Matt Bennett (born November 13, 1991[1][2]) is an American actor and DJ. He is known for playing Robbie Shapiro in the Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious. His film roles include The Virginity Hit, Bridesmaids, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Stanford Prison Experiment and Manson Family Vacation. He has guest-starred on shows such as The Big Bang Theory, American Vandal and Dynasty. Since 2022, he has primarily worked as a DJ, performing Disney and Nickelodeon songs at several venues.
Matt Bennett | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bennett speaking at WonderCon in 2013 | |
| Born | November 13, 1991 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2009–present |
Life and career
Bennett was born and raised in Massapequa Park, New York.[1][2] After appearing in numerous commercials, Bennett began his official acting career at the age of 18 as Jamie, in the 2009 TV movie Totally for Teens.[3] He also appeared as Greg the Intern in the pilot episode of the Comedy Central sketch comedy series Michael & Michael Have Issues.[4][5] According to several YouTube videos, Bennett is fluent in English and Japanese.
Bennett had his first starring film role in The Virginity Hit, which was produced by Funny or Die founders Will Ferrell and Adam McKay and released in October 2010.[6] Described as a "documentary style comedy," Bennett stated that the film's "directors gave us cameras in our spare time, and he said do pranks, talk amongst yourselves, do things and film that. So we did, and most of the movie is what we filmed. So I feel like 20% is scripted but the rest is all real."[7] He said in another interview with MTV News that the film is "not just another teen sex romp. It's a film with heart and a bit of a soul and deep-down it’s a cool love story."[8]
Bennett co-starred as Robbie Shapiro in the Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious from 2010 to 2013.[9][10][11] He was nominated for a 2011 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award (UK) in the category of "Nick UK's Funniest Person".[12]
In March 2013, it was announced that Bennett would host a web series for the YouTube channel Nerdist. On the series, entitled "Nerdy Jobs", Bennett will go behind the scenes of many "Nerdy" jobs to show how interesting they are.[citation needed]
On June 23, 2014, Bennett and his Victorious co-star Elizabeth Gillies were featured in the popular YouTube video "The Slap" as participants.[13]
Bennett has appeared in two of his Victorious co-star Ariana Grande's music videos: "One Last Time" in 2015, and "Thank U, Next" in 2018, the latter of which also features several Victorious cast members.[14][15][16] Also in 2015, he starred in the music video for Poppy's 2015 "Lowlife" and guest-starred as Josh Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory episode "The Fortification Implementation".[17][18][19] He had roles in the films Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Stanford Prison Experiment and Manson Family Vacation,[20][21][22][23][24] all of which were released in 2015.
In 2016, Bennett had a role on the show Fresh Off the Boat.[25] On February 2, 2016, he announced his debut studio album Terminal Cases, which he described as "a concept album about my parents' divorce where every song is inspired by different Robin Williams movies." It was released independently on June 10, 2016.[26][27]
In 2019, Bennett, alongside Elizabeth Gillies, made a surprise appearance during the November 19 show of Ariana Grande's Sweetener World Tour in Atlanta, in which Grande and Bennett performed "I Think You're Swell" and Grande and Gillies performed "Give It Up" from Victorious.[28][29]
In 2022, Bennett guest-starred on an episode of the soap opera Dynasty, a reboot of the 1981 series of the same name, reuniting with Elizabeth Gillies who leads the show.[30][31] Beginning in 2022, Bennett has toured as a DJ, playing songs from Disney and Nickelodeon series at several venues, including House of Blues chains. The shows are billed as "iParty with DJ Matt Bennett,"[32] and since 2023, "Party101."[33][34]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Text Me | Noah | Short film |
| 2010 | The Virginity Hit | Matt | |
| 2011 | Bridesmaids | Helen's stepson | Cameo[35] |
| The Death and Return of Superman | Superboy | Short film (credited as Matthew Bennett) | |
| 2015 | Me and Earl and the Dying Girl | Scott Mayhew | |
| The Stanford Prison Experiment | Kyle Parker | ||
| Manson Family Vacation | Buddy Holly | ||
| Me Him Her | Bones | Uncredited role | |
| 2018 | Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot | Editor #2 |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Totally for Teens | Jamie | Episode: "Pilot" |
| Michael & Michael Have Issues | Greg the Intern | Episode: "Greg the Intern" | |
| 2010–2013 | Victorious | Robbie Shapiro | Main role |
| 2012–2013 | Figure It Out | Panelist | Game show; 18 episodes |
| 2011–2012 | iCarly | Gibby (alternate universe) / Robbie Shapiro | Episodes: "iApril Fools", "iParty with Victorious" |
| 2014 | Sam & Cat | Robbie Shapiro | Episode: "#TheKillerTunaJump" |
| 2015 | The Big Bang Theory | Josh Wolowitz | Episode: "The Fortification Implementation" |
| Shameless | Wiley | Episode: "Carl's First Sentencing" | |
| Game Shakers | Himself | Episode: "Tiny Pickles" | |
| Everybody Wants to Be Poppy | Pho | Main voice role; web series | |
| Wrestling Isn't Wrestling | John Cena Fan | Web series | |
| 2016 | Fresh Off the Boat | Corey | Episode: "Gotta Be Me" |
| 2018 | Grey's Anatomy | Steve | Episode: "Old Scars, Future Hearts" |
| American Vandal | Gavin Landers | Recurring role; 4 episodes[36] | |
| 2022 | Dynasty | Cole | Episode: "But a Drug Scandal?"[37] |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "One Last Time" | Ariana Grande | [38] |
| "Lowlife" | Poppy | [17] | |
| 2018 | "Thank U, Next" | Ariana Grande | [39] |
Discography
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards | Nick UK's Funniest Person | Victorious | Nominated | [12] |
References
External links
- Matt Bennett at IMDb
- Matt Bennett on X
