Talented Star in Recurring Roles on Two Primetime Series
“
Boy I have to tell you…the move to Hollywood was really a culture shock. Living here is an experience, but I’m not complaining.” – Matthew Florida
Appearing on two primetime TV shows at the same time—in recurring roles on both shows—is an actor’s dream. But it isn’t a dream for IMTA alum Matthew Florida. It’s a reality. Florida guest stars as Travis on the new ABC comedy “
Hank” with Kelsey Grammer,
and he is Julian on the CW’s 2
nd season of the new “
90210.”
Shortly after attending IMTA in New York in 2005, Florida signed with Peter Kluge at Impact Artists Group, moved from Texas to Los Angeles and began paying his dues with auditions, callbacks and modeling gigs. His break came when he was cast as Ford Decker on “
Days of Our Lives.” “It’s just great!” Florida said at the time. “This is an experience, and this couldn’t be a better first job.” Although his storyline ended after several months, his role as a serial rapist got him noticed as an actor who was not just another handsome face.
Florida followed “
Days of Our Lives” with guest star turns on hit TV shows such as “
Ghost Whisperer” and “
Cold Case.” He also had a lead role in the online comedy “
Dan’s Detour of Life” and appeared in the Hallmark TV movie
Love Finds a Home.
In “
Hank,” Grammer plays the title character, a corporate titan who has been ousted from his own giant retail sports company, lost all his money, and must move with his family back to his home town in Virginia. The show premiered on September 30. Florida’s recurring character makes his first appearance October 7 in the episode titled “Yard Sale,” in which Hank, anxious to get back into the entrepreneurial game, starts small...by organizing a neighborhood yard sale. On the series “
90210,” which began its 2
nd season on September 8, Florida’s character is next scheduled to appear on October 13 in the “Wild Alaskan Salmon” episode.
When he isn’t acting or modeling, Florida expresses his artistic talent on paper and canvas with charcoal, pen-and-ink, watercolors, oils and other media. His skills keep him busy with contract work for ad agencies and their corporate clients.