Childhood & Early Life
Matt Bennett was born on November 13, 1991, in New York City. Matt’s parents got divorced when he was young, and this affected him badly. He later expressed his pain through the lyrics of his debut album ‘Terminal Cases.’
While in school, Matt never gave acting a serious thought and desired to become an inventor instead. He was extremely good in academics and scored the highest grades in class. However, by the time he graduated from ‘Massapequa High School’ in 2008, he was already interested in making a career in the entertainment industry.
By the time he was 18, he had appeared in a few TV commercials, which further sparked his interest in the world of entertainment. In order to learn the nuances of performing arts, he joined ‘Way Off Broadway,’ an acting company located in Long Island. He then joined the ‘Upright Citizens Brigade’ in New York and continued to learn acting. He started getting offers for commercials and voice-acting roles, as soon as he landed in Los Angeles.
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Career
In 2009, at the age of 18, Matt got his first break as an actor, when he bagged a minor role in a TV film titled ‘Totally for Teens.’ The film was earlier presented as a TV pilot for ‘Cartoon Network’s ‘Adult Swim’ block but was rejected. It was presented as a parody of the frequently sprouting “teen shows” on TV.
He then co-starred in the short film ‘Text Me.’ He also composed the original music for the film, which was critically appreciated. In 2009, he appeared in a single episode of the comedy show ‘Michael & Michael Have Issues.’ The episode, titled ‘Greg the Intern,’ had Matt playing ‘Greg.’ It showed both the ‘Michaels’ trying their best to impress ‘Greg.’ The episode was adored, while rest of the series received mixed reviews.
Matt got his big break in 2010, when he appeared alongside Zack Pearlman in the Will Ferrell-produced “documentary style” comedy film ‘The Virginity Hit.’ Matt played a leading role in the film. Despite being hailed as innovative, the film mostly received negative reviews from both audiences and critics. However, the film gained popularity with teenagers.
In 2010, he started appearing in the ‘Nickelodeon’ sitcom ‘Victorious,’ as’ Robbie Shapiro.’ The sitcom had Matt playing a young man with social anxiety, who talks through a dummy that he carries with himself all the time. The series became a commercially successful sitcom, but it struggled to get a decent critical reception. Critics praised the performances but gave the series mixed reviews.
Despite the mixed response that the series received, Matt became a household name in America. His character, ‘Robbie,’ became a pop culture icon, and Matt reprised the role in all four seasons of the sitcom. His performance earned him a nomination for the ‘Nickelodeon UK Kid’s Choice Award’ in the category ‘Nick UK’s Funniest Person.’
In 2011, Matt made a guest appearance in the film ‘Bridesmaids.’ He portrayed the role of the stepson of the character played by Rose Byrne. In the same year, he appeared on the ‘Nickelodeon’ game show ‘BrainSurge’ as a contestant. He then reprised his role of ‘Robbie’ from ‘Victorious’ in a crossover episode of ‘iCarly.’
In 2012, Matt appeared on the children’s panel game show ‘Figure It Out.’ He appeared as the main panelist for seasons 5 and 6 of the show, along with Ciara Bravo. He appeared as ‘Robbie’ again on the ‘Nickelodeon’ show ‘Sam & Cat.’
By 2012, he was already a well-known actor. However, he soon ventured into music to expand his artistic canvas. In mid-2012, he released his debut EP, ‘Warm Fuzzies.’ However, it was unsuccessful in creating a stir.
In March 2013, Matt announced that he was approached to host a web series for the popular ‘YouTube’ channel ‘Nerdist.’ In the series, ‘Nerdy Jobs,’ Matt went behind the scenes of many jobs that were considered “nerdy,” to show his audiences how interesting they actually were. It became one of the most-loved series on the channel.
In June 2014, Matt did another stint for ‘YouTube’ when he appeared as one of the many participants in the popular ‘YouTube’ video ‘The Slap.’ He also featured as Ariana Grande’s lover in the music video of her song ‘One Last Time.’ Ariana was his co-star on the show ‘Victorious,’ and they were close friends in real life too.
In 2015, Matt appeared on the game show ‘Game Shakers.’ The episode that featured him was titled ‘Tiny Pickles.’ In the same year, he lent his voice to the lead character of ‘Rex’ in the series ‘Everybody Wants to Be Poppy.’ The same year, Matt appeared in three films.
In the film ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,’ he played ‘Scott Mayhew,’ one of the major roles. The film premiered at the 2015 ‘Sundance Film Festival,’ where it received a standing ovation. It was critically praised upon its theatrical release in the US. He then appeared in the film ‘The Stanford Prison Experiment,’ which was based on true events. This film too premiered at the ‘Sundance Film Festival’ and received rave reviews from both film critics and audiences.
In his third film of the year 2015, ‘Manson Family Vacation,’ Matt played ‘Buddy Holly,’ one of the key roles in the film. Like his previous two releases of 2015, this film too received positive reviews from both critics and audiences.
In February 2016, Matt told his fans and the media about a studio album that he was working on. He told the press that the album would be titled ‘Terminal Cases’ and would touch a few incidents of his personal life. He further added that the pain he felt at the time of his parents’ divorce would constitute the main theme of the album. He also stated that the songs of the album that he was working on were inspired by Robin Williams’s films. The album was released in June 2016 and received a positive critical and commercial response.
