line. In 2005, O'Leary had a role in '' Warm Springs'', a television film, and ''

Havoc High Altitude Venus Operational Concept (HAVOC) is a set of crewed NASA mission concepts to the planet Venus. All human portions of the missions would be conducted from lighter-than-air craft or from orbit. Background Venus is a planet with a r ...

'', a drama starring

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

that was released directly to video. O'Leary rose to mainstream prominence in the latter half of the 2000s for his roles in ''

'', a thriller starring

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his leading performances ...

, and the 2007 films ''

Live Free or Die Hard ''Live Free or Die Hard'' (released as ''Die Hard 4.0'' outside North America) is a 2007 American action-thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, and serves as the fourth installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. It is based on the 1997 articl ...

'' and ''

Death Sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

''. He appeared as Garret in the 2009 film ''

Sorority Row Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

'' and as Johnny Koffin in ''

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...

'', released the following year. In 2011, O'Leary won the Breakthrough Performance award at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival for his work in the film ''

'', with

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Matt 1987 births Living people Male actors from Chicago American male film actors American male child actors American male television actors