He subsequently auditioned for the Syfy series Eureka, for what he understood was a one-episode guest star role. He went on to play the role of USAF airman Lieutenant Kemp in a two-episode guest spot on the Syfy television series Stargate Atlantis.

While filming Loch Ness he sent an audition tape to the producers of The Best Years which led to him gaining the main cast role of bartender, and cocaine addict, Trent Hamilton in the series's first season. Matter landed his first professional acting job in 2007 playing the lead role of bait shop owner Josh Riley in the Syfy original film Loch Ness Terror, (broadcast as Beyond Loch Ness), which also starred Brian Krause and Don S. This convinced him that it was time to move on, so he quit, returning to Vancouver, where he lied his way into a bartending job before landing his first acting role. On returning to the oil rigs, he witnessed another accident in which a man lost both his legs. It took six months for him to be fully rehabilitated, having to go through extensive physiotherapy to fully regain his ability to walk. His quad muscle had been detached from his femur, and he nearly lost his right leg. He continued to work on the oil rigs alongside his grandfather and brother Trevor until the age of 25, while simultaneously moving to Vancouver and attending Vancouver Film School in pursuit of his long-term goal of an acting career.Īt the age of 25 Matter had a serious accident while working on the oil rigs, where he was nearly crushed inside the cab of a 17-ton drilling rig. He has acknowledged that it was this experience that helped him to focus on his studies and pass his high school exams. However, after getting himself in trouble at age 17, his parents sent him for a three-month stint on the oil rigs to work with his grandfather. On the recommendation of a school teacher, he enrolled in drama classes at age thirteen, going on to win the Best Actor prize at a provincial drama championship in 1999. He is a third-generation oil rigger, having worked on the oil rigs in Northern Alberta for eight years. His career subsequently moved away from science fiction, seeing him star in several television movies, as well as joining Canadian series such as Remedy, Arctic Air and When Calls the Heart.īorn in Edmonton, Alberta, of Irish and Russian descent, Matter grew up on his parents' dairy farm. He went on to star as Evan Cross in the short-lived 2012 series Primeval: New World. In 2009 he had a small supporting role in Zack Snyder's film Watchmen. Later in the same year, he joined the cast of Eureka as bad-boy genius Zane Donovan.

He received his first significant break in 2007, with a main role in teen drama The Best Years. Niall Matter ( / ˈ n aɪ l ˈ m eɪ t ər/ NYLE MAY-tər born October 20, 1980) is a Canadian-American actor.įollowing recovery from a serious accident sustained while working on an oil rig, Matter chose to pursue a full-time acting career.

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