Matthew Ferguson (born 3 April 1973) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former actor. He is known for his roles in '' On My Own'' (1991), ''

Love and Human Remains ''Love and Human Remains'' is a 1993 Canadian film directed by Denys Arcand and based on Brad Fraser's stage play ''Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love''. Fraser also wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation. The film version ...

'' (1993), ''

Lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

'' (1996), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1997–2001).

Life and career

Ferguson was born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. He graduated from the Claude Watson School for the Performing Arts. Ferguson made his debut in theatre as "Morgan Moreen" in '' Geometry in Venice'' (1989), which garnered him a

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

nomination as Best Featured Actor, then on screen as Simon Henderson in '' On My Own''. He is best known as "Seymour Birkoff", from the TV series '' La Femme Nikita'' (1997–2001). His roles in movies such as ''

'' (1993), ''

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

'' (1994) and ''

'' (1996) gave him nominations at the

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

s in the 1990s.

Selected filmography

Film

* '' On My Own'' (1992) as Simon Henderson * ''

'' (1993) as Kane * '' I Love a Man in Uniform'' (1993) as Edward Nichols * '' The Club'' (1994) as Darren Spenser * ''

Life with Billy ''Life with Billy'' is a 1994 Canadian television film based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Brian Vallée. The film was nominated for five Gemini Awards, and won three. The film begins with Jane Hurshman (Beatty) shooting her commo ...

'' (1994) as Allan Whynot * ''

Lives of Girls and Women ''Lives of Girls and Women'' is a short story cycle by Nobel Prize–winning author Alice Munro, published by McGraw-Hill Ryerson in 1971. All of the stories chronicle the life of a single character, Del Jordan, and the book has been characterized ...

'' (1994) as Jerry Storey * '' Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes'' (1994) * ''

Billy Madison ''Billy Madison'' is a 1995 American comedy film directed by Tamra Davis. It stars Adam Sandler in the title role, Bradley Whitford, Bridgette Wilson, Norm Macdonald, Darren McGavin, Mark Beltzman, and Larry Hankin. The film was written by Sandler ...

'' (1995) as Tenth Grader * ''

'' (1994) as Angelo * ''

Harrison Bergeron "Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical dystopian science-fiction short story by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in October 1961. Originally published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', the story was republished in th ...

'' (1995) as Garth Bergeron * '' The Deliverance of Elaine'' (1996) * ''

'' (1996) as Young Bilodeau * ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burne ...

'' (1996) as Young Canadian Soldier * ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' (1997) as Peter Cort * ''

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...

'' as (1998) Buelton * '' Giving Up the Ghost'' (1998) as Matthew 'Bulldog' Phelps * ''

I Shout Love ''I Shout Love'' is a 2001 Canadian short film written and directed by Sarah Polley. The film stars Matthew Ferguson and Kristen Thomson as Bobby and Tessa, a couple who are on the verge of breaking up when Tessa convinces Bobby to spend one last ...

'' (2001) as Bobby * '' Cube 2: Hypercube'' (2002) as Max Reisler * ''

Three and a Half 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 190 ...

'' (2002) as Sasha the Director * ''

Owning Mahowny ''Owning Mahowny'' is a 2003 Canadian film about gambling addiction with a cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Maury Chaykin and John Hurt. Based on the true story of a Toronto bank employee who embezzled more than $10 millio ...

'' (2003) as Martin

TV

* '' Street Legal'' (1992) as Mark (2 episodes) * '' La Femme Nikita'' (1997–2001) as Seymour Birkoff/Jason Crawford (90 episodes) * ''

An American in Canada ''An American in Canada'' is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television in 2003 and 2004. The show starred Rick Roberts as Jake Crewe, an American television news host who was forced, after beating up his station manager, to accep ...

'' (2002–2004) as Derrick (5 episodes) * ''

Odd Job Jack ''Odd Job Jack'' is a Canadian adult animated sitcom starring Don McKellar, about one man's misadventures in temporary employment. Seen on and produced for The Comedy Network, a cable specialty channel, Adult Swim and MuchMusic in Latin America, ...

'' (2003–2007) as Bobby Lee (voice) (52 episodes)

Selected bibliography

* Heyn, Christopher. "A Conversation with Matthew Ferguson." ''Inside Section One: Creating and Producing TV's La Femme Nikita''. Introduction by Peta Wilson. Los Angeles
Persistence of Vision Press
2006. 94–99. . In-depth conversation with Matthew Ferguson about his role as Birkoff on '' La Femme Nikita'', as well as his early acting experiences.

Nominations

* 2003 -

ACTRA The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has 25,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. The org ...

Toronto Awards: Outstanding Performance - Male for ''I Shout Love'' * 1998 -

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

s: Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series for ''La Femme Nikita'' * 1996 -

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for ''Lilies'' * 1996 -

: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for ''Eclipse'' * 1994 -

: Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for ''Love & Human Remains'' * 1993 -

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...

: Best Actor in a Leading Role for ''On My Own''

References

External links

* 1973 births Living people Male actors from Toronto Canadian male television actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian people of Scottish descent {{Canada-actor-stub