Matt Keeslar on AllMovie

Matt Keeslar displays the blond good looks sported by many of his photogenic peers, but one thing that distinguishes him is a significant dose of talent, proven by three years of Julliard and a number of diverse films that have allowed him to demonstrate his versatility.

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1972, Keeslar went on to train at the Julliard School in New York City. He made his film debut in 1994 as one of Susan Sarandon's sons in Safe Passage, and the same year had bit parts in Renaissance Man and Quiz Show. The following year, Keeslar was given his first lead role as Albert Finney's estranged son in the acclaimed but little-seen The Run of the Country. Despite winning good reviews for his performance, the actor failed to attract much notice, and went on to appear in a string of forgettable films, including The Stupids and Mr. Magoo. He did act in a couple of high-profile indie films, Waiting for Guffman and Sour Grapes, but his strong performances--as a hunky mechanic in the former and an ill-tempered actor whose manhood gets surgically severed in the latter--went widely unseen.

In 1998, Keeslar encountered a stroke of good luck in the form of Whit Stillman's The Last Days of Disco. The film, which cast him as an early-1980s yuppie lawyer, received positive reviews and gave the actor his widest exposure to date. The same year, he starred in the Showtime movie Thanks of a Grateful Nation, playing a Gulf War veteran married to Jennifer Jason Leigh. The following year, Keeslar went on to another starring role as part of a love triangle in Gregg Araki's Splendor. He also nabbed a part in Wes Craven's Scream 3, thereby ensuring himself a helping of mainstream recognition.