Matthew Joseph Willig (born January 21, 1969) is an American actor and former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
offensive tackle in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
.
Early life and education
Willig was born in
La Mirada, California
La Mirada ( Spanish for "The Look") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census. The La Mirada Theatre f ...
. He played football and basketball at
St. Paul High School (Santa Fe Springs, California)
St. Paul High School is a private, Catholic, co-educational high school serving the Gateway Cities of Los Angeles County owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and was founded in 1956. The campus is located in Santa F ...
. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
as a member of the 1989
Rose Bowl winning team. He was a
public administration
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...
major.
Professional football career
Willig played 14 years for the
New York Jets,
Atlanta Falcons,
Green Bay Packers,
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arr ...
,
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, and
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
. Willig was on the winning St. Louis Rams team in
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis ...
,
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 20 September 2011). In 2009, he had a supporting role as a brutish caveman tormenting
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...
and
Michael Cera
Michael Austin Cera (; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor and musician. He started his career as a child actor, voicing the character of Brother Bear on the children's television show ''The Berenstain Bears'' and portraying a young Chuck B ...
in the motion picture ''
Year One''. He appeared as a gang member named
Little Chino on the
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
series,
''Dexter'' (2007). He has appeared as a bodyguard named Yuri on the
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 ...
series
''Chuck'', and also has appeared in an episode of ''
My Name is Earl
''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Ja ...
'' 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
Hong Kong action movie
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese culture, Chinese and Culture of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling an ...
, ''
Full Contact
''Full Contact'' () is a 1992 Hong Kong action film produced and directed by Ringo Lam, and starring Chow Yun-fat, Simon Yam, and Anthony Wong.
Plot
The first part of the movie takes place in Bangkok, Thailand. Gou Fei's (Chow Yun-fat) frie ...
''. He appeared in a minor role in ''
iCarly'' as a truckdriver named "Sledghammer". He made another guest appearance on ''
The Suite Life on Deck
''The Suite Life on Deck'' is an American teen sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008 to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/spin-off of the Disney Channel Original Series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''. The series follows twin b ...
'' as a genie in season 2 episode 22. On ''
Sonny with a Chance
''Sonny with a Chance'' is an American teen sitcom created by Steve Marmel that aired on Disney Channel for two seasons between February 2009 and January 2011. The series centers on Sonny Munroe (portrayed by Demi Lovato), a teenage comedian ...
'' 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
''Pair of Kings'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the cable channel Disney XD from September 10, 2010 to February 18, 2013. It premiered September 10, 2010 on Disney Channel and September 22, 2010 on Disney XD. The si ...
''. 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
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...
'', as Billy Abbott's bodyguard, "Tank". More recently he played One Eye, a Mexican drug dealer, in ''
We're The Millers
''We're the Millers'' is a 2013 American crime comedy film directed by Rawson M. Thurber and starring Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Quinn, and Ed Helms. The film's screenplay wa ...
'' and Gregorek in NBC's series ''
Grimm
Grimm may refer to:
People
* Grimm (surname)
* Brothers Grimm, German linguists
** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist
** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm
* Christia ...
''.
In 2014, he appeared in
Season 1 Season One may refer to:
Albums
* ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004
* ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012
* ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012
See also
*
*
* Season 2 (disambiguation)
* Season 4 (disambiguati ...
of ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' as Brandon Jacoby (Season 1, episode 14 : "The Ebony Falcon").
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.
''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, an ...
'' He also played former NFL player
Justin Strzelczyk in the film ''
Concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
''.
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''.
In February 2021, he appeared as
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by excess ...
in the NBC comedy series ''
Young Rock
''Young Rock'' is an American television sitcom based upon the life of professional wrestler and actor Dwayne Johnson, also known by his ring name "The Rock". The series is created by Johnson, Jeff Chiang and Nahnatchka Khan and premiered on NBC ...
''.
Willig has acted in numerous national commercial campaigns, including a
Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in McLean, Virginia with operations primarily in the United States. It is on the li ...
spot with
David Spade
David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and writer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1990s, and he later began an acting career in both film and television. He also s ...
, a
Bud Light spot, and as an action hero in a
Halls commercial.
Personal life
Willig was raised
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. He supported the
NOH8 Campaign
The NOH8 Campaign (NOH8 meaning "No Hate") is a charitable organization whose mission is to promote LGBT marriage, gender and human equality through education, advocacy, social media, and visual protest.
The campaign was created as photographic ...
in opposition to
California Proposition 8
Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in co ...
, which made
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
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.
Willig has two daughters.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willig, Matt
1969 births
Living people
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American football offensive tackles
American people of German descent
American people of Lebanese descent
Atlanta Falcons players
Carolina Panthers players
Green Bay Packers players
New York Jets players
Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California
San Francisco 49ers players
St. Louis Rams players
USC Trojans football players
Players of American football from California