Matt Levett

Matt Levett
Born
Sydney, New South Wales
EducationMacquarie University
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (2009)
OccupationActor
Known forA Place to Call Home
Devil's Playground

Matt Levett is an Australian actor known for playing Andrew Swanson in Australian period drama series A Place to Call Home and Brendan Mahony in 2014 miniseries Devil's Playground.

Early life and education

Levett was born in Sydney, Australia,[1] where he grew up alongside brother Simon, performing in plays for the neighbourhood. He then went on to act in plays and musicals at high school.[2]

Levett studied film at Sydney's Macquarie University, before being accepted into the acting course Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at the age of 23,[1][2] from where he graduated in 2009. In his time at WAAPA, he was awarded the Sally Burton prize for Most Outstanding Performance in a Classical Text, and the Lesley Anderson award.[3]

Career

Levett's first on screen role was in the controversial 2005 Australian short film Boys Grammar, opposite Jai Courtney and Adam J. Yeend.[4] He had early guest roles in several television series including short-lived drama The Cooks[5] and medical drama All Saints in 2005, followed by mystery anthology series Two Twisted in 2006.[6] He also appeared in the recurring guest role of Charlie McKinnon in long-running soap opera Home and Away.[7][3]

Levett's first supporting role in a TV series was in the 2010 third season of comedy-drama Bed of Roses as Holly's friend Sean Smithwick. He took over the role from Tim Phillipps.[8] In 2012, the short film Unwanted Friend, directed and produced by Levett, was a finalist in the Tropfest short film festival.[9][10] That same year, he had a recurring guest role in Winners and Losers as Spencer Campbell in 2012,[11] before guesting as Brick in teen dance drama series Dance Academy in 2013.[12]

Levett's then landed his best known role, as Andrew Swanson in period drama series A Place to Call Home, which he played from 2013.[13] Following this, he took on the role of Brendan Mahoney in 2014 AACTA and Logie Award-winning miniseries Devil's Playground,[13] a sequel to the 1976 classic Fred Schepisi film of the same name.[14]

In 2015, Levett was awarded the prestigious Heath Ledger Scholarship in Los Angeles, with judges for that year including Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Vince Vaughn, Kieran Darcy-Smith and Gregor Jordan.[3] That same year, he played the lead role of champion lifesaver, Len Smithy, in the critically acclaimed 2015 Australian feature film Drown.[3][13][15] As a member of filmmakers collective, ScreenInkMedia, he also wrote and directed 2015 short film Kid.[3]

In 2016, Levett joined the cast of drama series The Secret Daughter in the role of Jack's youngest son, Jamie Norton[13] and appeared in two episodes of horror series Wolf Creek.[16] The following year, he wrote, directed and produced the short film The Death of George Montgomery, also starring in the titular role.[17] In 2018, he served as associate producer on D.C. Fairhurst's debut feature film Reaching Distance.[18] Then in 2019, he was a recipient of the NIDA Gloria Payten Fellowship.[19]

Levett starred as stockbroker Matt Markovich in 2021 mob revenge action thriller film Payback.[20] In 2022, he played the lead role in black and white feature film Misplaced, shot entirely on an iPhone 11.[21] He is set to appear in the upcoming romantic comedy film Pickpockets, opposite Tim Minchin.[18]

Additionally, Levett has provided voiceover work for numerous advertising campaigns including Hungry Jack's, Mazda, Commonwealth Bank, Red Cross, Griffith University, Vodafone and Medibank and has also appeared in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold and AMF Bowling.[22]

Levett is the founder of Sydney-based acting studio The Actors Workout.[19] Before establishing the studio, he taught and directed at NIDA, The Hub Studio, Screenwise, The Actors Centre and Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP).[19]

Acting credits

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2005Boys GrammarGarethShort film (segment of anthology film Boys Briefs 3: Between the Boys)[4]
2006AfterlifeSimonShort film
2009SorrentoShort film
2011Blue MondayShort film
2013Adore (aka Adoration or Two MothersWorkshop PerformerFeature film
The FragmentsDomShort film
ShowboyAsherShort film[23]
2015DrownLen SmithyFeature film[3][13][15]
KidDannyShort film
2017The Death of George MontgomeryGeorge MontgomeryShort film[17]
2018Blood OrangeMichaelShort film[24]
2021PaybackMike MarkovichFeature film[20]
Sunset PeopleSebastian[21]
2022MisplacedHimFeature film[21]
2024It Will Find YouRobertShort film
2025It Will Find YouRobertFeature film
2026DraxNickolas EryulanFeature film[25]
FlowBoyfriendShort film
TBABite the HandDustyShort film;
completed
TBAPickpocketsTBAPost-production[18]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2005The CooksBoy #31 episode[5]
All SaintsMarcus McCallum1 episode
2006Home and AwayCharlie McKinnon8 episodes[7]
Two TwistedMatthew2 episodes[6]
2010Rescue: Special OpsLuke Mortley1 episode[26]
2010–2011Bed of RosesSean SmithwickSeason 3, 12 episodes[8]
2012Winners and LosersSpencer Campbell4 episodes[11]
2013Dance AcademyBrickSeason 3, 1 episode[12]
2013–2014; 2018A Place to Call HomeAndrew Swanson13 episodes[13]
2014Devil's PlaygroundBrendan MahoneyMiniseries, 6 episodes[13]
2016The Secret DaughterJamie Norton12 episodes[13]
Wolf CreekKevin2 episodes[16]

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2011Girl's Backstage ChoicesNewtown Theatre, Sydney[27]
2019Things I Know to Be TrueBenBelvoir St Theatre, Sydney[19][28]

Writer / director / producer credits

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2012Unwanted FriendDirector / Producer / EditorShort film[9][10]
2015KidDirector / Producer / EditorShort film[3]
2017The Death of George MontgomeryWriter / Director / ProducerShort film[17]
2018Reaching DistanceAssociate producerFeature film[18]

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2011Girl's Backstage ChoicesDirectorNewtown Theatre, Sydney[27]

References

  1. 1 2 Domjen, Briana (3 June 2015). "Matt Levett one step closer to Hollywood dream after winning Heath Ledger Scholarship". dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 "A Place to Call Home Media | Kit" (PDF). sevenwestmedia.com.au. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Urban Cinefile 4/6/2015: MATT LEVETT WINS 2015 HEATH LEDGER SCHOLARSHIP". Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Boys Grammar – Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 "The Cooks: episode guide". australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Two Twisted: episode guide". australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Charlie McKinnon". backtothebay.net. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Bed of Roses: episode guide | Series 3". australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  9. 1 2 "The Film Emporium: Help 'Unwanted Friend' get selected for Tropfest". 8 February 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Unwanted Friend". Screen Australia. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Winners & Losers: episode guide | Series 2". australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Dance Academy: episode guide | Series 3". australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Secret Daughter" (PDF). sevenwestmedia.com.au. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "Devil's Playground". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  15. 1 2 Jermyn, Bede (2015). "[Review] Drown (2015)". supermarcey.com/tag. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Wolf Creek: cast". australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  17. 1 2 3 "The Death of George Montgomery". simonkoloadin.com. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Pickpockets with Tim Minchin Wraps in Sydney". FilmInk. 17 November 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "ABOUT US | A STUDIO FOR THE SCREEN". theactorsworkout.com.au. 17 November 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  20. 1 2 Billington, Alex (15 January 2021). "TRAILERS | Matt Levett in Mob Revenge Action Thriller 'Payback' Official Trailer". firstshowing.net. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  21. 1 2 3 Slatter, Sean (8 November 2021). "James Demitri's iPhone feature 'Misplaced' finds a home on the festival circuit". IF Magazine. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "Matt Levett". scoutmanagement.com.au. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Showboy". Screen Australia. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  24. ↑ "FEATURED SHORT | ONLINE PREMIERE | Blood Orange | a short film by M.P. Wills". filmshortage.com. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  25. ↑ Kornits, Dov (2025). "James Demitri Goes for the Jugular with DRAX". FilmInk. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  26. ↑ "RESCUE Special Ops: episode guide | Series 2". australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  27. 1 2 "Girl's Backstage Choices". AusStage. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "Things I Know to be True". AusStage. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.