Matt Whelan

Matt Whelan (born 1985) is a New Zealand actor and comedian. Whelan is known for his roles as Brad Caulfield in the New Zealand television comedy-drama programme Go Girls. He has also played Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in the Amazon Original series American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story. Whelan plays DEA agent Van Ness in the Netflix original series Narcos.

Matt Whelan
Born
Matthew Whelan

1985 (age 35–36)[1]
Christchurch, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
OccupationActor, comedian
Years active2007–present
Awards2010 – Best Performance by a Supporting Actor

Early life

Whelan was born in Christchurch, Canterbury on the South Island of New Zealand.[2] Whelan graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, one of New Zealand's most prestigious drama schools located in Wellington.[3] Completing a Bachelor of Performing Arts in acting, immediately upon graduating he joined the cast of Show of Hands, performing alongside Melanie Lynskey.[4]

Career

In April 2017, it was revealed Whelan would be playing the prestigious role as Playboy founder, Hugh Hefner, in the 2017 Amazon original docu-series, American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story.[5][6] The ten-episode series, chronicles the Playboy founder's life, the rise of the magazine and unveils never-before-seen footage from his private archives.[7] Whelan met with Hefner during the filming of the show.[7] It was released just before Hefner's 91st birthday and was partly filmed in Auckland[7][8][9]

After featuring in larger acting roles and gaining popularity playing Hugh Hefner in 2017, Whelan landed a role in the third season of Netflix original series, Narcos.[10][11][12] Whelan played Daniel van Ness, a young DEA agent partnered with Chris Feistl (played by Michael Stahl-David), who go to Cali, Colombia after the death of Pablo Escobar under the order of Javier Peña (played by Pedro Pascal) in hopes of taking down the Cali Cartel.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2007 Eagle vs Shark Kissing Boy
2008 Show of Hands Matt
2011 My Wedding and Other Secrets James
2012 The Most Fun You Can Have Dying Michael
2014 3 Mile Limit Richard
2014 Dancers David Short film
2015 25 April John Persson Narrated documentary
2017 Pork Pie Noah
2017 Gary of the Pacific Nelson

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2007 My Story Regan
2009–2012 Go Girls Brad Caulfield 49 episodes
2013 Top of the Lake Little Shane Episode: "No Goodbyes Thanks"
2014 Coverband Alex 6 episodes
2016 Of Kings and Prophets Mattiyahu Episode: "Offerings of Blood"
2016 Stake Out Salesman Episode: "Salesmans"
2017 American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story Hugh Hefner 10 episodes
2017–present Narcos Daniel van Ness 9 episodes
2020 The Luminaries Cowell Devlin 6 episodes
The Sounds Tom Cabbott Main role

Theatre
Year Title Role Notes
2014 Belleville

Awards

References
  1. "Matt Whelan: Tall order". The New Zealand Herald. 8 March 2011.
  2. "Narcos DEA role not to be sniffed at for Kiwi actor". Stuff.co.nz. 26 August 2017.
  3. "Go Solo 2007 – Many will significantly develop". TheatReview. 10 August 2007.
  4. "Matt Whelan – Biography". IMDb. 10 July 2018.
  5. "Amazon's 'American Playboy' tells Hugh Hefner's story straight from the source". Los Angeles Times. 6 April 2017.
  6. "Who Plays Hugh Hefner On 'American Playboy?' Matt Whelan Isn't The First Actor To Take On The Mogul". Bustle. 7 April 2017.
  7. "Hugh Hefner Meets the Actor Who's Playing Him in His New Docu-Series". E! News. 7 April 2017.
  8. "Amazon backs New Zealander to play Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in doco-series". Stuff.co.nz. 31 March 2017.
  9. "Secrecy surrounds Hugh Hefner TV show shot in Auckland". The New Zealand Herald. 16 August 2016.
  10. "'Narcos' Adds Pair of Series Regulars Amid Season 3 Shift (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 20 October 2016.
  11. "Kiwi actor Matt Whelan lands role on Netflix series Narcos". Stuff.co.nz. 21 October 2016.
  12. "Narcos season 3 cast announced as Netflix series is shaken up". The Independent. 22 October 2016.


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