Matthew Sunderland
Encyclopedia
Matthew "Matt" Sunderland (born c.1972) is a New Zealand
actor. He performed the lead role of David Gray in the feature film Out of the Blue
, based on the events of the Aramoana Massacre
. At the New Zealand Screen Awards in 2008 he won Best Actor Award for this role.
Sunderland was also nominated for a Best Actor Award in the 2006 NZ Screen Awards for Natures Way, which screened In Competition at the Cannes Film Festival
in 2006.
His other feature film roles include A Song of Good, Christmas, Stringer and Woodenhead as well as more than twenty short films.
Sunderland graduated from The New Zealand Drama School Toi Whakaari in 1997 and has concentrated on New Zealand film work with numerous theatre excursions also. He has appeared at the Silo Theatre (Fool for Love, Blasted), and the Herald Theatre (Trainspotting) in Auckland
, and the Court Theatre in Christchurch
(Peninsula) .
Sunderland appeared in the New Zealand soap opera
Shortland Street
s first official 90 minute episode as White Dragon in a storyline concluding the 3 year Kieran Mitchell
story arc.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
actor. He performed the lead role of David Gray in the feature film Out of the Blue
Out of the Blue (2006 film)
Out of the Blue is a 2006 New Zealand film directed by Robert Sarkies and starring Karl Urban. The film premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival in Canada and was released in New Zealand on 12 October 2006 to minor controversy...
, based on the events of the Aramoana Massacre
Aramoana massacre
The Aramoana massacre was a mass murder that occurred on 13 November 1990 in the small seaside township of Aramoana, New Zealand. Resident David Gray, a 33-year-old unemployed man, began indiscriminately shooting people in the township with a scoped semi-automatic rifle, after a verbal dispute with...
. At the New Zealand Screen Awards in 2008 he won Best Actor Award for this role.
Sunderland was also nominated for a Best Actor Award in the 2006 NZ Screen Awards for Natures Way, which screened In Competition at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in 2006.
His other feature film roles include A Song of Good, Christmas, Stringer and Woodenhead as well as more than twenty short films.
Sunderland graduated from The New Zealand Drama School Toi Whakaari in 1997 and has concentrated on New Zealand film work with numerous theatre excursions also. He has appeared at the Silo Theatre (Fool for Love, Blasted), and the Herald Theatre (Trainspotting) in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, and the Court Theatre in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
(Peninsula) .
Sunderland appeared in the New Zealand soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Shortland Street
Shortland Street
Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera, first broadcast on Television New Zealand's TV2 on 25 May 1992. It is the country's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 4500 episodes and 19 years, and is one of the most watched television programs in...
s first official 90 minute episode as White Dragon in a storyline concluding the 3 year Kieran Mitchell
Kieran Mitchell
Kieran Mitchell is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by British actor Adam Rickitt through numerous high profile storylines from early 2007 to mid 2010....
story arc.