Australian
Comedian & Actor, Matt Okine, began his career by becoming
a national Triple J RAW finalist in 2004, at the age of 18,
after only 3 previous gigs (those being the preliminary stages
of the competition!).
He
was a 2Day FM Comedy God finalist later that year, and in
January 2005, Matt took out the Brisbane New Comic of the Year
competition. The same year, he scored his first movie role,
appearing in Fox2000’s, Aquamarine. In 2006, he was in
“Show Us Your Roots” at the Canberra Theatre, and was also a
part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s ‘New
Talent’ Showcase.
In
late 2007, Matt performed on "Rove Live" after winning the
Rove Live/Snickers Golden Nut Competition. He followed this
with a sell-out show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival (2008)
and was flown to Miami as part of NBC’s hit show, “Last Comic
Standing”.
In
2010, Matt spent a month touring Western Australia with the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow, and a TV
Pilot that he co-created called, Not Available, debuted
at the Dungog Film Festival to much acclaim.
Matt
was also a co-writer/producer/performer on the short film,
Bird Therapy, which made the Final 16 in Tropfest 2011
– The biggest short film festival in the world. The film went
on to also feature at the 2011 Dungog Film Festival and is
soon to be distributed online through IndieFlix.
His
2011 Sydney Comedy Festival show, Being Black N Chicken N
Shit, was nominated for Time Out’s Local Comedy Show of
the Year, and Matt was also nominated in the same awards for
2011 Sydney Comedian of the Year.
In
2012 - what has proved to be a breakthrough year - Being Black N Chicken N
Shit had a sell-out season at the Brisbane Comedy
Festival, was nominated for, and won, the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s award for ‘Best
Newcomer’ award, and had a highly-acclaimed season at the
prestigious Soho Theatre in London’s West End.
In
the same year, Matt once again toured nationally and
internationally (Singapore, Hong Kong & India) with the
Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow, and was also an official
participant in the invite-only Montreal “Just For Laughs”
Comedy Festival. He supported Aziz Ansari in front of sell-out
shows (2000+ people) at the Melbourne Arts Centre (Hamer Hall)
and the Sydney Opera House (Concert Hall), and took to the
stage at various festivals around Australia and England
including Homebake, Falls Festival, and Reading.
Matt
has also acted on several Film & TV projects – both here
& overseas - including All Saints, H20: Just Add
Water, Sea Patrol, I Rock, Aquamarine (US), Monarch
Cove (US) & See No Evil (US). He was also a
guest panelist on The Squiz and, most recently, has
made two appearances on Can of Worms, and ABC's new
show, Tractor Monkeys.
An
experienced MC, Matt has hosted several events including the
launch of the Nokia N87 at Bondi Junction for One Partners,
the launch of the Nokia Music Store (where he shared the stage
with Kate Miller-Heidke & The Presets), and the Smirnoff
“Send-Off” Party as part of their “Nightlife Exchange”
Experience.
As a hip-hop artist, he has performed at Brisbane's
Step Inn (supporting Evil Eddie), at the Stylin Up festival
(with KPS), and Brisbane's Fete De La Musique Festival (Queen
St Mall). As a member of Australia's legendary ManChoir, Matt
has also performed at some of Australia's biggest music
festivals including Big Day Out (2010) & Playground
Weekender (2011).
Matt
is co-creator and star of the award-winning The Future
Machine webseries (http://thefuturemachine.tv)
which was selected for the 2011 LA Web Fest, the 2011
International TV Festival in Los Angeles, and the 2011 Dungog
Film Festival.
His debut
DVD, Being Black n Chicken n Shitwas
released on 5th Dec
2012 and is available at several major outlets and online.
With
these achievements, along with several more, Matt Okine is
definitely one of Australia's rising comic talents.