Matt Bomer Biography

Matthew Staton Bomer (born October 11, 1977) is an American actor. He made his television debut with Guiding Light in 2001, and gained recognition with his recurring role in the NBC television series Chuck. He played the lead role of con-artist and thief Neal Caffrey in the USA Network series White Collar from 2009 to 2014. Bomer won a Golden Globe Award and received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his supporting role as Felix Turner, opposite Mark Ruffalo, in the HBO television film The Normal Heart (2014). Bomer made a guest appearance on the fourth season of FX's horror anthology series American Horror Story. He was later upgraded to main cast during the fifth season.

In film, Bomer has featured in supporting roles in the 2005 thriller Flightplan, the 2011 science fiction thriller In Time, the 2012 comedy-drama Magic Mike and its 2015 sequel, the 2014 supernatural-drama Winter's Tale, and the 2016 neo-noir film The Nice Guys. On stage, Bomer has starred in the Dustin Lance Black play 8 on Broadway and at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre as Jeff Zarrillo, a plaintiff in the federal case that overturned California's Proposition 8. Bomer is married to the publicist Simon Halls with whom he has three children.

Early life

Bomer was born in Webster Groves, Missouri, one of three children of Elizabeth Macy (ne Staton) and John O'Neill Bomer IV, a Dallas Cowboys draft pick.

He grew up in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, and attended its Klein High School, where he was a classmate of future actor Lee Pace.

Pace and Bomer both acted at Houston's Alley Theatre, a non-profit theatre company. In 2001, he graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Career

After graduating, Bomer moved to New York City, where he won the role of "Ian Kipling" on All My Children. From 2001 to 2003, he portrayed the role of Ben Reade on another daytime television soap opera, Guiding Light. He starred as Luc, Tru's (Eliza Dushku) ill-fated love interest, in Tru Calling (2003-04), a supernatural, science-fiction television series on the Fox television network. Bomer appeared on North Shore (2004-05), a primetime television soap opera, as well as in Flightplan (2005), a thriller film with Jodie Foster. In the slasher film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Bomer portrayed Eric, a Vietnam War veteran who is driving across Texas to re-enlist after his brother is drafted. The brothers run afoul of Sheriff Hoyt and are taken captive by the Hewitt family. He co-starred in Traveler (2007), a short-lived midseason replacement television series which premiered on ABC on May 30, 2007. He had a recurring role, as Bryce Larkin, on Chuck. On October 23, 2009, Bomer began starring in White Collar, which chronicles the partnership between a con artist, Neal Caffrey (Bomer) and an FBI agent, Peter Burke (played by Tim DeKay). BuddyTV ranked him first on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011" and third in 2012.

In September 2011, Bomer starred in the Broadway debut of Dustin Lance Black's play, 8, a staged re-enactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Proposition 8. In March 2012, he was featured in the Wilshire Ebell Theatre production as well, portraying Jeff Zarrillo, one of the plaintiffs in the trial. In October 2011, Bomer appeared in the science fiction thriller film In Time, in which he played a 105-year-old man, Henry Hamilton. In 2012, Bomer starred as Ken, a stripper, in the feature film Magic Mike. In 2014, he appeared in science-fiction black comedy film Space Station 76, directed by Jack Plotnick. He had a supporting role in the 2014 adaptation of Winter's Tale, directed by Akiva Goldsman.

In June 2013, Bomer was ranked at no. 2 on Logos Hot 100 list, which is based on the votes of readers of the AfterEllen.com and TheBacklot.com. Bomer was the list's highest ranked man and second only to Jennifer Lawrence. In August 2013, it was announced that Bomer would provide his voice in the animated feature B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations. In September 2013, it was announced that Bomer would play Montgomery Clift in a biopic about the Hollywood star.

Personal life

Bomer has been married to publicist Simon Halls since 2011. The couple have three sons, including a set of twins, via surrogacy. He first publicly acknowledged that he is gay in 2012, when he thanked Halls and their children during an acceptance speech for his Steve Chase Humanitarian Award. Also in 2012, Bomer was given an Inspiration Award for his work at the GLSEN Awards. He is an LGBT rights activist.

Bomer, a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation since his early 20s, in 2013 stated his support for the work of the David Lynch Foundation.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Flightplan	Eric
2006	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning	Eric Hill
2011	In Time	Henry Hamilton
2012	Magic Mike	Ken
2013	Superman: Unbound	Superman/Clark Kent	Voice; direct-to-video
2014	Winter's Tale	Young Man
2014	Space Station 76	Ted
2014	Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia	Narrator
2015	Magic Mike XXL	Ken
2016	The Nice Guys	John Boy
2016	The Magnificent Seven	Matthew Cullen
2017	Walking Out	Cal

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	All My Children	Ian Kipling	Episode: "#7485"
2001-03	Guiding Light	Benjamin "Ben" Reade	6 episodes
2002	Relic Hunter	Driver agent	Episode: "Fire in the Sky"
2003-04	Tru Calling	Luc Johnston	14 episodes
2004	North Shore	Ross	Episode: "Bellport"
2007	Traveler	Jay Burchell	8 episodes
2007-09	Chuck	Bryce Larkin	7 episodes
2009-14	White Collar	Neal Caffrey	81 episodes
2012	Glee	Cooper Anderson	Episode: "Big Brother"
2013	The New Normal	Monty	Episode: "The Goldie Rush"
2014	The Normal Heart	Felix Turner	Television film
2014	American Horror Story: Freak Show	Andy	Episode: "Pink Cupcakes"
2015-16	American Horror Story: Hotel	Donovan	9 episodes
2016-17	The Last Tycoon	Monroe Stahr	9 episodes

Director

Year	Title	Notes
2018	The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story	Season 2, Episode 8

Theatre

Broadway

Year	Title	Playwright	Role	Notes
2011	8	Dustin Lance Black	Jeff Zarrillo	Broadway debut Performances: Eugene O'Neill Theatre (September 19, 2011)

Other stage credits

Year	Title	Playwright	Role	Notes
1995	A Streetcar Named Desire	Tennessee Williams	Young Collector	Performances: The Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas (1995)
1998	Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat	Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice	Issachar	Performances: Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, Utah (1998)
2003	Roulette	Paul Weitz	Jock	Performances: New York Stage and Film, Powerhouse Theater (August 1-3, 2003)
2007	Villa America	Crispin Whittell	Ernest Hemingway	Performances: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Nikos Stage (July 11-22, 2007)
2012	8	Dustin Lance Black	Jeff Zarillo	Performances: Wilshire Ebell Theatre Los Angeles (March 3, 2012)

Awards and nominations

Film

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2013	MTV Movie Awards	Best Musical Moment (shared with Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash and Adam Rodrguez)	Magic Mike
2014	Behind the Voice Actors Awards	Best Male Vocal Performance in a TV Special/Direct-to-DVD Title or Theatrical Short	Superman: Unbound

Television

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2012	Online Film & Television Association Award	Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Glee
2013	Online Film & Television Association Award	Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	The New Normal
2014	Online Film & Television Association	Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	The Normal Heart
2014	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries	The Normal Heart
2014	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie	The Normal Heart
2015	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Cable TV Actor	White Collar
2015	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	The Normal Heart
2015	Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	The Normal Heart

Other

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2012	Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards	New Generation Arts and Activism Award	Fight Against HIV/Aids
2012	GLSEN Awards	Inspiration Award	Himself