Personal details
Official sites :
Born:
- Born Place: Christchurch, New Zealand
Matt Whelan
Matt Whelan is a versatile New Zealand actor and comedian born in Christchurch in 1985. He is a graduate of Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, where he earned a Bachelor of Performing Arts in 2007. Whelan first rose to national prominence in the comedy-drama series Go Girls, playing the character Brad Caulfield for 49 episodes between 2009 and 2012. His early film career featured roles in the romantic drama My Wedding and Other Secrets (2011) and the travel drama The Most Fun You Can Have Dying (2012), for which he received critical acclaim. His international profile grew significantly in 2017 when he portrayed the young Hugh Hefner in the Amazon Original series American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story and starred as DEA Agent Daniel Van Ness in the third season of the Netflix hit Narcos. In 2026, Whelan appears in the survival thriller We Bury the Dead as Mitch, the husband of the protagonist, Ava (Daisy Ridley). His performance in the film follows a series of diverse projects, including the horror film The Tank (2023), the historical drama The Luminaries (2020), and the crime series The Gone. Recently, he has also starred as Tom in the 2025 romantic comedy Workmates and joined the regular cast of the crime drama series A Remarkable Place to Die.
