- Matt Battaglia
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Matt Battaglia Date of birth: September 25, 1965 Place of birth: Tallahassee, Florida Career information Position(s): Linebacker College: Louisville Organizations As player: 1989 Philadelphia Eagles Playing stats at NFL.com Matteo Martin "Matt" Battaglia (born September 25, 1965) is an American actor and former American football player.
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Background and football
Battaglia, one of four siblings, was born in Tallahassee, Florida and is of half Italian and half German/Dutch heritage.[1]
When Battaglia was three years old, his family moved north from Tallahassee, Florida and he grew up in the towns of Tucker, Georgia and Lithonia, Georgia, two suburbs east of Atlanta. His family currently resides in Roswell, Georgia. As a high school athlete, Battaglia served as team captain for his school's wrestling and football teams. In wrestling he placed second in the AAU's Southeastern States Championship, qualifying him to compete in the National AAU Tournament. But a football scholarship led him to the University of Louisville, where he became an All-American and All-South middle linebacker, leading the nation in tackles both his junior and senior seasons with 153 and 166 tackles respectively, in only 11 games per year. Battaglia broke former All-Pro Otis Wilson's college tackling record. He was team captain his junior and senior year and was voted Most Valuable Player by his teammates and coaches. Battaglia went on to play in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. Two years later, his career ended abruptly after a broken bone was discovered in his neck. He returned to school, graduating from the University of Louisville with a degree in business and an emphasis in finance. In September 2006, he was named to the All-time University of Louisville team, with such football greats as Johnny Unitas, Mark Clayton, Tom Jackson, Deion Branch, Joe Jacoby, Dwayne Woodruff and Frank Minnifield.
In 2006, Battaglia married Tina Frazier from Greenville, South Carolina. Their first child, Blaize Christian Battaglia was born in Los Angeles on May 11, 2008. Their second child, Paxton Rose Battaglia was born in Los Angeles on October 17, 2009.
Career
Battaglia has had a successful career as an actor and producer in film and television, appearing in over 70 films, network pilots and television shows.
Battaglia served as Co-producer on the film Brothers, starring Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal. The film is a remake of the 2004 Danish film by Susanne Bier. The remake was directed by six-time Academy Award nominee Jim Sheridan, from a script written by David Benioff, and was released worldwide on December 4, 2009 by Lionsgate.
Battaglia was also a Co-executive producer on the 2009 horror film Kill Theory, directed by Chris Moore.
Battaglia formed Matt Battaglia Productions to produce feature films and television shows. His first acquisition was in 2008 for the life rights to "The Marlboro Marine", which is currently in development as a documentary. He continued with optioning some best selling books including the national bestseller "Bad Monkeys" by Matt Ruff and "Or I'll Dress You in Mourning" by Larry Collins and Dominque Lapierre. Mourning was adapted into a screenplay by screenwriters Brian Klugman & Lee Sternthal. In 2010, he closed a deal with Fox Television Studios to develop "Bad Monkeys" into a one hour drama. In 2011, he Executive Produced the television show "Last Shot with Judge Gunn", which he sold straight into syndication with 150 episodes in season one and closed a deal with Fox Television on another one hour drama entitled "Pyrates" which he partnered with Ridley Scott and Tony Scott and their Scott Free Productions to produce. In 2011, he also Executive Produced the documentary "Do As You Likey".
As a feature film actor, Battaglia has acted in the Marvel Comics Thor, Sony Pictures action thriller Half Past Dead with Steven Seagal, Morris Chestnut and rap artist JaRule. He replaced Jean-Claude Van Damme in the lead role of Luc Devereaux in the action movies Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms and Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business. He has also acted in Kiss of a Stranger, Pendulum and the direct-to-video film Raven.
On the television front, Battaglia is known for his recurring role as Drew Boyd in the North American version of the series Queer As Folk. Other notable guest appearances include an episode of NBC's hit sitcom Friends (playing the fireman boyfriend of Lisa Kudrow's character), two episodes on 24, two episodes of HBO's Big Love, and appearances in Shark, CSI: NY, Bones, Charmed, and CSI: Miami.
Battaglia currently serves on the board of advisors for the G.I. Film Festival, which honors the successes and sacrifices of US soldiers through the medium of film.
Philanthropy
As a television producer and philanthropist, Battaglia co-founded with Tommy and Chris Thieneman "The Mint Jubilee" in 1995, an enormous charity event which in its first ten years raised over $4 million for cancer patients and has provided financial resources to scientists, cancer centers and hospitals committed to finding cures and controls for cancer. This non-profit organization was created by Battaglia in memory of his mother Nancy Van Cleve Battaglia, who died of cancer in 1993. The black tie gala takes place in Louisville, Kentucky the night before the Kentucky Derby. Battaglia helped to create, develop, grow and brand the organization into becoming one of the most prestigious charity events in the world, becoming a world class event attracting high profile celebrities, entertainers and dignitaries from around the globe. The Mint Jubilee has been televised worldwide in over 130 countries and over 200 million homes. Past celebrities have included Vince Vaughn, Jim Caviezel, Kid Rock, Kate Capshaw, Jessica Capshaw, Felicity Huffman, Shannon Elizabeth, Chloë Sevigny, Uncle Kracker, Leslie Bibb, Prince Albert of Monacco, Bob Costas, Evander Holyfield, Wendi Malick, poker champion Phil Helmouth and Thora Birch.
References
External links
Categories:- 1965 births
- American football linebackers
- American television actors
- Living people
- Louisville Cardinals football players
- People from Tallahassee, Florida
- Philadelphia Eagles players
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